Argentine Power Company in $200 Million Project Financing

Cleary Gottlieb represented Central Térmica Loma de la Lata, S.A. (CTLL), a subsidiary of Pampa Energía, S.A., in connection with a project financing for the expansion of its thermal power electricity generation plant at Loma de la Lata, in the Argentine province of Neuquén. The project required in excess of $200 million of funding, with ABN AMRO and Standard Bank Plc providing $80 million of senior debt financing through onshore and offshore import financing facilities and letters of credit.

The project is one of the few recent externally financed deals in Argentina (and the only project financing) and was complicated by, among other things, the mandatory deposit regulations of the Argentine Central Bank known as the encaje. CTLL’s loans under the facilities (made at the time of project milestones) accrue interest at LIBOR plus a margin between 4.75% and 5.50%. Until completion of the project, the facilities are guaranteed by Pampa Energía, and are secured by CTLL’s stock and an assignment of its rights under certain electricity sales agreements at the plant.