The sponsors of a port on Colombia’s Pacific coastline have called on five Linklaters offices and Brigard Urrutia in Bogotá to obtain funds, which will be used to expand the facility.
The lenders enlisted five offices of Clifford Chance LLP and Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (Colombia) for the deal, which closed on 5 April.
No value has been disclosed.
The port – known as Sociedad Puerto Industrial Aguadulce – is backed by Singaporean port operator PSA International and Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI).
Located in Buenaventura, a city within Colombia’s Pacific department of Valle del Cauca, Aguadulce will use the funds to expand its operations.
Aguadulce project is the only major port on Colombia’s Pacific coast with access to the country’s three largest cities: Bogotá, Cali and Medellín. It serves as a gateway to increased trade links between Colombia and China.
Clifford Chance partner and Latin America practice co-head Fabricio Longhin, described the port as “strategically important,” adding that the project financing “required the implementation of innovative features to account for a substantial port expansion for an operational asset.”
It is estimated that around 93% of Colombia’s international trade is facilitated through ports like Aguadulce. Financings in the sector are therefore frequent. Last year, Barranquilla-based port terminal Palermo Sociedad Portuaria raised US$34 million in a debt tap, shortly after Canadian infrastructure group Frontera secured a US$120 million facility to refinance debt relating to its port terminal in Cartagena. Clifford Chance advised on the latter transaction.
Counsel to Sociedad Puerto Industrial Aguadulce
Linklaters
Partners Andrew Compton and Michael Bassett, counsel Will Kim and associates April Kent, In Sun You, Chee Lee, Craig Spenner, Bernard Yi in New York; counsel Sterling Darling and associates Sean Solomon in Washington, DC; counsel Omer Harel in London; partner Juan Barona and associate Rocío Camacho in Madrid; and partner Dior Lin and associates James Lek, Peyton Seah and Fang Tian Chiou in Singapore
Brigard Urrutia
Counsel to Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Colombia, The Bank Of Nova Scotia, ING Capital, Banco Santander and Clifford Capital PTE
Clifford Chance LLP
Partners Fabricio Longhin, Stephen Nickelsburg, José García Cueto and Megan Gordon, special legal consultants Pedro Buchanan, Florencia Bohl and Hernan Chiriboga Novillo, counsel Catherine Ennis and Jacqueline Landells and associates Alejandro Leon and Andrew Cotton in Washington, DC; partners Darren Littlejohn, Paul Koppel and Avrohom Gelber, and associates Elizabeth Kennedy, Andrew Des Rault and Milica Pavlovic in New York; partner Jose Guardo and associate Enrique Pais in Madrid; partner Mathias Elspaß and associate Frederic Maximilian Mainka in Dusseldorf; partner Andrew Hutchins, counsel Jervis Chan and associate Josephine Tang in Singapore
Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (Colombia)
Partner Carlos Padilla and associates Daniela Mejía, Ana Gabriela Franco, Daniel Stand, Daniel Vargas and Tomás Velásquez in Bogotá
