Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP earned top honors at the annual LatinFinance Project & Infrastructure Finance Awards, held on September 29 in New York receiving seven total awards including being named “Best Infrastructure Law Firm in Latin America.”
LatinFinance’s Project & Infrastructure Awards recognizes firms and transactions that have the greatest potential to influence Latin America’s economic progress and are selected based on significance, innovation and complexity.
The awards ceremony, held at New York’s celebrated Plaza Hotel, was attended by infrastructure developers, investors, financiers, government officials and legal practitioners from throughout Latin America. Partners representing Milbank included Dan Bartfeld, Roland Estevez and Carolina Walther-Meade of the Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance Group and Carlos Albarracín and Marcelo Mottesi of the Global Capital Markets Group and John Franchini of the Corporate Practice Group.
Mr. Bartfeld, head of Milbank’s Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance Group, said: “From transportation infrastructure to natural resource projects to advanced communications, Milbank plays a key advisory role in important finance projects that advance economic development in Latin America. It’s very gratifying to see our work recognized by LatinFinance and to know that Milbank continues its high achievement in a region that has been a focus for our firm for decades.”
In addition to garnering the Best Infrastructure Law Firm award, Milbank earned the following accolades from LatinFinance:
Best Oil & Gas Financing – Mr. Bartfeld and Global Project Finance partner Daniel Michalchuk led Milbank’s representation of an international bank syndicate in the more than $1.1 billion financing for a pair of natural gas pipelines connecting an energy storage and transit hub in southwest Texas with locations on the Mexican border. The project is one of several Milbank has overseen that help provide US natural gas to utilities in northern Mexico.
Best Local Currency Financing – The firm advised major international lenders in connection with the nearly $1 billion financing for the Pacifico 1 toll road project connecting Medellín, Colombia, and the country’s Pacific coast. Mr. Albarracín, and Global Project Finance associate Jaime Ramirez led the Milbank effort on the project, the first of Colombia’s Fourth Generation infrastructure program to receive international commercial bank financing.
Best Infrastructure Financing: Brazil – Corporate partner John Franchini led the Milbank team advising Massachusetts-based Seaborn Networks on building the first direct fiber optic submarine cable connection between New York and São Paulo. Also the first project finance deal for a subsea cable project backed by an export credit agency, the $500 million project, named Seabras-1, is scheduled to be in service in mid-2017.
Best Infrastructure Finance: Central America – In the first international bond offering by The Panama Canal Authority, Milbank represented the initial purchaser BofA Merrill Lynch in the $450 million bond offering to finance completion of a third bridge over the 48-mile canal. Mr. Mottesi, head of Milbank’s Global Capital Markets Group, led the team representing BofA.
Best Power Financing – In the first foray by Colombian state-owned utility major ISA into the international project finance marketplace, and its first electricity contract in Chile, Mr. Bartfeld with associate Danielle Hunt led Milbank’s representation of international lenders in connection with $770 million in financing for 500 kV transmission lines linking power grids in northern, central, and southern Chile.
Best Infrastructure Financing: Andes, Best Road Financing – Showcasing Milbank’s combined expertise in project finance and capital markets in Latin American transportation and infrastructure sectors, Mr. Albarracín, Ms. Walther-Meade and associate Andres Arnaldos Montaner led the firm’s representation of Colombian construction concessionaire Pacífico Tres and its sponsors in connection with a project bond and financing package used to fund an extensive toll road improvement plan. The first debt financing of its kind for a Colombia toll-road concession, the project will connect important commercial centers in the country with a key Pacific port.
Best Port Financing – Under the direction of Mr. Bartfeld, Milbank lawyers advised Philippines-based global port management company ICTSI in securing $260 million financing from international lenders for the improvement and expansion of Mexico’s largest port, Manzanillo. Once enlarged, Manzanillo, located on Mexico’s west coast, will be able to handle the larger post-Panamax vessels and other modern equipment essential to growing trade between Latin America and Asia.
Worldwide over the past three years, Milbank has closed more than 140 project financings, which raised more than $125 billion for infrastructure projects.
About Milbank
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a leading international law firm that provides innovative legal services to clients around the world. Founded in New York 150 years ago, Milbank has offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, São Paulo, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, DC.
Milbank’s lawyers collaborate across practices and offices to help the world’s leading commercial, financial and industrial enterprises, as well as institutions, individuals and governments, achieve their strategic objectives.
