Clifford Chance and Milbank, along with Malaysian counsel Rahmat Lim & Partners and Zul Rafique & Partners, and Maples Group have advised on global hyperscale data centre operator Yondr Group’s USD900 million debt financing for the construction of the largest hyperscale data centre campus in Southeast Asia.
Several legal advisers have pointed to the unique regulatory feature of the deal, which is being conducted under the Malaysia Digital national strategic initiative issued by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation and the government, which saw Yondr exempted from the need to seek Bank Negara Malaysia’s approval for foreign currency borrowings.
James Orme, a partner in the global projects, energy and infrastructure finance group in Singapore who co-led a Milbank team advising the finance parties in the deal, told Asia Business Law Journal that, to his firm’s knowledge, this was the first greenfield data centre in Malaysia financed by international lenders with the benefit of this exemption.
“Milbank, together with Malaysian local counsel (Zul Rafique), spent time with the lenders to make sure they understood the regime and what conditions needed to be complied with by the borrower,” said Orme.
Maples Group also advised the consortium of the seven financial institutions, with the firm’s Asia regional managing partner Michael Gagie and finance partner Lorraine Pao leading the deal’s team.
Recorded as Yondr’s first major debt financing in the Asia-Pacific region, the deal involved the financing of the construction and initial operation of the company’s 98-megawatt hyperscale data centre as a part of a larger such development in Johor, Malaysia.
Orme co-led the Milbank team with Singapore office and Asia practice managing partner David Zemans, as well as New York-based global project, energy and infrastructure finance group chair Dan Bartfeld, representing the finance parties providing the loan facility to Yondr. The finance parties consist of DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Blackrock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners, HSBC, International Finance Corporation, ING and Natixis CIB.
He also told Asia Business Law Journal that the senior financing had an initial commitment of approximately USD900 million and was intended to be a green loan, which would require the borrower to comply with, and provide periodic reporting on, certain green loan principles.
As the other main international counsel in the deal, Clifford Chance advised Yondr on the international aspects of the debt financing, with Rahmat Lim & Partners acting as Malaysian local counsel.
Clifford Chance’s Singapore-based partner Thomas England, who specialises in global financial markets as well as restructuring and insolvency, led the UK firm’s team.
