Shearman & Sterling was the recipient of two significant awards—Project Finance Team of the Year and Project Finance Deal of the Year—at the recent IFLR Americas awards ceremony.
The Project Finance Team of the Year award recognizes the Project Development & Finance Group’s performance on energy and infrastructure projects throughout the Americas during 2008. The group advised on five of the top 10 project finance deals in the Americas by value, according to the Thomson Reuters 2008 4Q report, including the largest one, the $7.4 billion acquisition of Puget Energy by a consortium of equity investors. The group also skillfully navigated the credit market complexities of 2008, and during the most challenging final three months of the year, closed three projects with an aggregate value of over $6 billion, including the historic expansion of the Panama Canal.
The Project Finance Deal of the Year award recognizes the firm’s work on the Panama Canal Expansion Program. Shearman & Sterling advised the Panama Canal Authority on the $5.25 billion financing of the expansion, which involved a complex financing structure led by five multilaterals, including European Investment Bank, International Finance Corporation, Inter-American Development Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and Corporacion Andino de Fomento. The expansion ranked among the global top 10 project financings in 2008 on the Dealogic year-end league tables.
Commenting on what sets Shearman & Sterling apart from its competitors, Gaby Eleta, the Panama Canal Authority Financing Administration Manager, said, “Shearman & Sterling distinguishes itself as a market leader in infrastructure financing,” noting the group’s “strong global reputation” and "experience and successful structuring of finance transactions throughout the region.”
The Panama Canal Expansion Program team was led by partners Cynthia Urda Kassis (New York-Project Development & Finance) and Manuel Orillac (Paris-Capital Markets), with associate Erika Mouynes (New York-Project Development & Finance).
In addition to Urda Kassis, New York-based Project Development & Finance partners include Denise Grant, Patricia Hammes, Jeanne Olivier, Howard Steinberg and Gregory Tan.