Abengoa Bioenergy Completes $300 Million Financing for Construction of Two Ethanol Plants in the U.S. Midwest
Milbank Represents Lenders in Structuring the Transaction; Strong Demand Results in Reverse-Flex Pricing
NEW YORK, August 3, 2007 – Further expanding its ethanol production capacity in the United States, Abengoa Bioenergy Holdings U.S., Inc., a subsidiary of the Spanish company Abengoa, S.A., has closed a $300 million financing for the construction of two ethanol plants in the Midwestern U.S. The financing was led by WestLB and Banco Santander and a syndicate of other lenders. The international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, led by partner Dan Bartfeld, represented the lenders in negotiating and structuring the transaction.
Commenting on the transaction, Milbank’s Bartfeld stated, “The deal’s success proves that even in a very challenging financing market, a well structured deal with a strong sponsor can be very well received.”
In addition to Mr. Bartfeld, the Milbank team representing the lenders included associates Sarah Glenn, Rebecca Campbell and Peter Hughes.
About the transaction:
A subsidiary of Spanish company Abengoa, S.A., Abengoa Bioenergy Holdings U.S., Inc. is the fifth largest producer of bioethanol in the United States. Abengoa Bioenergy currently operates four plants in the Midwest with a combined capacity of approximately 198 million gallons per year. The $300 million senior secured financing will support the construction of two additional ethanol plants, each with a capacity of 88 million gallons per year.
The transaction was structured to attract several investor classes, which resulted in a very large oversubscription. The transaction was reverse flexed, achieving the tightest pricing to date for a greenfield ethanol financing.
About Abengoa Bioenergy
Abengoa Bioenergy is considered to be the second largest ethanol producer in the world with production facilities located in Europe and the USA. Abengoa Bioenergy is one of the five business units of Abengoa, S.A. (ABG:MC), a technology company that applies innovative solutions for sustainable development in the infrastructure, environment and energy sectors. Its five business groups of Solar Power, Bioenergy, Environmental Services, Information Technology and Industrial Engineering and Construction are active in more than 70 countries. (http://www.abengoa.com)
About Milbank
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a preeminent global law firm that for more than 140 years has provided innovative legal solutions in many of the world’s largest, most complex, “first-ever” corporate transactions and litigation. Our transactional expertise includes capital markets, corporate finance and transactions, project finance, acquisition finance, and other major fields of law practice. Milbank litigation teams resolve disputes involving mergers and acquisitions, proxy battles, financings and securities offerings, intellectual property, white collar crime, and corporate restructurings, among others. Our 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 Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, DC.