Allens advises Sydney Desalination Plant to achieve refinancing and greater funding diversification

Allens project financing team, led by Partner and Head of Project Finance Michael Ryan and Managing Associate Lisa Zhou, has advised Sydney Desalination Plant Pty Ltd (SDP) and its related entities on the refinancing of its syndicated bank debt facilities.

Located in Kurnell, the desalination plant is one of the largest in the world and is fully powered by renewable energy. It has a nameplate capacity of 250 million litres a day.

Completion of the refinancing was achieved in parallel with the conversion of the existing finance documentation structure from a syndicated facility agreement to a common terms deed platform.

The new documentation platform allowed SDP to achieve its key objective of diversifying the sources and maturity profile of its debt, which was sourced from traditional short-term bank debt to medium-term bank debt and Samurai debt financing.

The transaction reflects the continuing trend of stretching debt tenors for operating projects in the Australian market, with the Samurai debt financing achieving a tenor of 11 years.

'We are extremely proud to have worked alongside SDP and the sponsors on this successful refinancing of SDP's bank debt,' said lead Partner Michael Ryan.

'The deal is reflective of the continuing trend in the project finance market for borrowers and sponsors to move to greater flexibility in their finance documentation platforms and diversification of funding sources.

'We look forward to continuing to support SDP and the sponsors on this vital asset for Sydney's metropolitan water requirements.'

Allens has previously advised the successful consortium of sponsors on its bid to acquire the plant for $2.3 billion in June 2012, and assisted SDP to refinance its bank debt facilities in 2013 and 2015.

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