Actis, a global investor in sustainable infrastructure, has acquired a shareholding in a 220MW combined cycle gas turbine power plant in the Bhola district, Bangladesh, from Indian conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
Clifford Chance advised Actis on the acquisition and refinancing, while Shearman & Sterling advised the lenders – comprising Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, ING Bank, DBS Bank, Bank of China, Mizuho Bank and Société Générale – on the refinancing.
Singapore-based corporate M&A partner Melissa Ng led Clifford Chance’s team in the cross-border transaction, while Tokyo-based partner Hans Menski led the project financing segment. Partners Paul Landless and Matthew Buchanan in Singapore provided specialist hedging advice and construction. The Singapore team also comprised counsel Miles Binney, senior associates Wesley Tan, Tom Capel and Marcella Stokell and associate Allison Tan, with the support of associate Ash Williams in Tokyo.
Shearman & Sterling’s team was led by partner Jean-Louis Neves Mandelli in Singapore, with the support of Singapore-based associates Claude Jiang and Bilyana Belcheva, and Beijing-based associate Liu Wang.
The refinancing was a multijurisdictional transaction with a bespoke refinancing structure to meet the requirements of the existing and new lenders. Non-commercial risks were covered through a political guarantee provided by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, a member of the World Bank Group.
This acquisition marked the launch of Bridgin Power, Actis’ new power generation platform, which will invest in gas-fired power projects across Southeast Asia.
The power plant has a 22-year power purchase agreement with the Bangladesh Power Development Board and began operations in June last year.
