backSINGAPORE, Jan. 19, 2017 – King & Spalding represented Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (“Mitsui”), one of Japan’s biggest trading companies, in connection with its acquisition of an additional stake in PT Paiton Energy, Asia’s first-ever independent power project and one of the region’s best known power assets, with 2,045MW of installed capacity.
The cross-border transaction, which closed on Dec. 22, was part of a $1.5 billion sale by Engie, the world’s largest power company, of its 40.5% stake in Paiton. The deal involved disposals of companies and loans in Indonesia, Singapore and the Netherlands at various levels in the Engie ownership chain to Nebras Power Q.S.C. of Qatar and to Mitsui.
King & Spalding’s involvement in the transaction started in late 2015, advising Paiton’s non-selling shareholders on their rights under existing shareholder arrangements in relation to Engie’s proposed competitive auction sale of a portfolio of projects in Indonesia and India. The firm helped the non-selling shareholders to secure a right to match, which Mitsui exercised to become Paiton’s largest shareholder and the majority owner of the project’s operator. King & Spalding lawyers also led a renegotiation of the project’s governance arrangements and advised Mitsui on a debt consent solicitation under Paiton’s existing US$1.1 billion project finance debt facilities.
The King & Spalding team was led by Simon Cowled in Singapore with a core team of Chris Spalding in Tokyo and Ji Nin Loh in Singapore. Other transactional lawyers involved include: in Tokyo, partners John McClenahan and Mark Davies; in Singapore, senior associate Kevin Futch and associates Christophe Vauthier and William Panlilio. Lawyers involved in advising on the existing shareholder arrangements include: in Singapore, partner Simon Dunbar, senior associate Donny Low and associate Jia Lin Hoe; and in London, Flora Jones.
Recognized as a premier law firm in the energy sector, King & Spalding’s Global Energy Practice provides full-service support to leading companies and financial institutions in the industry. The firm’s award-winning and internationally ranked team of more than 250 energy lawyers operates from major world energy centers including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Houston, London, Moscow, New York, Paris, Riyadh (affiliated office), San Francisco, Singapore and Tokyo, as well as other offices worldwide. Chambers Global 2016 ranks King & Spalding among the top firms for energy and projects globally and the firm was selected as 2016 Energy Practice Group of the Year by Law360 and Energy Advisory Firm of the Year: Legal by Petroleum Economist.
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