Boralex And Gaz Metro/ Valener Complete Financing For Wind Farms

Boralex Inc. (“Boralex”), Gaz Métro Limited Partnership (“Gaz Métro”) and Valener Inc. (“Valener”) completed a $725 million non-recourse project financing for their 272 MW Seigneurie de Beaupré Wind Farms, located 60 km northeast of Québec City on the private lands owned by the Séminaire de Québec. The wind farms, which will comprise 126 Enercon wind turbines, are scheduled to be commissioned by December 2013 and have 20-year power purchase agreements with Hydro-Québec.

The financing totals $725 million, consisting of: a two-year construction loan of $590 million, that will convert into an 18-year amortizing loan after the start of commercial operations scheduled for December 2013, and; short-term facilities, including a bridge loan and a letter of credit facility, totalling $135 million, to finance certain costs reimbursable by Hydro-Québec to be incurred during construction and to provide various letters of credit.
A portion of $260 million of the financing is covered by a guarantee offered to the lenders by the Federal Republic of Germany through its Export Credit Agency Euler-Hermes.

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., New York Branch acted as Administrative Agent, as well as Documentation Bank together with Deutsche Bank AG, Canada Branch and KFW Ipex-Bank GMBH for a syndicate of lenders also including: Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Canada), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation of Canada, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, New York Branch, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd., Siemens Financial Ltd. and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Boralex was represented by its Legal Counsel, Development, Pascal Hurtubise. Gaz Métro and Valener were represented by their legal counsel Nathalie Longval, Félix Turgeon and Marie-Élizabeth Chlumecky. Boralex, Gaz Métro and Valener were also represented by a team from McCarthy Tétrault LLP under the supervision of Marc Dorion (energy) and led by Richard O'Doherty (energy & financial services) and consisting of Mathieu Dubord (energy & financial services); Ana Badour, Candace Pallone, David Tournier (financial services); Danielle Drolet, Annie Gagnon-Larocque, Marie-Pier Gosselin (real estate); Anastassia Chtaneva, Mathieu Laflamme, Mathieu Leblanc, Matthieu Rheault, Michael Weizman (energy & corporate) and Dominique Amyot-Bilodeau, Isabelle Blouin, Mira Gauvin (environment) and Kasandra Cote, Ryan Rabinovich, Christian Meighen (tax).

The agent and the lenders under the financing were represented by a team from Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP led by Sébastien Vilder (financial services) with the assistance of Marc-Antoine Larochelle, Aude Godfroy and Aryana Rousseau (financial services); Aaron Palmer (derivatives); Manon Wolfe (real estate); Philippe Decary, Joanna Myszka, Benoit Mallette and Claudia Leancu (corporate) and Katia Opalka (environment) together with the assistance of Dietrich Stiller, Manfred Ziwey, Lena Hefele and Tanja Gropp of the Frankfurt and Düsseldorf offices of Clifford Chance LLP.

Enercon was represented by its in-house counsel Gaël Gravenor and Amber Sinclair. Enercon was also represented by a team from Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP consisting of Peter Ascherl (energy & corporate); Jon Holmstrom (energy, banking & finance) and Louise Kennedy (banking & finance). Borea Construction ULC was represented by Harold Rousselle. The Séminaire de Québec was represented by Jean-François Pleau, from Beauvais, Truchon s.e.n.c.