Augusto Ruiloba

Overview

Augusto Ruiloba is a partner in the Project Development & Finance practice.

Augusto, a native Spanish speaker, has over 15 years of experience working in the region and is a versatile practitioner advising on project development and non-recourse financing, as well acquisition financing, of energy, mining and infrastructure projects in Peru, Mexico, Chile and other countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States. He regularly advises lenders, borrowers and sponsors across a broad spectrum of financing vehicles including public-private partnerships, revolving, term loan, secured and unsecured credit facilities and securitizations. Some of Augusto’s more recent clients include AES Corporation, Transelec, Ecopetrol, ENGIE, ENAP, Société Générale, Duetsche Bank and multilateral and export credit agencies.

Augusto is who clients rely on to advise them through each step of the project and infrastructure financing lifecycle.

Experience

Energy & Renewables

Mandated lead arrangers and lenders on the financing the Huemul Portfolio, consisting of five renewables projects, including the construction and operation of two solar power plants and three wind farms, with a total installed capacity of 630 MW in Chile (“Renewable Energy Financing of the Year” (2021) by Latin Finance; “Renewables Deal of the Year” (2020) by Proximo)
Mandated lead arrangers and lenders on the portfolio financing of three wind and one solar PV projects (the “Cóndor Portfolio”) with a total installed capacity of 550 MW in Chile. The Cóndor Portfolio is owned by Mainstream Renewable Power Limited and will serve three of the seven 20-year distribution company power purchase agreements awarded to Mainstream by the Chilean government in August 2016 (“Americas Renewables Deal of the Year” (2019) by PFI; “Renewables Deal of the Year” (2019) by Proximo)
Mandated lead arrangers and lenders on the portfolio financing of a wind project (the “Copihue Portfolio”) with a total installed capacity of 148.5 MW. The Copihue Portfolio is the third and final portfolio of the Andes Renovables Portfolio being developed by sponsor, Mainstream Renewable Power Limited following the successful closing of the Huemul and Cóndor Portfolios
Borrowers and sponsors on the approximate $235 million financing for the development, construction and operation of two solar photovoltaic projects in Mexico – Solem I, a 150 MWac solar photovoltaic project developed by Cubico Alten Aguascalientes Uno, and Solem II, a 140MWac solar photovoltaic project being developed by Cubico Alten Aguascalientes Dos, both of which are wholly owned subsidiaries of Cubico Sustainable Investments Limited and Alten RE Developments America, an affiliate of Sojitz (“Latin America Solar Deal of the Year” by IJGlobal)
Bancomext, Natixis, and Société Générale as lenders on the financing of the construction by ENR AGS, a subsidiary of Neoen (a subsidiary of Impala SAS), of a 300 MWac solar photovoltaic project known as “El Llano” and related transmission lines to be located in the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico, and related transmission lines
Banco de Bogotá, BAC and Banco Lafise Bancentro as mandated lead arrangers with a $73 million refinancing for Blue Power Energy, an affiliate of Grupo Terra, that operates a 39.6 MW wind project in Rivas Isthmus, Nicaragua

Power

AES Corporation and its joint-venture partner, InterEnergy, as sponsors in connection with an approximately $180 million secured credit facility provided by an affiliate of Global Infrastructure Partners to finance the joint-venture equity contribution obligations to Generadora de Gatún, S.A., in connection with the development of an approximately 670-megawatt combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant and two different transmission lines, to be located in the Telfers region in Panama. (“Power Deal of the Year” (2021) by IJGlobal)
The four largest electric generation companies in Chile being AES Gener, Colbun, Enel, ENGIE on the securitization through Chile Electricity PEC SpA of certain credit rights generated by the 2019 Trariff Stabilization Law which put a temporary cap on electricity prices to Chilean households and small businesses. The securitization is expected to be funded by Senior Secured Zero Coupon 144/Reg S notes arranged by Goldman Sachs and Financing provided by IDB ("Project & Infrastructure Finance: Bond of the Year" (2021), LatinFinance; "Structured Finance and Securitisation Deal of the Year" (2022), IFLR Americas)
AES El Salvador entities as sellers on an up to $120 million Receivables Purchase Facility entered into with IDB Invest to provide liquidity to the sellers as a result of local legislation allowing for the postponement of public utility payments in El Salvador in response to the COVID 19 pandemic
Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, lenders and issuers of letters of credit, and Credit Suisse, as administrative agent and collateral agent on credit facilities consisting of a $350 million senior secured syndicated term loan, as well as a $65 million senior secured revolving loan and letter of credit facilities granted to Invenergy Thermal Operating. The proceeds were used to refinance the existing credit facilities of a portfolio of six thermal power generation facilities located in the United States and Canada
Credit Suisse as administrative agent, collateral agent, existing lender, increasing lender and revolving letter of credit issuer, on an amendment to the existing senior secured credit facility with Invenergy Thermal Operating and its subsidiaries, as borrowers, with respect to a portfolio of natural gas-fired power generation projects
Transelec Concesiones in connection with the approximately $358 million loan facility and associated interest rate hedging for the individualized portfolio construction financing of four independent transmission lines (each with a capacity of between 2x220 kV and 2x500 kV) and four associated independent substations in Chile, with Export Development Canada, KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH and MUFG Bank, Ltd. acting as mandated lead arrangers
Transmisora Eléctrica del Norte (TEN) in connection with the financing of the construction of a double circuit 600 km 500 kV transmission line connecting the two major electrical grids in Chile involving an innovative and complex dual-currency (USD and CLP) multi-tranche financing; a portion of the financing consisted of the issuance of notes to an institutional investor (“Latin America Power Deal of the Year” by PFI; “Latin American Transmission Deal of the Year” by IJGlobal)
Two joint venture companies formed by GE and YPF, in connection with the limited-recourse financing for the construction of two gas-fired power stations located in the provinces of Neuquén and Tucumán in Argentina. This was the first direct equity investment and project finance loan to close in Argentina in more than 20 years, suggesting Argentina’s relationship with creditors has turned a corner, after a lengthy US litigation over unpaid sovereign debt kept lenders away for years

Mining & Metals

A private-equity mining focused fund, as a subscriber in the offering of securities bundles consisting of shares of common stock and convertible unsecured senior notes of a private hard metal mining corporation and convertible unsecured senior PIK notes of a related privately-owned energy technology company
Société Générale and ING on the structured acquisition financing for the taking private transaction by Pala Investments of Cobalt 27. The financing included a term credit and note purchase facility secured by, among other things, a first lien on the cobalt stream agreement between Cobalt 27 and Vale with respect to Voisey’s Bay. It also involved a borrowing base facility that was secured by a first lien on the cobalt inventory owned by Cobalt 27 and stored in warehouses in Baltimore, Belgium and The Netherlands. The acquisition by Pala Investments of Cobalt 27 resulted in the spinout of Conic Metals Corp. (previously known as Nickel 28)
Mantos Copper (now known as Capstone Copper) in connection with the renegotiation with Osisko of the stream which partially financed the acquisition by the Orion Resources/Audley consortium from Anglo American of the Mantoverde and Mantos Blancos mines in anticipation of the advancement of the proposed Mantoverde Development Project and Mantos Blancos Concentrator De-Bottlenecking Project
Orion Mine Finance and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities on the financing of Lundin Gold’s $1B+ Fruta Del Norte Project in Ecuador, which consists of a prepaid gold loan, stream and equity investment from Orion/Blackstone, a project financing from KfW and a club of commercial banks (with a guaranty from Finnvera), a cost overrun facility and a strategic equity investment by Newcrest, Orion and the Lundin Family trusts. This transaction was the first large scale mine financing in Ecuador ("Project Finance Deal of the Year" (2020) by IFLR1000; "Latin American Mining Deal of the Year" (2019) by IJGlobal; "Mining Financing of the Year" (2019) by LatinFinance; "Best Mid-Cap Deal of the Year" (2018) by Mines and Money; "Latin American Mining & Metals Deal of the Year" (2017) by IJGlobal)

Infrastructure

A group of purchasers of private placement secured notes, with the refinancing of the construction of the Longitudinal de la Sierra Norte Tramo 2 toll road project in Peru, wherein the notes are secured by the securitized payment rights due from the Government of Peru to the concessionaire for the project, including negotiation of a purchase agreement for the underlying true sale transaction. The transaction is of particular note because it constitutes the first securitization of PAMPI (pago anual por mantenimiento periódico inicial) rights in Peru
Goldman Sachs, BBVA, and Credicorp Capital as underwriters and loan arrangers on an approximately $520 million senior secured bond and an approximately $200 million senior secured loan for Rutas de Lima for a $1 billion public-private partnership (PPP) toll road project in Lima, Peru
BNP Paribas as placement agent, initial purchaser and joint structuring agent, and Corporación Andina de Fomento, as joint structuring agent, on the Regulation S issuance by GyMF of S/. 629 million (approx. $210 million) of senior secured project bonds. GyMF operates and maintains the public transport service for the Lima-Callao Mass Transit System Line 1 Electric Train Line, with a length of 33.13 km, linking the north and south of Lima, Peru
Private placement noteholders and designated lenders’ counsel in connection with the financing of the $2.8 billion acquisition of Skyway Concession Company, which operates, manages and maintains the Chicago Skyway toll road under a 99-year lease pursuant to a public-private partnership (P3) with the City of Chicago, which owns the Skyway; the consortium, comprising Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, was the winning bidder in the sale by the prior holders of the Skyway lease in November 2015 ("North Americas M&A Deal of the Year" by IJGlobal; "Private Equity Deal of the Year" by IFLR1000)

Oil & Gas

Debt providers to one of the bidders in connection with the proposed acquisition of 80% of GNL Quintero regasification terminal in Valparaiso, Chile
Barclays Bank PLC as administrative agent in connection with a $500 million senior unsecured credit agreement entered into by and among PMI as borrower, Pemex as a guarantor and certain financial institutions thereunder as lenders. The credit facility, jointly with a $1.1 billion equity contribution from Pemex, will be utilized by PMI for the payment to Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) of the purchase price for the acquisition of 50% of the interest in Deer Park Refining, L.P. (Deer Park), the refinancing of Deer Park’s existing indebtedness and the purchase of certain oil & gas inventory from Shell
Carso Gasoducto as borrower, and affiliates with an 18-year nonrecourse $535 million project financing for the development of an approximately 630 km natural gas pipeline running from Samalayuca, Chihuahua, to Sásabe, Sonora, in Mexico
Citigroup, Credit Suisse, and Morgan Stanley as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, on the $260 million financing provided to Vista Oil & Gas for its acquisition of certain oil and gas assets from Pampa Energia and Pluspetrol Resources Corporation through the acquisition of Petrolera Entre Lomas S.A.
Energy Transfer Partners, MasTec and Carso Energy, as sponsors, the $1.2 billion project financing for the development and construction of the Waha-San Elizario and Waha-Presidio natural gas pipeline projects, to carry gas for Mexico’s National Electricity Commission (CFE) (“North American Midstream Deal of the Year” by IJGlobal)
Lenders on multiple aspects of the proposed $7.33 billion Gasoducto Sur Perúano project, a more than 1,000 km gas pipeline in Peru, including the workout thereof as a result of the Lava Jato corruption scandal. This was one of the largest infrastructure projects to come to market in the history of Peru’s energy sector

Banking & Finance

Deutsche Bank as lender on a €207 million credit facility for The Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Lenders in connection with a credit and guaranty agreement between Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio, CBA Itapissuma, Metalex and the lenders for a $100 million revolving credit facility and in connection with a credit and guaranty agreement between Votorantim Cimentos, Votorantim Cimentos International, Votorantim Cimentos EAA Inversiones, ST. Marys Cement and the lenders for a $250 million revolving credit facility
Alicorp as borrower and parent guarantor in connection with a $200 million three-year senior unsecured credit facility
Ecopetrol, as borrower on a $4 billion term loan facility for the purpose of financing the acquisition of 51.4% of the outstanding shares of Interconexión Eléctrica (ISA) from the Ministry of Finance of Colombia
Ecopetrol on a $1.2 billion capital/term loan financing. The proceeds from the facility were used for general corporate purposes, including the strengthening of Ecopetrol's liquidity position in case of eventual organic growth opportunities, risk mitigation in connection with unexpected fluctuations in oil prices, as well as to reduce specific refinancing needs in the coming years with flexibility and competitive borrowing costs
GNL Ameris IPM SpA on the $135 million financing provided by Industrial Bank of Korea, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Seoul Branch and the Agricultural Bank of China, Seoul Branch for the acquisition of 37% of Sociedad GNL Mejillones S.A.
BBVA as administrative agent for the lenders, on the $470 million refinancing of the RASSINI credit facility. The transaction involved a multi-tranche term facility with a revolver and was a refinancing of a recently closed facility in 2020. The refinanced facility was secured by local collateral in Mexico
Joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners in connection with the $300 million senior unsecured credit facility to Vista Oil & Gas Argentina for the refinancing of the bridge facility
BBVA as administrative agent in connection with the financing of a tender offer to buy all outstanding shares of RASSINI by certain shareholders
ENAP as borrower and guarantor, respectively, on the financing of a $100 million term loan credit facility
Citibank and Santander on a $52 million club deal for a refinancing for Grupo AJE, a Peruvian beverage company with subsidiaries in more than 20 different jurisdictions, most of which guaranteed the credit facility
HSBC as administrative agent in connection with a $300 million term loan facility to Axtel, a Mexican telecommunications company, to be applied to refinance indebtedness under a $750 million term loan facility
Scotiabank as lender and administrative agent on the $750 million term loan credit facility to PEMEX
Albaugh as borrower and its Mexican, Brazilian and Canadian subsidiaries as guarantors in connection with a $400 million secured term loan B Facility and revolver arranged by HSBC Securities. Also, on the amendment and restatement of the existing credit agreement

Pro Bono

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) on its Belize Blue Bonds transaction, the largest sovereign debt restructuring for marine conservation to-date, which used techniques from sovereign debt restructurings, structured financings, political risk insurance and debt swaps. It is the first major financing under TNC’s Blue Bond for Ocean Conservation Program, a TED Audacious Project Big Idea. The transaction enabled Belize to refinance its external debt, make ambitious commitments to protect 30% of its ocean, strengthen governance for fisheries and establish a coastal blue carbon project framework through a unique collaboration among a government, an environmental NGO, an investment bank, the US’ DFC and parametric insurers ("Debt and Equity-linked Deal of the Year" (2022), IFLR Americas; "Grunin Prize" (2022), NYU Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship)