LONDON – June 28, 2021 – Graeme McLellan and Richard Hughes, of global law firm Greenberg Traurig’s London office, advised on the transaction today awarded the Editor’s Choice Deal of the Year Award – Europe by the infrastructure journal IJGlobal. They provided legal counsel in connection with the structuring and implementation of the Wavemaster Horizon offshore windfarm service operation vessel (SOV) financing transaction.
IJ Global described the transaction as "a peach of a deal" and noted it “was essentially stretch infrastructure financed using hybrid project/asset finance techniques, and the transaction stood apart due to its capital structure, which employs a combination of bank and bond finance to provide 100% debt finance secured against the vessel and charter party revenues”.
“Assisting Centrus Asset Management (CAM) in the creation of this complex financing structure was very rewarding,” McLellan and Hughes said in a joint statement. “Financing that supports innovative technology and green energy initiatives is becoming more important than ever before as we work together in a global society to reduce our ecological footprint.”
The IJGlobal Awards recognise achievements on deals across the infrastructure and energy sectors in all regions around the world. The editorial team – working closely with an independent team of judges active within the markets where the deals are located – select the winning deals, according to IJGlobal’s website. It also states that the awards celebrate the pivotal role played by organisations involved in one, or more, of the year's most outstanding infrastructure and/or project finance transactions that reached financial close in the 2020 calendar year. Winners are selected in each sub-category on a regional basis as well as for overall global involvement.
McLellan, who is co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Infrastructure Practice and a member of the firm’s Banking & Financial Services Practice, is an asset finance professional with particular focus on the aircraft and rail rolling stock sectors, regularly advising major sophisticated international clients on business-critical matters. His experience includes secured loans, bond financings, tax leasings, Islamic financings, and portfolio acquisitions/disposals.
Hughes, a senior associate at Greenberg Traurig and member of the Banking & Financial Services Practice, is a transportation attorney with a focus on the rail sector. He has built a strong reputation in the rail industry based on advising financiers, franchise owning groups and government on issues of rolling stock procurement and financing, rail franchising, and third-party investment in rail infrastructure. Hughes has advised on several of the most innovative rail finance deals on the international market.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2200 attorneys 40 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. The firm is net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage and Mansfield Rule 3.0 Certified. Web: www.gtlaw.com