Watson Farley & Williams emerged into the rankings last year on the back of its excellent project finance team, which moves up to tier two this year having developed a significant energy presence in the area."Watson Farley & Williams have a strong energy practice....
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Watson Farley & Williams emerged into the rankings last year on the back of its excellent project finance team, which moves up to tier two this year having developed a significant energy presence in the area."Watson Farley & Williams have a strong energy practice. They should go up to tier two," concedes a competitor.
It has also looked to expand its banking capability, hiring a partner from the in-house legal team at Unicredit Bank, Nikos Kostikas. Kostikas took up his new role in September 2010.
Unsurprisingly, the projects team has been very busy on a number of different mandates. With some sizeable deals still under wraps due to confidentiality, arguably its standout deal this year in this area was the financing of a 13.8 MW onshore wind farm in Viotia. Leading lawyer Virginia Murray was instructed by Aioliko Parko Kedros, opposite Unicredit and the deal was sealed for a value of €26 million in December 2010.
In a similar deal, Murray advised EEN Hellas, a subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles, on the financing of an 18MW wind farm, also located in Viotia, in central Greece. The deal also involved funds for a 6MW solar power facility in Lakonia and for €29 million in December 2010.
The firm boasts a reputable banking practice, with new hire Nikos Kostikas currently engaged in some restructuring for his Unicredit's Greek branch. Unicredit has a significant corporate credit portfolio within Greece and this restructuring work is currently ongoing, with an expected completion date sometime this year.
Despite not really having too much of an M&A focus, the team also completed an energy-related M&A deal acting for WPD on its sale of a 5MW photovoltaic project to Enel Green Power Hellas in March 2011.
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