Watson Farley & Williams Paris (“WFW”) has advised Societe Generale and Unifergie on a senior unitranche loan granted for the refinancing of a portfolio of 12 photovoltaic power plants in south-eastern France owned by Monaco Energies Renouvelables (“M.E.R”).
Operational for over six years, the portfolio has a total capacity of circa 100 MW. The loan was provided to Third Step France 2, the holding company for the SPV that own the plants.
Societe Generale has been supporting the development of renewable energy for over 20 years and was the leading financier of renewable energy projects across the EMEA region as of end of June 2021 (Dealogic). The group is ahead of schedule on its pledge to invest €300bn+ to the energy transition between 2022 and 2025 via dedicated sustainable financing solutions.
Unifergie is a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Leasing & Factoring and has been financing energy management and environmental protection projects that contribute to sustainable development for over 20 years.
Owned by the Government of Monaco and the Société Monégasque de l’Electricité et du Gaz, M.E.R is an investment company specialising in the financing of renewable energy production infrastructure in France and Europe. It already owns several ground-mounted photovoltaic power stations and wind farms in France and aims to help Monaco’s aim of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
The WFW Paris Finance team that advised Societe Generale and Unifergie was led by Partner Philippe Wolanski, supported by Associates Jihanne Flegeau-Kihal and Valentine Andaloro. Partner Laurent Battoue, assisted by Counsel Antoine Bois-Minot, Associates Anthony Pilon and Catherine Masquelet oversaw the public law, regulatory, real estate and project contracts aspects of the transaction. Partner Thomas Rabain and Associate Mohamed Douib advised on corporate matters, with Partner Romain Girtanner, Counsel Hélène Ibos and Associate Marie Dubois providing tax law expertise.
Monaco Energies Renouvelables was advised by Astris Finance (financial), Pinsent Masons (legal) and PwC Société d’Avocats (tax).
