White & Case has advised a syndicate of Polish and international financial institutions on the closing of the more-than-PLN 5 billion financing of Grupa Azoty Polyolefins S.A.'s Police Polymers project. CMS advised Grupa Azoty on the deal.
The facilities agreement granted a EUR 487.8 million long term loan, USD 537.7 million term loan, PLN 150 million working capital VAT facility, and USD 180 million working capital loan facility. It was executed between Grupa Azoty and a consortium of financial institutions including Alior Bank S.A., Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Bank Ochrony Srodowiska S.A., Bank Polska Kasa Opieki S.A., BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A., EBRD, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Europe) S.A. Poland Branch, mBank S.A., Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski S.A., Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen S.A., Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczen na Zycie S.A., PZU Fundusz Inwestycyjny Zamkniety Aktywow Niepublicznych BIS 2, Santander Bank Polska S.A. and ICBC Standard Bank PLC (as hedge counter-party).
According to White & Case, the Police Polymers investment is the largest investment project in the history of Grupa Azoty Polyolefins S.A. and one of the largest investments in the chemical sector in Poland in recent years.
According to CMS, "despite the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the investment is continuing uninterrupted and the plant is expected to be commissioned in the first half of 2023. When the new plant is constructed, Police Polymers’ production capacity will reach 437,000 tonnes per year and, as a result, Poland has a chance to become one of the European leaders in polypropylene production. An offshore gas terminal is also being built as part of the investment, to ensure an independent supply of raw materials to the new plant.
“Project finance is the most sophisticated formula for implementing investment projects," commented CMS Partner Jakub Wieczorek. "It requires that lawyers have an interdisciplinary legal knowledge and in-depth understanding of the sector in which the project is carried out. It also demands that they think outside-the-box to solve problems in an unconventional way, and that they are resistant to the stress associated with conducting a large number of decision-making or negotiation processes simultaneously."
White & Case’s team included Partner Grzegorz Abram and Associates Pawel Zagorski, Aleksandra Cyniak, Roksana Kaluzna-Balazy, and Marlena Skowronska.
CMS's team included Partners Michal Mezykowski, Jakub Wieczorek, Marcin Bejm, Tomasz Minkiewicz, Piotr Ciolkowski, and Lidia Dziurzynska-Leipert, Counsels Michal Andruszkiewicz, Marek Trzos-Rastawiecki, and Piotr Nowicki, Senior Associates Jagoda Guzik, Jan Radziuk, Hubert Wisniewski, and Monika Kowara, and Lawyers Pawel Ura, Wojciech Szopinski, Anis Ben Amer, Piotr Galazka, Szymon Klimkowski, Magdalena Kahan, Roksana Pietrzak, Wanesa Choptiany, Magdalena Gajewska, Justyna Kuta, and Maciej Brezden.
