Norton Rose Fulbright advises DNB Bank on €675 million green financings for Cadeler

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised DNB Bank and a related syndicate of international banks on ECA-backed green facilities totalling €675 million for offshore wind turbine installation company Cadeler A/S (Cadeler).

The loans cover the financing of two state-of-the-art A-Class jack up vessels under construction in China and include both pre-delivery and post-delivery financing, as well as mission equipment financing elements.

The vessels are similar to Cadeler’s P-Class vessels, which Norton Rose Fulbright advised on in 2023, but with unique features that will enable the vessels to handle the next generation of wind turbine foundations. Ancillary lines have also been put in place to support the project-related LC needs of the units.

The facilities are backed by China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) and Eksportfinansiering Norge (Eksfin), and will strengthen Cadeler’s capacity to meet the increasing global demand for large-scale renewable energy solutions.

The cross-border Norton Rose Fulbright team advising on this facility was led by EMEA Co-Head of Asset Finance Yianni Cheilas, with support from counsel Nicholas Papadopoulos, senior associate Alexi Remoundos and associate Rebecca Martindale. Partner Joy Gao, senior associate Sophia Zhang and associate Yuan Peng from Norton Rose Fulbright Shanghai Pacific Legal (FTZ) Joint Operation Office advised as PRC Counsel on Sinosure aspects of the deal.

Yianni said:

“These facilities were technically sophisticated and combined newbuilding and conversion aspects, green loan and pure green asset features, and export credit wraps. It was fantastic to see our team work seamlessly and in harmony across several jurisdictions, taking advantage of our unique platform in the sector to support our clients.

“It is also very encouraging to see increasing ECA support for green financings of this nature and we were delighted to be able to assist DNB Bank on yet another successful transaction for Cadeler - who continue to lead the way in the offshore wind turbine installation space.”

Norton Rose Fulbright similarly advised DNB Bank on bridge facilities for Cadeler, last month, and advised it on two syndicated green financing and partially ECA-backed facilities, totalling €1.075bn, for Cadeler in 2023. It also advised Société Générale, along with a syndicate of banks, in relation to two green loan facilities for Cadeler late last year.