DLA Piper has advised Abengoa Greenfield S.A, a subsidiary of Abengoa, on the private placement of its inaugural green bonds that were issued on 30 September 2014. The deal comprised euro and dollar-denominated five-year tranches of €265 million and $300 million respectively.
The green bond and related guarantees were offered to eligible traditional high yield investors as well as dedicated socially responsible investments buyers, who have a specific mandate or portfolio for buying green bonds, and in each case who were qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or non-U.S. persons in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act. Abengoa will use the net proceeds to finance, in whole or in part, eligible green projects that meet certain environmental, social and governance criteria set by Abengoa and Vigeo, the leading European expert in the assessment of companies and organisations with regard to their practices and performance on environmental, social and governance issues.
Abengoa is an engineering and clean technology company with operations in more than 50 countries worldwide that provides innovative solutions for a diverse range of customers in the energy and environmental sectors.
The multi-jurisdictional DLA Piper team was led by partners Ignacio Gomez-Sancha in Madrid and Tony Lopez in London.
The London-based finance team comprised partner Tony Lopez, counsel Sabrina Fox, associates Flavia Lima-McCulloch, Sandeep Kaur, Purdeep Sihota, Marcus Lovatt and trainee Mayowa Olusola. Partner Thomas Dick provided tax advice. The Madrid team comprised partner Ignacio Gomez-Sancha, senior associate Jesús Palencia, associates Álvaro Albors and Rafael Martínez-Echevarría and trainee José Buigues.
In Amsterdam, partners Gerard Kneppers (Finance & Projects) and Pauls Merks (Tax) and associate Fiorelo Klein also advised on the transaction.
Ignacio Gomez-Sancha said: “This is the first “green bond” high yield bond to have been done in Europe and we are delighted to have played a role in its successful launch. This complex transaction required a large multi-jurisdictional team working seamlessly together – something DLA Piper is very well positioned to do.”
Tony Lopez added: “It’s exciting to see a new direction for high yield bonds in Europe – the whole team feel honoured to have supported Abengoa in this effort.”
Source: news.dlapiper.com
