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Financiers put $2 billion Sydney light rail on track
Allens has advised financiers on the settlement and restructuring of the $2 billion light rail project in Sydney.
Naomi Neilson
Firm: Allens (ALTRAC consortium)
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Deal: Allens advised a syndicate of 18 financiers on the settlement and restructuring of the Sydney Light Rail Public-Private Partnership project.
Value: $2 billion project
Area: Transport
Key players: Allens core legal team was led by banking and finance partner Nicholas Adkins, with assistance from senior associate Sunny Jong and lawyers Andrew Lee, Saurabh Narain, Jo Ye and Sally Page. Also assisting the project were disputes and investigations partner Kim Reid and lawyer Horace Ng.
Additionally, the deal had the assistance of projects and development partner Emma Warren and managing associates Paul Telford and Larissa Chu.
Deal significance: The $2 billion project is for the development of two new light rails that run from Sydney’s Circular Quay to Randwick and Kingsford.
The Allens team worked with senior financiers, the ALTRAC consortium, and worked with equity investors John Laing and First State Super. The consortium consisted of Transdev Sydney, Alstom Transport Australia and Acciona.
Mr Adkins said of the deal: “The project will redefine Sydney and have a big impact on the daily lives of many Sydneysiders, so it was great to have contributed to getting the project back on track.”
Mr Adkins added that over the past 18 months, Allens worked with ALTRAC’s senior adviser, Capella Capital, and the consortium’s legal advisers to develop “innovative financing solutions” and assisted the project financiers to navigate a settlement and restructure process, “which involved the resolution of numerous claims and disputes.”
“To have the opportunity today to hop on a tram parked down at Circular Quay for the first time in over 50 years was a special moment for us and a real milestone for the project,” Mr Adkins said.
“It will be incredible to see the project come to life over the next few months, and it is a credit to the hard work and dedication of all involved in the project (including the NSW government) for getting it this far.”
