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Cynthia
Urda Kassis
Partner
Education
The American University, Washington College of Law, 1984
University of Notre Dame, M.A., 1981
University of Virginia, B.A., 1980
Practice
Cynthia Urda Kassis is a senior partner in Shearman & Sterling’s Project Development & Finance Practice. She represents US and non-US corporations/financial institutions as sponsors, borrowers and lenders in project development and finance matters, general finance transactions and joint venture transactions worldwide. She has extensive experience in the energy, infrastructure, mining and general manufacturing industries, as well as in power and infrastructure restructurings. She is ranked a leading lawyer in project finance by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Chambers Latin America, IFLR 1000, Legal 500, PLC Which Lawyer?, The International Who’s Who of Project Finance Lawyers and The International Who’s Who of Mining Lawyers. She was also named “Dealmaker of the Year” (2008) by The American Lawyer.
Experience
Metals & Mining
- Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporation, a joint venture between Barrick Gold Corporation and Goldcorp Inc., in the $1.035 billion project financing for the development of its gold/copper resource in the Dominican Republic (selected as “Americas Mining Deal of the Year” (2010) by Project Finance International and “Best Project Finance” (2010) by Latin Lawyer)
- Essar Global Limited as sponsor and its subsidiary, Essar Steel Minnesota LLC, as project company in the financing of their $1.1 billion fully-integrated iron ore extraction to pellet processing facility in Minnesota, which includes an open pit mine and a 4.1 mtpa pellet manufacturing plant
- Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. in its joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. and Sumitomo Corporation regarding the financing aspects of the development of the Sierra Gorda copper/molybdenum project in Chile
- White Oak Resources LLC and certain affiliates thereof in connection with an investment by Alliance Resources Partners, L.P. to support the development of a longwall coal mining operation in Illinois
- Formation Metals Inc. in connection with the project financing for the Idaho Cobalt project
- Timmins Gold Corp. in connection with the financing for the reactivation of its San Francisco Gold Mine in Mexico
- A joint venture between Mitsubishi and Komatsu in the proposed transport system project financing for the Minera Los Pelambres Mine in Chile
- Placer Dome in the development of, and project financing for and sale of, the Las Cristinas Gold/Copper Project in Venezuela, the acquisition of a 50% interest in the Zaldivar Copper Mine in Chile, the development and proposed financing of the Cerro Casale Project in Chile and various other matters
- Cominco, Ltd. in the project and working capital financings for its Quebrada Blanca Copper Mine in Chile and the Cajamarquilla zinc refinery in Peru
- Citibank in the bridge financing of an iron pellet project for KOBRASCO in Brazil
- Blue Pearl Mining Ltd. as borrower under a first and second lien long-term financing in connection with Blue Pearl's acquisition of Thompson Creek Metals Company, and with respect to the acquisition agreement between Blue Pearl and Thompson Creek and its public equity offering
- Western Mesquite Mines, Inc., borrower and Western Goldfields, Inc., sponsor in the project financing for the Mesquite Gold Mine in California
Energy
- Abengoa México, Abener Energía, and GE Capital Corporation as sponsors, in connection with a 300 MW gas-fired cogeneration plant at the new refinery of Mexican state-owned petroleum company Pemex in Tabasco, Mexico (selected as “Latin America Power Deal of the Year” (2010) by Project Finance)
- Designated lenders counsel for Cardinal Gas Storage Partners’ Perryville Gas Storage Project in Louisiana, United States
- The mandated lead arrangers in connection with the $1.1 billion historic project financing for GNL Quintero S.A., a joint venture among ENAP, Endesa, Metrogas and BG, which is building, and will own and operate, a receiving, storage and regasification terminal for liquefied natural gas in Chile (selected as “Oil & Gas Deal of the Year” (2008) by Project Finance International and “Latin America Oil & Gas Deal of the Year” (2008) by Project Finance)
- Ecopetrol S.A. and Petro Rubiales Energy Corp, as sponsors, in connection with the ongoing development and financing of the Rubiales to Cusiana & Monterrey Oil Pipeline Project in Colombia
- The AES Corporation in the reprofiling and restructuring of debt of over $2.7 billion of its power distribution assets in Brazil: Eletropaulo and Sul
- The lead arrangers, in the $763 million project financing for the Canaport LNG regasification terminal being developed by Repsol and Irving Oil in New Brunswick, Canada (selected as “North American Midstream Oil and Gas Deal of the Year” (2006) by Project Finance)
- Credit Suisse First Boston and Citigroup as agents for over $3 billion of unsecured debt in connection with the Chapter 11 cases of Mirant Corporation and its affiliates
- Odebrecht Corporation in the project financing of its participation in the Pemex Platforms Project, an oil rig housing construction project in Mexico
- Central Puerto S.A., then a subsidiary of Total, S.A. and the Argentine power company that provides approximately half of Buenos Aires’ power supply, in connection with the restructuring of all of its financial debt
- The note purchasers in connection with two private placements of senior notes, in 2005 and 2007, by Port Washington Generating Station, LLC (PWGS), a non-regulated affiliate of Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WEPCO) and the owner of two newly constructed, natural gas-fired combined cycle generating units valued at approximately $310 million each and leased to WEPCO
- The agent in the restructuring of over $2.4 billion of debt of Allegheny Energy and Allegheny Energy Supply
- The agent in the proposed restructuring of the $2 billion construction revolver for NRG Finance and also in connection with the Chapter 11 financing for NRG Finance and NRG Energy
Infrastructure
- Panama Canal Authority with respect to the financing aspects of its $5.2 billion expansion program that will create a third lane for transiting vessels, substantially increasing Canal capacity and allowing for the passage of larger ships (selected as “Project Finance Deal of the Year” (2009) by Latin Finance and “Project Finance Deal of the Year” (2008) by IFLR Americas)
- Designated lenders’ counsel for a bidding consortium in connection with the FARAC III toll road project in Mexico
- Macquarie Specialized Asset Management Ltd. on the project financed acquisition of a tunnel connecting Detroit, Michigan with Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Macquarie SC Holdings Inc. in the acquisition (including the financing thereof) of Smarte Carte Corp., the leading concessionaire of baggage cart, locker, stroller and other passenger and guest services at nearly 1,000 airports, train stations, bus terminals, shopping centers and entertainment facilities around the world
- The joint lead arrangers in the structured financing for the development and construction of a new passenger terminal and related facilities at the Mexico City International Airport (selected as “Best Project Finance Deal of the Year” (2005) by Latin Finance and “Latin America Deal of the Year PPP” (2005) by Project Finance)
- A bidder in connection with the SHS 121 toll road auction in Texas
- The mandated lead arrangers, of a $1.4 billion equivalent multi-currency, limited-recourse acquisition and working capital financing of the container terminal assets of a joint venture between Macquarie managed funds and Hanjin Shipping on the West coast of the United States and in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea
Selected Professional & Business Activities
- Member, American Bar Association
- Trustee-at-Large, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation
Bar Admissions/Qualifications
New York
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