Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP has advised Korea Eximbank (“K-Exim”) and the commercial banks (comprising First Gulf Bank, HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered Bank) on the financing of Barakah nuclear energy project, composed of four nuclear energy units producing a combined output of approximately 5,600 MW.
The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (“ENEC”), which is wholly-owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi, is the majority shareholder of the Barakah One Company, the entity mandated to manage the commercial interests of the project, with 82%, and Korea Electric Power Corporation (“KEPCO”) has the remaining 18%.
The financing amount is approximately US$24.4 billion, composed of direct loans of approximately US$19.6 billion, as well as a total of US$4.7 billion in loan commitments supporting equity funding.
The Milbank deal team was led by partners Phillip Fletcher, Young Joon Kim and John Dewar, and was coordinated by senior associate Oliver Irwin with assistance from associates Vicky Cox, Kilian de Cintre, Emily Whittaker and Ben Pridgeon. Partners Michael Nolan and Tom Canning and associate Elitza Popova-Talty provided advice on international law issues.
The closing took place in Abu Dhabi and was attended by senior officials from the Governments of both Abu Dhabi and the Republic of Korea, as well as executives from ENEC, KEPCO and K-Exim.
Phill Fletcher said “our appointment to advise K-Exim on this one-of-a-kind project demonstrates the trust that K-Exim has placed in Milbank. The Barakah financing adds to Milbank’s well-established prominence in both the nuclear sector and the Middle East region. We advised on one of the first power projects in Abu Dhabi nearly 15 years ago, and it is an honour to continue that experience by advising on what is a unique power deal for the region.”
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