Milbank Continues to Grow Asia Finance Group as Former Ashurst Attorney Joins Tokyo Office
English Lawyer Mark Plenderleith To Join Milbank’s Acquisition And Project Finance Business In Japan
TOKYO, May 9, 2006 - Mark Plenderleith has joined the international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP where he will help lead its acquisition and project finance business in Japan, the firm announced today.
The move advances Milbank’s pan-Asia growth strategy which corresponds to Japan’s increasingly pronounced international role in acquisition and project finance. Gary Wigmore, head of Milbank’s Asia Project Finance practice and managing partner of the Tokyo office, stated, “Over the past several years we have seen a steady increase in the level of international project financing, with Japanese players (trading companies, banks and electric and gas utilities) taking larger roles. This growth, which is primarily in the emerging markets, is being driven by the global need to develop new sources of energy and natural resources. At the same time, we anticipate growth in the Japanese projects market, with public infrastructure projects being financed with private funds.”
The increasing sophistication of the financing structures used in the emerging markets has benefited legal practices such as Milbank’s which are based on global commercial experience, innovation and the ability to close complex financings.
Mr. Wigmore added, “To capitalize on this growth and the deal structuring needs of Japanese players, we are building on our base of 30 years in Asia by expanding our team of expert lawyers. Mark adds to the depth of our experienced team of acquisition and project finance attorneys in our Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo offices. Having practiced out of Tokyo and London, his experience in both international finance and the energy industry along with his qualifications as an English lawyer, will significantly add to our capabilities to serve all our clients in the region.”
Mr. Plenderleith joins Milbank as a senior attorney from Ashurst, a London-based law firm. During his six years in Ashurst’s London and Tokyo offices, his practice focused on limited recourse multi-sourced financings, restructurings, joint ventures and acquisition financings. His impressive deal experience encompasses project development and financings in the power, transport, petrochemical and oil sectors, and includes landmark transactions in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, the Caspian region and the Middle East. In addition to working in private practice, Mr. Plenderleith worked for two years with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (“JBIC”) supporting Japanese investors and lenders in JBIC’s overseas investment loan, co-financing and untied loan programs. While at JBIC, he represented the bank on the high profile financings of the Mozal II Aluminum Project in Mozambique, the Asia Silicones Monomer project in Thailand and the BP-led Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline project in Central Asia.
Milbank recently represented JBIC, the commercial bank lenders and the agents, in the $100 million acquisition financing of the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (“CBK”) power project in the Philippines. The transaction marked a major milestone for JBIC. It was the first time the
governmental institution provided acquisition debt on a limited recourse project basis. The transaction was awarded Euromoney’s Project Finance magazine’s “Asia-Pacific Acquisition Finance Deal of the Year” and Asian Counsel’s “Deal of the Year” and nominated for IFLR’s “Project Finance Deal of the Year.”
Mr. Plenderleith earned his Jurisprudence degree from Oxford University, Pembroke College in 1996. He is admitted as a Solicitor in England & Wales and also admitted to practice law in New York.
About Milbank
Milbank’s involvement in Asia began in 1925 when founding partner Morris Hadley traveled to Yokohama to prepare an indenture for the Toho Electric Power Company. In 1977, Milbank became the first American law firm to establish an office in Tokyo under its own name.
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a distinguished global law firm that is recognized for more than 140-years for providing innovative legal solutions in many of the world’s largest, most complex, “first-ever” corporate transactions, including capital markets, corporate finance, project finance, acquisition finance, and other major fields of law practice. Milbank clients range from prominent multinational financial, industrial and commercial enterprises to governments, institutions and individuals. The Firm is headquartered in New York, with offices in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.
With offices in Asia for 30 years, Milbank has one of the deepest and broadest practices among U.S. firms in Asia, encompassing capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, acquisition finance, structured products transactions, project finance, restructuring, leasing and transportation finance. Milbank has approximately 35 attorneys resident in its Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo offices, with attorneys qualified to practice New York and English law.
Milbank’s Asian team, which was nominated for International Financial Law Review’s (“IFLR”) “Debt & Equity Firm of the Year,” continues to be at the forefront of some of the most notable deals in Asia, including the largest corporate debt offering ever, the largest distressed deal ever, and two of the largest private equity deals. Milbank has played an active role in landmark transactions spanning virtually every Asian country and across diverse industries.