Media Release: Clayton Utz advises on two winning Deals of the Year at IJGlobal Awards - Asia Pacific

Sydney, 10 April 2019: Clayton Utz is proud to have advised on two award-winning transactions recognised at the IJ Global Awards 2018 - Asia Pacific held in Singapore on 27 March.

Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) won Deal of the Year - Midstream Oil and Gas, and WestConnex was named Deal of the Year in the Transport category.

About APLNG

Clayton Utz advised the APLNG project and its sponsors on a $1.4 billion US private placement (USPP), a significant cross-border deal that spanned five countries.  Led by partner Peter Staciwa, Clayton Utz advised APLNG and its shareholders on the placement to American and insurance funds.

The transaction marked the first US private placement for an operational Australian energy project, and was also the first Australian investment for a number of the US state and regional insurance and pension funds involved.  The deal has therefore expanded the types of Australian assets able to access US capital markets, while also exposing a new class of investor to the Australian energy market.  Clayton Utz was recently named Most Innovative National Firm of the Year at the 2019 International Financial Law Review (IFLR) Asia-Pacific Awards for its role on the transaction.

About WestConnex

WestConnex is a 33 kilometre motorway program in NSW delivered through a series of projects grouped into three key stages over approximately 10 years.  It is the largest integrated transport solution undertaken in Australia. 

Clayton Utz advised NSW Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) on the procurement of all three stages of WestConnex and the $9.26 billion sale of the WestConnex project to the Sydney Transport Partners consortium. We advised RMS in connection with the sale, including the complex consent arrangements and refinancing.  Both the procurement approach and the funding model used were innovative, with the design and construction contract separately procured from the debt finance to achieve the State's delivery timetable. The lead partners were Stuart Cosgriff, David Wilkie, Peter Staciwa and Frank Bannon.

The IJGlobal Awards Asia Pacific recognised outstanding transactions of 2018.