Michael Volks

Counsel
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP

Michael Volks

Michael Volks

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Biography

Dr. Michael-Alexander Volks is a banking and finance lawyer based in our Hamburg office.

 His practice covers project and asset finance.

Michael acts for lenders, sponsors, lessors, lessees and other parties in international finance and lease transactions. His work focuses on energy and infrastructure projects as well as rolling stock, aircraft and ships.

Before joining us, Michael worked as a lawyer at a leading international professional services firm, where he advised on Export Credit Agency (ECA) backed financings. In addition, Michael has been seconded for several months to the legal department of a major German bank, focusing on international rail and ship financing.

Michael studied law at the University of Hamburg, and at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), Mexico. Further, he obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Hamburg and a Master of Laws in International Law (LL.M.) from the University of Miami, USA.

He is a member of the Hamburg Bar, the German-American Lawyers' Association and the Lateinamerika Verein (Business Association for Latin America).

Michael is a native German and Spanish speaker, and fluent in English.


Professional experience

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  • Germany 2013
  • Advising Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB) and Santander Corporate & Investment Banking (Santander CIB) on the €90m financing of a 149 MWp solar power plant in Spain.
  • Advising consortium of banks on the ECA-backed financing of a combined cycle power plant (gas and hsd) with a capacity of 420 MW in Bangladesh
  • Advising a Spanish renewables investor on its potential acquisition of solar plants in Spain.
  • Advising the financiers in relation to certain project documents with regard to the development and realization of a 175,5 MW wind farm in the Netherlands.
  • Advising consortium of European banks on the restructuring of a financing of a wind farm in France with a total installed capacity of 12 MW.
  • Advising ERG on the acquisition of three wind farms in France with a total capacity of 38 MW, including carrying out a buyer due diligence analysis of the existing finance and project documents.
  • Advising German investment and asset manager on their sale of five solar farms in the autonomous province of Castilla la Mancha, Spain, including carrying out a vendor due diligence analysis the existing finance and project documents.
  • Advising Hamburg Commercial Bank on the financing of the Lyngsasa wind farm with a production capacity of 94.6 MW in southern Sweden.
  • Advising banks on an ECA-backed financing of a wind farm in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina with total nominal power of 100.8 MW.
  • Advising Luxcara in relation to the financing of a wind farm in Bjerkreim, Norway with a total capacity of 155.4 MW.
  • Advising certain lenders in connection with the refinancing of a 288 MW wind farm project situated in the German Exclusive Economic Zone in the North Sea.
  • Advising the international solar energy company Wirsol Energy on the acquisition of the 110 MWp Wemen Sun Farm in Victoria, Australia.
  • Advising the international solar energy company Wirsol Energy on the acquisition and the project financing of AU$231 million of a portfolio of three photovoltaic projects of 165MW in Australia.
  • Advising the banks in respect of the restructuring and refinancing of a term loan facility for the construction and operation of four photovoltaic projects in Apulia, Italy.
  • Advising a German turbine manufacturer on different direct agreements as well as service and maintenance agreements.
  • Advising various financing banks on the creation and release of German law security in relation to the financing of several wind farms operated across Europe.
  • Advising European alternative investment management firm on the acquisition and transfer of a multi-jurisdiction non-performing shipping loan portfolio, including carrying out a due diligence analysis of certain finance documents and the relevant transfer documentation.

RENEWABLES / GERMAN:

  • Beratung von Wirsol Energy beim Erwerb und der Projektfinanzierung i.H.v. 231 Millionen AUS-Dollar eines Portfolios von drei großen Solarparks in Queensland und Victoria, Australien, mit einer Gesamtleistung von 165MW.
  • Beratung von Wirsol Energy beim Erwerb der 110 MWp Wemen Sun Farm, in Victoria, Australien.
  • Beratung einiger Kreditgeber im Zusammenhang mit der Refinanzierung des 288 MW Offshore Windprojekts Butendiek in der deutschen AWZ in der Nordsee und der Übertragung der Rechte und Pflichten dieser Kreditgeber an neue Kreditgeber.
  • Beratung einer deutschen Landesbank bei der Restrukturierung und Refinanzierung eines langfristigen Darlehens für den Bau und den Betrieb von vier PV-Projekten in Apulien, Italien.
  • Beratung einer deutschen Landesbank beim Wechsel des O&M-Contractors und des entsprechenden Garantiegebers im Zusammenhang mit der Finanzierung von neun PV-Anlagen in Apulien, Italien.
  • Beratung eines deutschen Turbinenherstellers bei einem Direktvertrag sowie einem Betriebs- und Wartungsvertrag in der zweiten Bauphase eines Windparks in der deutschen AWZ in der Nordsee.
  • Beratung diverser Banken bei der Bereitstellung und bzw. Freigabe von Sicherheiten nach deutschem Recht in Bezug auf die Finanzierung diverser Europäischer Windparks.

SHIPPING:

  • Advising KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH and other lenders on the sale of luxury cruise ship “Crystal Endeavor” to Royal Caribbean Group (RCL), after the ship was arrested in Gibraltar earlier this year following the insolvency of Genting Hong Kong Limited (GHK) and Crystal Cruises, LLC (Crystal Cruises).
  • Advising international consortium of 17 international banks in relation to EUR 2.6 billion financing of two cruise ships, backed by Euler Hermes and Finnvera guarantees as well as a German federal state guarantee, the respective KfW CIRR refinancings of the lenders and on the subsequent restructurings.
  • Advising Luxemburg-domiciled non-bank, specialised finance platform on the financing of the acquisition of a portfolio of 5 multipurpose vessels for a German shipping company, and subsequently advising on the release of the security granted in connection with prepayment of the loan.
  • Advising a US investment firm and a German bank as members of a consortium regarding the acquisition and transfer of a multi-jurisdiction shipping loan portfolio, including carrying out a due diligence analysis of certain loans and the respective security agreements.
  • Advising UK container ship lessor on the acquisition of a container vessel from an insolvent German limited partnership (KG), including acting for the client in the closing meeting.
  • Advising a German bank on ECA-backed financing of 4 river cruise vessels in relation to German law security documents and respective Euler Hermes guarantees.
  • Advising certain financial institutions on the German law security agreements and the underlying ECA (Euler Hermes) policies in relation to the financing of two passenger cruise vessels.
  • Advising an Australian bank and a German bank on a shipbuilding contract for a ferry and the related ECA (Euler Hermes) backed financing and acting for the client in the closing meeting.
  • Advising various financing banks on refinancings and the creation and release of German law security in relation to the financing different vessels.
  • Advising HSH Nordbank in relation to the repayment of the financing of a container fleet of 8 vessels and the release of the security granted in this context, including representing the client in the closing meetings.
  • Regularly acting for ship-owners or financiers in relation to sale and purchases of ships, including representing clients in closing meetings.

RAIL:

  • Advising KfW IPEX-Bank on the financing of a purchase of a Vossloh locomotives portfolio through an Irish leasing platform and a joint venture between investors advised by a French private equity investment company.
  • Advising KfW IPEX-Bank on the financing of a fleet of locomotives for DIF which are to be leased out to MRCE.
  • Advising a Dutch pension fund and a German insurance company on the contemplated acquisition of a large European locomotive leasing company from an US investor.
  • Advising DVB Bank in connection with the sale and transfer of its land transport business to Helaba.
  • Advising 3i/DISA Assets in connection with the notes refinancing of rolling stock used for a German franchise.
  • Advising the banks on the EUR 950 million financing of Akiem, including on the financing of the acquisition of certain German subsidiaries.
  • Advising lenders and other finance parties on the financing of a fleet of around 6,000 rail cars to be operated in the US, Mexico and Canada.
  • Advising the financing banks in connection with a prepayment in relation to the release of the German law security over a rolling stock fleet operated across Europe.
  • Advising a European lessor in connection with a leasing transaction regarding regulatory issues in Germany in respect of several locomotives operated in Germany and other European countries.
  • Advising European rolling stock leasing company on their leasing documents and the transfer of certain rail business within the group.
  • Advising a Scandinavian bank acting as arranger, lender, agent and security trustee on a Swiss-German finance lease transaction of 18 locomotives.

BUSES:

  • Advising KfW IPEX-Bank on financing of 490 Daimler buses for the public transport system in the Chilean capital Santiago de Chile, in a transaction worth approximately US$100.5 million.
  • Advising Fitesa, the world's leading spunmelt nonwovens manufacturer headquartered in Brazil on a Euler Hermes covered term loan facility up to the USD equivalent of EUR 39.01 million.

M&A AND OTHER:

  • Advising the European Investment Bank (EIB) in connection with the support to the hanova Wohnen GmbH with an investment loan of up to EUR 60 million covered by the InvestEU risk-sharing mandate.
  • Advising the European Investment Bank (EIB) in connection with the support to the UniCredit Bank AG with a first-loss guarantee of EUR 150 million to be covered by the European Investment Fund and covered by the pan-European Guarantee Fund.
  • Advising the European Investment Bank (EIB) on its up to EUR 11,000,000.00 growth financing for the 3D printing / additive manufacturing startup DyeMansion GmbH.
  • Advising the European Investment Bank (EIB) on its EUR 25 million growth financing to the German digital freight forwarder InstaFreight GmbH.
  • Advising the European Investment Bank (EIB) on its participation in a Series B financing round for German robotics company Magazino GmbH.
  • Advising the European Investment Bank (EIB) on its EUR 15 million growth financing to the German identity verification platform IDnow.
  • Advising the European Investment Bank (EIB) on a EUR 24 million financing to Atriva Therapeutics GmbH for the research, development and clinical testing of the company's lead product candidate against influenza and COVID-19.
  • Advising European Investment Bank (EIB) on its EUR 15 million venture debt loan issuance to Munich-based software and hardware developer KINEXON.
  • Advising the European Investment Bank (EIB) on its EUR 40 million financing to ITM Isotopen Technologien München AG for investments in re-search and development of a proprietary portfolio of Targeted Radionuclide Diagnostics and Thera-pies, addressing a range of cancers such as neu-roendocrine tumours and bone metastases.
  • Advising the European Investment Bank (EIB) on its EUR 20 million growth financing to Forto (formerly FreightHub GmbH), a digital freight service and supply chain management provider.
  • Advising a US subsidiary of a multinational bank on its refinancing of a German export and trade bank's commitment as lender under a USD 950,000,000 Euler Hermes covered term loan facility made available to an automotive company and a securisation guarantee (Verbriefungsgarantie) issued in this regard by Euler Hermes.
  • Advising Société Générale on the financing of the acquisition of three companies by Excelya Group, a French contract research organisation specialising in clinical trials.
  • Advising European private equity firm on the finance related aspects in connection with the negotiation of the sale and purchase agreement regarding the acquisition of subsidiaries of a manufacturer of carbon-based products, including carrying out a due diligence analysis of certain finance documents.
  • Advising British Real Estate Investment Trust Redefine International on the finance related aspects in connection with the sale of a German office portfolio.

AIRCRAFT:

  • Advising international investment bank on their rights and remedies under the respective Euler Hermes (Airbus) guarantees in relation to nine aircraft financings for a Latin American airline group in a restructuring scenario.
  • Prior to working for Norton Rose Fulbright, advising the German Government acting through its ECA (Euler Hermes) as responsible lawyer on financings and leasing agreements in relation to various Airbus aircraft for Latin American airline groups, Middle Eastern and Asian carriers as well as international leasing companies, e.g. negotiating and settling of new financing and lease agreements as well as negotiating restructurings and extensions of multi-party (sub-)lease arrangements.

"The Applicability of a US-Type Rule of Reason under Article 101 (1) TFEU - A Comparison of EU with US Law", Hamburg, Germany 2015

  • "Internationale Projektfinanzierungen", 6. Internationaler Wirtschaftsrechtstag of Deutscher Anwaltsverein, 12 November 2020 ("International Project Financings", 6th International Business Law Day of German Bar Association) (Together with Dr. Peter Lemke of DIERKES LEMKE Financial Advisory GmbH & Co. KG.)·       "Introduction and Keynote Speech", Seminar on German ECA Financing Solutions for Brazil of Euler Hermes Aktiengesellschaft in collaboration with German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 2015 (Together with Eike Julius Frärks of Euler Hermes Aktiengesellschaft.)
  • German-American Lawyers' Association (Deutsch-Amerikanischen Juristenvereinigung)·       Business Association for Latin America (Lateinamerika Verein)
  • German
  • Spanish
  • English