Winston Advises on Four Winning Deals for Proximo America’s 2023 “Deals of the Year” 

Winston & Strawn proudly advised on four winning deals for Proximo America’s 2023 “Deals of the Year” announced at its Industry Awards Ceremony in Nashville, TN on May 21, 2024. The Proximo America “Deals of the Year” Awards leverage deep editorial expertise and market knowledge to celebrate the most notable and innovative deals across the region in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Winston’s Energy & Infrastructure Industry Group advised on the following award-winning deals:

North America Transport Deal of the Year – Refinancing of SH 130 (Segments 5-6) (Texas)

Winston represented the lenders, ING Capital LLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and Royal Bank of Canada, in connection with a US$350M credit facility and the note purchasers of US$475M of senior secured notes, the proceeds of which will all be used by SH 130 Concession Company, LLC to refinance certain existing indebtedness. SH 130 Concession Company, LLC is responsible for operating and maintaining segments 5 and 6 of SH 130, the approximately 41-mile southern section of SH 130 running from Seguin to Austin, under a long-term concession agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation.

North America PPP Deal of the Year – Puerto Rico Toll Roads Monetization Project (Puerto Rico)

Winston represented a group of 11 international and local banks providing a US$1.7B credit facility to Puerto Rico Toll Roads LLC, a subsidiary of Abertis Infraestructuras S.A., in order to finance a portion of the US$2.85B upfront payment for a 40-year concession to improve, operate, and maintain 4 toll roads (PR-20, PR-52, PR-53 and PR-66) in Puerto Rico.

North America Communications Deal of the Year – Universal Subway Wireless Connectivity Plan (New York)

Winston represented Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, New York Branch, MUFG Bank, Ltd., National Bank of Canada, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in connection with a credit facility to Boldyn Networks Transit SPV US LLC (formerly Transit Wireless), a BAI Communications company and leading 5G wireless infrastructure provider, for the expansion of its ubiquitous fiber network serving the New York City Subway. Boldyn Networks provides cellular and Wi-Fi service at all 281 underground subway stations. The expansion project will double the size of Boldyn Networks’ 5G fiber network to cover 418 track miles and up to 20 separate river crossings, along with an expansion of Wi-Fi service to all 191 above-ground subway and 21 Staten Island Railway stations. The expanded network will be designed to support over 10 million users per day and allow mobile network operators to offer their customers enhanced data and voice service underground and throughout the entire NYC subway.

North America Solar Deal of the Year – Vikings Energy (California)

Winston represented MUFG Bank, Ltd. as lender counsel in connection with a US$300M debt financing to Arevon Energy, Inc. for the Vikings solar-plus-storage project in Imperial County, California, a 157 MWDC PV solar energy generating system coupled with a 150 MW/600 Mwh battery energy storage system. The project will help address the increasing demands of energy supplier San Diego Community Power, a Community Choice Aggregator, and brings California closer to its goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045. Notably, this project will be one of the first solar peaker plants in the United States. Operation is expected to commence in Q3 2024, using First Solar thin-film solar modules and Tesla Megapack for BESS.