IFLR AFRICA AWARDS 2020 – WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT
Senet Corporate Solicitors recognised for their project finance work at major awards
Leading firm win for project finance: energy, infrastructure, and natural resources deal of the year at inaugural IFLR Awards for Sub Saharan Africa
Project Finance: Energy, Infrastructure, And Natural Resources Deal of the Year – Genser Captive Power Project
James Wilson, commercial editor, IFLR, said of their success: “Senet Corporate Solicitors advised the senior lenders on a $366 million financing package for the Genser Captive Power Project. Reflecting Genser’s novel commercial approach, the financing took a bespoke form, mixing elements of traditional project financing with corporate lending. The key innovation of the deal was successfully completing such a novel financing.
Genser’s business model is to provide power to industrial and mining companies, among them Gold Fields Ghana, Kinross Gold Corporation and Perseus Mining, by offering an alternative power source to the state grid. The financing will fund the expansion of Genser’s existing plants and the construction of gas pipelines to connect Genser’s plants with Ghana National Gas Corporation’s facilities.
The transaction amended the existing facilities and brought in the new senior and mezzanine debt with new and existing security. Key to the success was managing the risk between the project agreements with the multiple offtakers, where each EPC and PPA contract was different, and overcoming the lack of government support that would usually back a national offtaker.
As local counsel to the senior lenders, Senet also had to balance the requirements of development finance institutions and commercial banks through a complex intercreditor agreement. The Genser financing represents a young and developing type of financing in the region.”