Crédit Agricole CIB sweep the board at the PFI Awards 2024

EUROPE – Bank of the Year

Crédit Agricole CIB has been nominated Europe Bank of the Year on the back of more than 125 deals closed as MLA across all sectors globally within the project and infrastructure financing space but also through 47 advisory mandates of which 13 closed over 2024 with a notable focus on supporting growth from key market trends including energy transition and mobility.

This award honors the performance in the Project Finance and Real Assets franchise in collaboration with TMT which remains a major strength of the bank rightly seen as a the industry reference bank for global financing advice and arranging services in all key sectors, supported by a global network leveraging on a deep sector and product knowledge provided to our clients.   

Global - Deal of the Year: NEP

The NEP Project, located in the UK, constitutes the first project financed CO₂ transportation and storage project globally. The Project, sponsored by bp (45%), Equinor (45%) and TotalEnergies (10%), will collect CO₂ from various industries in the Teesside and the Humber regions, transport the CO₂ through pipelines and store it permanently in a saline aquifer lying offshore. With a start of operations expected in 2028, the NEP project will initially transport and store up to 4 million tons of captured CO₂ from three industrial plants, with the objective of expanding the project capacity to up to 23 million tons of CO₂ by 2035.

This Project will significantly contribute to the UK's commitment to achieve Net Zero by 2050. Through its support to this low carbon project aiming at collecting and permanently storing carbon emissions, Crédit Agricole CIB is advancing on its ambition of being a major actor of the transition to a low carbon economy.

Crédit Agricole CIB acted as MLA and Hedging Bank in the GBP 3.9 bn project finance debt of the Project, along c. 21 other lenders.
 

AMERICAS - Deal of the Year: CVOW

CVOW is the largest offshore wind project in the U.S with 176 turbines across 113,000 acres, located 27 miles off Virginia’s coast. Once fully operational in 2026, the project will generate enough clean energy to power 660,000 homes, helping meet the growing demand for renewable energy. Dominion Energy, as initial shareholder, will continue to oversee CVOW’s day-to-day operations and construction at close, supported by Stonepeak’s expertise in investing in and delivering large and complex renewables and energy infrastructure projects including offshore wind. 

Crédit Agricole CIB acted as Initial Coordinating Lead Arranger, Active Bookrunner/Co-Syndication Agent, Co-Green Loan Agent, and DCH Swap Provider in Stonepeak’s acquisition of a 50% stake in the project.

AMERICAS - Renewables Deal of the Year: Green River Energy

Green River Energy Center is a greenfield solar and energy storage facility located in east-central Utah. The facility has a 450 MW nameplate solar capacity, integrated with a 400 MW battery energy storage system, ranking as one of the largest solar plus storage projects in advanced development in North America. The Project will contribute to diversify the energy mix and mitigate price volatility, while creating up to 500 jobs in rural Utah. Green River is sponsored by rPlus Energies, a large-scale renewable energy developer backed by Sandbrook Capital and Gardner Group. 

Crédit Agricole CIB played a strategic role in the origination,structuring, and distribution of the $1.1 Billion financing, acting as Coordinating Lead Arranger, one of the two Active Bookrunners/Co-Syndication Agents, Documentation Agent, Sole Swap Coordinator and Hedging Bank, as well as Co-Green Loan Coordinator.
 

AMERICAS - Infrastructure Deal of the Year: Aguas Esperanza

Aguas Esperanza is a joint venture formed by Transelec and Almar Water Solutions and consists of the acquisition, construction, and operation of two 144km water pipelines, one already in operation since 2010 and another currently being built parallel to the existing pipeline. These pipelines are strategic water infrastructure as part of the expansion of the Minera Centinela copper mine, which is among the top producers of copper in the world, a critical sector for the energy transition. The pipelines will source non-desalinated seawater to the mine as an alternative to the inland water supply without compromising fresh water resources that service local communities. The second pipeline will begin operations in 2026 following a 20-month construction process, with this phase employing around 1,500 local personnel. 

Crédit Agricole CIB acted as Coordinating Lead Arranger, Joint Bookrunner, Issuing Bank, Admin. Agent and Hedge Coordinator in the financing of this water pipelines project in Chile.

AMERICAS - Gas Deal of the Year: Mayakan

Project Bolt/Mayakan is the financing of a new natural gas pipeline running in parallel to an existing 788-km pipeline located in the Yucatan Peninsula (southeast Mexico) and owned by Engie and Macquarie Asset Management. The pipeline currently supplies a fleet of combined cycle power plants (CCGT) owned by Mexico’s state-owned utility company, CFE and the expansion will help meeting the growing energy demand in the region. This is a strategic project for Mexico and CFE, as Mayakan is the only natural gas pipeline serving the Yucatan Peninsula and the new pipeline will allow to more than double the current capacity of the system. This project will improve electricity reliability and affordability of power prices in the Yucatan region, and bolster CFE’s strategy to transition away from carbon-intensive heavy fuel oil.

Crédit Agricole CIB acted as Joint Bookrunner and Lead Arranger, Documentation Bank, Deal Contingent and Interest Rate Swap Hedge Provider and Admin. Agent for the USD 2.5bn debt package of this jumbo transaction. This transaction has a strong ESG rationale aligned with Crédit Agricole CIB’s objectives to support the energy transition.
 

EUROPE - Infrastructure Deal of the Year: R4

The R4 motorway PPP project corresponds to the conversion of the Ghent ring road (c. 30km) in the Flemish region of Belgium into a primary road, and the building a c. 20km of new bicycle path alongside the R4 road. The project will improve the traffic flow and safety, ease the connections between different aeras around Ghent, promote green mobility, and enhance the environment and liveability of the adjacent residential areas. This is the largest PPP project ever financed in Belgium. It has been tendered under a c. 37-year PPP agreement and was awarded to BRAVO 4 consortium, made up of BESIX, EPICo, the Belgian infrastructure fund I4B, Rebel, Abrdn and Stadsbader.

Crédit Agricole CIB acted as Mandated Lead Arranger and Hedging bank in an overall c. EUR 1bn debt financing packaging.
 

EUROPE - Telecoms Deal of the Year: XP Fibre
 

Established in 2018 as a JV between Altice France and a consortium made of OMERS, Allianz & AXA, XP Fibre is the largest independent Fiber To The Home (FTTH) wholesale operator, providing connectivity services on an open-access basis to 7.2m homes representing 25% coverage of French’s medium and low-density regions.  In order to capitalize on XpFibre’s successful transition from a greenfield project to a de-risked operational asset, XpFibre sponsors decided to refinance XpFibre’s capital structure by implementing a long-term refinancing platform.

As the most advanced roll out program and first independent FTTH operator in France to reach this mature stage, XPFibre represented a landmark transaction in the European Fibre market. It is France’s largest ever digital infra financing as of 2024 and the 1st European fibre deal to secure an IG monitored rating.

Crédit Agricole CIB acted as Underwriter, Bookrunner, Mandated Lead Arranger, Hedge Coordinator, Placement Agent and Facility Agent in this EUR 5.8bn financing package.

EUROPE - Portfolio Deal of the Year: Sonnedix

The Project Toro (Sonnedix) transaction consists in the refinancing of a 1.4GW European solar PV portfolio comprised of 1,134MW operational assets (320+) in Spain, France and Italy, and 294MW under-construction assets in the UK. The Project is 100% owned by Sonnedix. 

Crédit Agricole CIB  acted as Financial Advisor achieving ambitious targets (i) consolidate 43 existing financings, (ii) optimize financing terms and (iii) setting up a flexible debt platform to fuel Portfolio growth on an increasingly rapidly changing market.  Debt raised amounted to €2.5bn financing. The Project benefited from significant liquidity from both banks and institutional investors. The complexity of the structure has been a strong incentive for all the teams involved exploring a wide variety of solutions to allocate the interest and capabilities of the incoming lenders from different geographies.  Crédit Agricole CIB acted as Financial Advisor, Bookrunner, MLA and Hedge Provider.

EUROPE - EV Deal of the Year: IPlanet

Project Ricarica-IPlanet, sponsored by Macquarie Capital and Italiana Petroli, is the transaction aimed at supporting the roll out of an electric vehicles (EV) charging network across a selected portfolio of ca. 500 existing IP’s service stations in Italy. For the first 3 years, IPlanet has in place an investment plan for over EUR 200 million, with the aim of developing the EV charging infrastructure in the first 300 service stations. The transition of the entire portfolio is expected to be completed within 2032. The project represents a pioneer transaction in the infra project financing space and a landmarkopportunity in the Italian EV fast charging market, where IPlanet is amongst the first movers.

On top of having acted as Mandated Lead Arranger and Hedging Bank, Crédit Agricole CIB is proud to have covered the role of co-Sustainability Coordinator.
 

EUROPE – Ark Data Centres Deal of the Year

Ark Data Centres, which is backed by US private equity firm Elliot Investment Management and real estate investor RevCap, successfully secured two distinct financings of £200m each in H2-24. Proceeds from the facilities will be used to support the development of the second and third phase of Union Park, Ark’s new data centre campus in the prime West London area. One loan was structured as a Green Loan and the other as a Sustainability Linked Loan, in line with the LMA’s principles. Ark’s portfolio includes several data centres around London and in south England serving clients including the government, hyperscalers, telecommunications operators and financial service providers.

Crédit Agricole CIB has acted as one of the Mandated Lead Arrangers and Hedge Providers on all the Union Park transactions.
 

EUROPE - LNG Deal of the Year: Hanseatic

The Hanseatic Energy Hub (“Project Shift”) is a 13.3 bcm/yr greenfield onshore Liquified Natural Gas (“LNG”) import and regasification terminal located in Stade, Germany, sponsored by Partners Group, Dow and Enagas.

It is a strategic asset that secures Germany’s supply of LNG and green gases, displacing coal as an intermittent energy to support the development of renewable capacity, while preparing for the market ramp-up of hydrogen. It is expected to meet c. 15% of German annual gas consumption when it comes online by 2027. Project Shift will be emission-free under normal operating conditions. It has been designed to be converted from an LNG to an ammonia receiving terminal by 31 December 2043 at the latest, in accordance with Germany Acceleration Act, the legal framework for the rapid development of hydrogen production, storage, and import infrastructure.

Crédit Agricole CIB acted as Mandated Lead Arranger and Contingent IRS Hedge Provider and Hedging Bank on this highly visible transaction, positioning the bank as a leader in the midstream and downstream space.
 

APAC - Power Deal of the Year: Changhua 4

Greater Changhua 4 is a 583 MW offshore wind farm located in Taiwan, sponsored by Ørsted and Cathay Life Insurance. The Greater Changhua 4 project is part of Ørsted’s 1.82 GW Greater Changhua offshore wind cluster which, when fully operational, can produce enough energy to power nearly two million Taiwanese households annually. This significant deal marks the largest investment in offshore wind energy by a corporate entity in Taiwan's insurance sector and is the first offshore wind project in Asia fully backed by corporate offtake.

Crédit Agricole CIB acted as the sole Documentation Bank and ECA Coordinator, Mandated Lead Arranger & Bookrunner, Lender (both senior facilities and equity bridge facility) and Hedging Counterparty for this landmark transaction with diverse participation from 6 foreign and local ECAs, and 15 international and domestic banks.
 

APAC - Data Centre Deal of the Year: Airtrunk

The AUD 24 billion acquisition of AirTrunk by Blackstone and CPPIB is the largest M&A deal ever in the data centre sector globally, the largest M&A deal in Australia in 2024,  and Blackstone's largest deal in the APAC region and fifth largest globally.

AirTrunk is an Australian-based hyperscale-focused DC operator, and the largest DC operator in APAC with over 1.8 GW of IT capacity in addition to 1GW of developable capacity. Having acquired the US and European DC provider QTS for USD 10bn in 2021 and Airtrunk in 2024, Blackstone is now the largest DC provider in the world with a USD 70bn global platform.

Leveraging Crédit Agricole CIB’s strong track record in DC financing, in-depth sector knowledge and intimacy developed with AirTrunk over the years, Crédit Agricole CIB acted as the top-level arranger in the AUD 5.5 billion 5-year holding company debt facilities alongside more than 10 international banks to partially fund the acquisition and provide critical capital for long-term growth of AirTrunk. Crédit Agricole CIB also acted as one of the Mandated Lead Arrangers, Underwriters and Bookruners and Sustainability Structuring Agents in AirTrunk’s sustainability linked loans.
 

APAC - India Deal of the Year: ReNew Hans Urja Solar

ReNew Hans Urja is a 600 megawatt greenfield solar power project located in Rajasthan, India. The project will contribute to India’s ambitious renewable energy target to achieve 500 gigawatts of installed renewable capacity by 2030. ReNew Hans Urja is one of the first projects using 100% ReNew’s in-house solar modules to have reached financial close in the international debt market, further supporting the India’s government initiative to promote domestic module manufacturing. The project was fully commissioned in Dec 2024.

Crédit Agricole CIB provided a bespoke multi-product involving a JPY denominated project financing tied with an INR denominated letter of credit facility. Crédit Agricole CIB acted as Mandated Lead Arranger, Hedging Bank, and LC Issuing Bank for this financing.

APAC - Petrochemical Deal of the Year: Amiral

The Amiral Project, located in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, is a state-of-the-art petrochemical complex being developed and operated by the SATORP joint venture, owned by Saudi Aramco (62.5%) and TotalEnergies (37.5%). Amiral is a strategic project for the Saudi Kingdom in supporting the country’s economic growth as part of Vision 2030. Amiral consists of the expansion of the SATORP refinery, the first refinery in the Kingdom. The project is at the cornerstone of a full industrial value chain to be developed in the Jubail industrial area, by supplying a chemical park and help support the creation of key manufacturing activities, such as carbon fibers, lubricants, special fluids, detergents, additives and automotive parts. Amiral will also enable SATORP refinery carbon intensity reduction, by supplying hydrogen to replace the methane used as a fuel in the SATORP refinery's furnaces.

Crédit Agricole CIB acted as Bookrunner and MLA in the USD 6.89 bn project finance debt of the project, along with c. 20 commercial banks and multiple ECAs.