International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, two of Canada’s largest pension funds, on their agreement with Banco Santander, S.A. to acquire jointly an international portfolio of renewable energy and water infrastructure assets.
The assets, currently owned solely by Santander, will be transferred to a new company owned equally by all three parties.
The transaction, which is expected to close within the first half of 2015 subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals, values the assets in excess of $2bn. PSP Investments, Teachers’ and Santander intend to invest significant additional amounts in the new company over the next five years. The portfolio includes wind, solar and water infrastructure assets located in seven countries that are operating or in development.
The Freshfields team was led by corporate partners Laurie McFadden and Martin Nelson-Jones, assisted by corporate associates Ross McKay and Alon Gordon. They were supported by finance partner Alan Rae Smith, assisted by senior associate Alistair Curzon and associate Ronen Lazarovitch.
Teachers’ investment was led by its Infrastructure Group, which manages a global portfolio of CAD 11.7bn of direct infrastructure investments, including water and wastewater, electricity distribution, gas distribution, airports, power generation, high-speed rail and port facilities.
PSP Investments’ investment was led by its Infrastructure Group, which manages a global portfolio of CAD 6.0bn of direct infrastructure investments, including power generation, airports, toll roads, port facilities, electricity and gas transmission, and water.
Source: www.freshfields.com
