Calyon took on the roles of arranger, security trustee, agent and account bank on a $2 billion, seven-year secured financing for Sonangol, Angola's oil and gas company. The deal marked Sonangol's first non-Export Credit Agency-supported facility to extend beyond five years. Philip Badge led the Linklaters team advising Calyon, with Global Law Office providing the PRC law advice. Calyon was also advised by Fernando Oliveira and Manuela Cueha as to Angolan law. Li & Partners acted as Hong Kong counsel to Sonangol.
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| Gazprom undertakes largest Russian financing to date |
Linklaters advised ABN Amro, Barclays Capital, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley on the $7.5 billion syndicated loan facility for Rosneftegaz, the state-owned company established as holding company for oil company Rosneft. The facility will finance the acquisition of a 10% stake in gas producer Gazprom. Linklaters also advised Gazprom on its $13 billion facility, arranged by ABN Amro, Citigroup, CSFB, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Allen & Overy advised the arranging banks. The facility will be used to fund Gazprom's acquisition of a stake in Sibneft, the Russian oil company. The deal is the largest financing in Russia to date. The Linklaters team advising on the Rosneftegaz loan was led by partners John Tucker in London and Dmitry Dobatkin in Moscow, with associates David Irvine, Dmitry Suschev and Shelley Mottershead. Partner Michael Bott in Moscow advised Gazprom on its loan.
Slaughter and May advised Songbird Estates on the refinancing of senior and mezzanine credit facilities put in place at the time of the acquisition of the Songbird stake in the Canary Wharf Group. Hypo Real Estate Bank and Morgan Stanley provided the new facilities, consisting of a £692 million term facility and a £45 million revolving interest and working capital facility, both of which are fully pre-payable. Slaughter and May partner Philip Snell and associate Andrew Macdonald advised on the transaction. Allen & Overy, led by Paul Flanagan, advised the lenders.
The new facilities have a two-year term and allow for dividends to be paid to shareholders prior to the discharge of the facilities.