DLA Piper has advised Banco Santander (as sole arranger & underwriter, original lender and hedge provider) on the structured financing – for a total investment of c. EUR130 million – for the development, installation and operation of three solar PV plants, owned by Abei Energy & Infrastructure, called Gazules (28 MWn in the province of Cádiz), and Mudarra 1 and 2 (for a total of 95.4 MWn in the province of Valladolid). Additionally, the team has advised Abei on the negotiation of the PPAs with leading international offtakers.

The DLA Piper team was led by Corporate/M&A partner Pablo Echenique and Finance Counsel José Marco. Finance associates Felipe López and Víctor Sanjuan; Corporate/Energy associates Marta Clemente and Marcos Gil also advised on the transaction, with Regulatory and Real Estate, led by partner Pepe Barrios and associate Carlos Daza and Real Estate, by Fátima Rico-Villademoros, respectively.

The Santander Corporate & Investment Banking team was formed by Javier Trueba, Mariano Gascón and Pablo Montoya, with the support of Santiago Hernandez and Carlos Bartolomé, and the in-house legal advice of Eloísa Martínez, Andrea García and Jesús Blanco. The Abei team was led on the legal side by Manuel Jimenez Quiros and Saray López Lindo, and on the structuring side by Ivan Barahona, Mario Gramse, Elena Nuñez, Paula Nuñez and Álvaro Lopez.

This transaction is an important milestone for Abei Energy and, according to Pablo Echenique ‘demonstrates the capabilities of our multidisciplinary energy team to provide comprehensive advice on financing transactions, due diligence, project agreements and M&A on renewable assets’. José Marco adds ‘we are proud to have had Banco Santander’s confidence in this transaction and to continue expanding our project finance practice in the renewable energy segment’.