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Deal of the Month
UniCredit and BayernLB provide Eur70m loan facility for Solarpark Jocksdorf
TITLE Dr Carsten Witter, Partner of Strenger LLP
“With a total capacity of 82 MWp, the park qualifies as one of the largest in Europe.”
S
tenger LLP is a Hamburg-based law firm with proven experience in its core sectors of real estate, aviation, infrastructure and energy. Stenger’s energy team has advisedtmarket participants on more than 100
renewable energy projects with a total capacity exceeding 2,500 MW in Germany as well as in other European countries. In addition, the team has been involved in the development, sale and acquisition of offshore wind farms and advised on approvals granted by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency. For Stenger LLP the transaction was the most complex and prominent transaction in the renewables sector in Germany in 2013.
Dr Carsten Witter is a partner of Stenger LLP. Together with his team, he joined the firm in February 2014. Dr Witter´s focuses on the provision of legal advice to domestic and international banks, investors and developers in connection with transactions in the renewable energies sector.
What more can you tell us about UniCredit and BayernLB’s loan facility for Solarpark Jocksdorf?
The renewable energy team of Stenger has advised Bayerische Landesbank and UniCredit Bank AG on the financing of two (of three) subareas of the solar park Jocksdorf. The solar park Jocksdorf – located on the former East German military airbase Jocksdorf /Brandenburg – consists of three subareas and each subarea consists of four to five legally and technically independent solar power plants.
The general contractor installed the solar park Jocksdorf using solar modules of Trina Solar. The investment house AB Unternehmensberatung und Beteiligungsgesellschaft purchased the solar
park during its deployment phase in the summer of 2012. The entire park was connected to the grid as early as in the end of 2012. With a total capacity of 82 MWp, the park qualifies as one of the largest in Europe. The total investment costs amount to EUR 120m, with a debt financing volume of over EUR 90m.
The subprojects of the solar park Jocksdorf are operated by fifteen German SPVs, while the substations and grid connections are operated by separate subsidiaries which own the respective property. Bayerische Landesbank and UniCredit Bank AG provided the funding for two of the three subareas consisting of a total of 10 subprojects with a total capacity of 55 MW and a total volume of 70 million Euros running for a period of 18 Years.
What was your involvement in this transaction?
Stenger’s renewable energy team extensively advised Bayerische Landesbank and UniCredit Bank AG during the financing process. The team executed the Legal Due Diligence, re-negotiated the project agreements and drafted and negotiated all financing agreements.
The team was led by partner Dr Carsten Witter (lead management; Banking and Finance); assisted by Dr Jörg Brackmann (Banking and Finance, Corporate), Dr Stefan Geiger (Public and Energy Law) and Lydia Eppler (Real Estate Law).
Did you face any difficulties along the way? How did you overcome these?
Besides its sheer size, the transaction stood out especially for its corporate complexity. Further challenges were the significant regulatory changes in tariffs for solar power under the German Renewable Energy Sources Act during the structuring phase and the fact that the site is
a former military airbase with related pollution issues.
A particular challenge was the development and execution of a financing and security concept customized for the individual characteristics of the solar park Jocksdorf. First and foremost, the concept had to serve the security interests of our clients, meaning the two financing banks. But we also had to ensure, that the concept considered the indicated complex structure of the project with three subareas and a total of 15 independent sub projects. We finally had to consider, that a share of the solar park was to be financed by a third bank that had not been appointed yet; we regarded that fact in the financing agreements from the beginning.
Since we rely on a long-term expertise in the financing of energy, infrastructure and real estate projects and all participants worked together professionally and goal oriented, we were able to draft a concept that meets all the indicated interests.
We will certainly to use this financing and security concept for future major projects and refine it for the individual challenges.
Connect: Dr. Carsten Witter Tel: +49(0)40 36 09 86 -0 Fax: +49(0)40 36 09 86 -36 Email: cwitter@stengerllp.de Website: www.stengerllp.de