Clifford Chance advises Inter-American Investment Corporation as commitment provider and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC as sole global coordinator, bookrunner, initial purchaser, and commitment provider, in connection with the securitization of Chilean electricity tariff receivables into approximately U.S. $489 million principal amount of senior zero coupon notes due 2028.
This transaction is Latin America's first ever tariff stabilization securitization and took advantage of a temporary Chilean electricity tariff stabilization law (Chilean Law No. 21,185), which was enacted in response to the social unrest that began in Chile in October 2019 in the country.
Partner Fabricio Longhin led the transactions, with support from lead associates Alberto Haito (IDB Invest) and Mariana Estévez (Goldman Sachs).
Longhin offers, "Bringing such a complex transaction to a successful close drew on our extremely dedicated team across multiple practices and offices and showcased the breadth of our expertise. As the first tariff stabilization securitization in Latin America, we expect this will shape the way complex financial products are deployed to address social and developmental goals.”
The wider transaction team was assembled from New York, Washington, DC, São Paulo and Amsterdam, and included special legal consultant Pablo Fekete (IDB Invest) and associates Laura Loaiza, Nicolás Ocampo, Jaime Turcios, and Giancarlo Reanda all supporting Goldman Sachs.
Partners Gareth Old, Avrohom Gelber, Paul Koppel and Michiel Sunderman also advised on the transaction, assisted by associates Hannah Richard, Thomas Koh, Nolan Groenland, advocaat-stagiaire Rocco IJsselmuiden, and kandidaat notaris Arwin Lok.
Clifford Chance advises on many of the landmark transactions in the Latin American market. Most recently, the firm announced it has closed more than US$2 billion of debt transactions in Brazil, and also advised IDB Invest in connection with the R$950 million financing to Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo, the largest water and sanitation company in Latin America. The firm also advised Solaria Energía y Medio Ambiente S.A in connection with the approximately US$29 million B-Bond refinancing of the Natelu and Yarnel solar plants in Uruguay.