Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York and Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (Colombia) have helped a concessionaire obtain 1.6 trillion pesos (US$590 million) in financing for a 4G toll road project.
Bancolombia, BBVA, Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), BlackRock and UPI were lenders and enlisted Colombia’s Brigard & Urrutia to advise on local law.
The lenders each sought counsel from different firms on New York law; FDN enlisted Holland & Knight LLP in New York, Miami and Bogotá and the Inter-American Development Bank hired DLA Piper LLP in New York and Bogotá. BlackRock also hired Garrigues (Colombia) and is believed to have also sought counsel from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP but Latin Lawyer could not confirm this prior to publication.
The financing closed on 27 October.
The Ruta del Cacao concessionaire is made up of infrastructure company Cintra, which holds a 40% stake, while Scotiabank Colpatria and UK investment fund Ashmore both hold a 30% stake each.
The three companies signed a 25-year concession contract for the Bucaramanga-Barrancabermeja-Yondó road, located in northern Colombia, in October 2015. The route is used by farmers in the region, which is primarily known for growing cacao, as well as other agricultural products.
Villagers from areas located along the road staged a blockade in June, claiming Colombia’s infrastructure agency ignored their request to discuss environmental issues and the creation of new jobs in relation to the project.
Counsel to Concesionaria Ruta del Cacao
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Partner Alejandro González and associate Nicolás Pérez in New York
Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (Colombia)
Partners Hernando Padilla and Jorge Di Terlizzi and associates Carlos Padilla, Paula Buriticá, María Victoria Pérez, Pedro Arango, Ximena González and Laura Streubel in Bogotá
Counsel to Bancolombia, BBVA, Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional, BlackRock and UPI
Brigard & Urrutia
Partner Manuel Quinche and associates Juan Carlos Puentes, Ana Rodríguez, María José Assis, Mario Forero, Nicolás Alonso and Maya Alejandra Bhatia in Bogotá
Counsel to Financiera de Desarrollo
Holland & Knight LLP
Partner Norberto Quintana, senior counsel Lara Rios in New York and associate Jose Avila in Miami
Holland & Knight (Colombia)
Partner Enrique Gómez Pinzón and associate Juliana Saa in Bogotá
Counsel to BlackRock
Associates Francisco Noguera, Alejandro García, Gabriella Marques and Nicolás Angulo in Bogotá
Counsel to the Inter-American Development Bank
DLA Piper LLP
Partner Gregory Smith and associates Amala Nath and Ana María Sánchez in New York
DLA Piper Martínez Beltrán
Partners Camilo Martinez and Felipe Quintero in Bogotá
