Milbank LLP advised leading Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (“Mitsui”) in its agreement to sell to a consortium of equity investors its interests in the Astoria Energy I Facility (“Astoria Energy I”), which is one of the most efficient natural gas plants in New York City, delivering 615 megawatts of power on a merchant basis. The buyer consortium includes APG, MEAG (Munich Re’s asset manager acting for investors from within Munich Re Group), and Clal Insurance Company, alongside other US institutional investors. Milbank also represented Mitsui in its initial investment in the plant in 2013, as well as its follow-on investment in 2014.
Mitsui’s agreement to sell its interests in Astoria Energy I to the buyer consortium was entered into in connection with the consortium’s broader agreement to acquire 100% of the interests in Astoria Energy I and 55% of the interests in Astoria Energy II. The Astoria Energy facilities are co-located in Queens, New York, and aggregate 1.2 gigawatts of combined-cycle generation. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first half of 2020.
The Milbank team was led by Global Corporate partner and practice group leader John Franchini, with associates Daniel Valenza and Zachary Shepperd, and tax advice was provided by partner Max Goodman.
Mr. Franchini said: “We are pleased to have once again worked with leading Japanese trading company Mitsui in this important sale transaction, which completes its investment in a vital source of power generation in the New York market.”
