White & Case Advises Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. on Restructuring

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised global pure-play renewable energy company Mainstream Renewable Power (“Mainstream”) on a cross-border restructuring transaction that (i) restructures approximately US$1.5 billion in liabilities while permitting the equity sponsor to maintain its majority ownership in its borrower and project subsidiaries; (ii) resolves restructuring / insolvency proceedings and related litigation in the US, Chile, Ireland and Spain; and (iii) enables wind and solar projects vital to the Chilean power grid to proceed to completion and full operation.

The transaction restructured project level debt across numerous wind and solar power projects located in Chile and mezzanine finance debt owed by upstream entities organized in Ireland and Spain. The sponsor funded the restructuring with a US$145 million new money investment while Mainstream secured a corporate financing facility from DNB Bank of up to US$220 million (s.t. conditions), backed by shareholders. The project finance lenders agreed to restructure and extend the project level facilities and the mezzanine lenders agreed to restructure and extend the mezzanine debt and also received a minority equity interest in the Andes Renovables platform.  Mainstream retains overall majority and controlling equity ownership.

The transaction culminated with the parties’ execution of a global release agreement of all claims related to the pre-closing debt and pending insolvency and related litigation proceedings.

“Our multi-disciplinary team quickly got up to speed, and ultimately landed a complicated multi-jurisdictional, cross-border restructuring transaction, while simultaneously navigating and resolving multiple competing insolvency proceedings and local litigations,” said Financial Restructuring and Insolvency partner Scott Greissman.

The White & Case team included Financial Restructuring and Insolvency partners Scott Greissman (New York), Bojan Guzina (Chicago) and Richard Kebrdle (Miami); Project Development and Finance partner Elena Millerman (New York); and M&A partners Mingda Zhao and Emilio Grandio (both in Houston). The team also included Financial Restructuring and Insolvency associates Andrea Amulic, Miles Taylor, Cody Lehrer and Ryan Beil (all in New York); Project Development and Finance associate Jesse Fleck, Jared Metzker, MinJoo Lee (all in New York) and Ramya Hari (Mexico City); M&A associates Nate Bascom and Trace Hancock (both in Houston); Capital Markets associates Jeffrey Kim (New York) and Annie Serafim (Boston). Law clerks Helena Buitrago, Ijeoma Oti and Clarissa Lotson, and Latin America Fellows Paula Trindade and Pablo Fernandez also assisted on the matter.

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