LOS ANGELES, July 12, 2006 – Underscoring its leadership in alternative energy financings, the international law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP announced today that it has finalized a definitive agreement for privately held Padoma Wind Power LLC, a leading wind energy development and co-development company, to be acquired by NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE:NRG) for an undisclosed sum. Padoma, involved in the development, financing, construction and operation of more than 40 wind farms in the U.S. and Europe comprising more than 1,300-MW of installed capacity, will maintain its headquarters in La Jolla, California and will operate as a subsidiary of New Jersey headquartered NRG, an owner/operator of a diverse portfolio of power-generating facilities, primarily in Texas and the Northeast, South Central and Western regions of the United States
Edwin F. Feo, co-chair of Milbank’s Global Project Finance Group, who spearheaded the project said, “Padoma Wind Power is one of several highly successful alternative energy ventures that investors are now viewing as ideal acquisition targets.” He noted that there’s been a dramatic increase in growth opportunities in the renewable energy industry, especially with wind development companies, adding, “I expect that we’ll continue to see more transactions of this nature as investors seek out viable energy markets.” Also on the Milbank team were tax partner Simon Friedman, and associate attorneys Tiffany Siart and Jason Burubu. In 2005, Mr. Feo and a Milbank team represented Padoma in its sale of the 120-MW San Juan Mesa Project to Edison Mission Group.
Milbank’s Global Project Finance Group includes 19 partners and more than 80 lawyers actively involved in the financing of infrastructure projects in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In the past several years, the group has closed more than 140 project financings, valued in excess of $85 billion, and in a range of industries, including electric power, water, mining and metals, petroleum and natural gas, petrochemicals, aerospace, environmental, telecommunications and satellites, timber and paper processing, pipelines, toll roads and airports. Peer recognition includes:
- Euromoney’s Project Finance
- North America Infrastructure Deal of the Year – Neptune
- North America Oil and & Gas Deal of the Year – Sabine Pass
- North America Single Asset Deal of the Year – La Paloma
- North America Merchant Deal of the Year – Boston Glen
- North America Bond Deal of the Year – Skyway Refinancing
- North America Refinancing Deal of the Year – Crockett
- Latin America Mining Deal of the Year – Cerro Verde
- EMEA Petrochemicals Deal of the Year – Qatofin
- Asia Pacific Acquisition Financing Deal of the Year – CBK
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a preeminent 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 Washington, DC, Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.