Debevoise & Plimpton Project Finance Deals Receive Six 'Deal of the Year' Awards

29 March 2006

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP's Project Finance Practice Group has been recognized with six "Deal of the Year" awards for its work on the Chicago Skyway refinancing and the Cerro Verde mine in Peru from International Financial Law Review, Thomson Financial's Project Finance International, Euromoney's Project Finance Magazine and Latin Lawyer.

* "Project Finance Deal of the Year," Americas Awards, International

Financial Law Review: Debevoise represented Financial Security Assurance

Inc. in connection with its financial guarantee of a project bond

financing for the Chicago Skyway toll bridge system, consisting of $1.4

billion of Senior Secured Floating Rate Bonds insured by FSA.

* "North America Deal of the Year," Project Finance International, for the

Chicago Skyway project: According to Project Finance International, the

deal was "by far the most closely watched of any project in the market

in 2005" and "established U.S. toll road finance as the most important

source of future deal flow."

* "North American Project Bond Deal of the Year," Project Finance

Magazine, for the Chicago Skyway project: According to Project Finance

Magazine, "Skyway is the deal that spawned a U.S. PPP market" and as a

result, "U.S. PPP looks set to become a fixture in U.S. infrastructure."

* "Overall Latin American Deal of the Year" and "Latin American Mining

Deal of the Year," Project Finance Magazine: Debevoise represented

Phelps Dodge Corp. in the debt financing facilities totaling $450

million for the $850 million expansion of Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde

S.A.A. copper mine in Peru. The complex deal "introduces to the market

an innovative type of completion test" that "gives the sponsors a degree

of flexibility in how it operates the mine," the publication said. "The

buy-down mechanism in Cerro Verde is an interesting twist on traditional

mine finance and will likely reappear in other projects," the

publication noted.

* "Deal of the Year 2005 -- Project Finance," Latin Lawyer: The Cerro

Verde copper mine expansion project, which "signals the return of

'traditional' non-recourse project financing in the mining sector,"

reflects "the soaring Chinese demand for copper," according to the

publication.

Ivan E. Mattei, co-chair of the firm's Project Finance Practice Group, said "We are pleased that our collaboration with clients to develop and complete these complex, ground-breaking projects has been recognized at the highest industry levels."

Based in New York, London, Moscow and Hong Kong, Debevoise's project finance practice is focused on the development of innovative financing structures and techniques for complex and large transactions.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a leading international law firm, representing a wide range of clients around the world. Founded in 1931, the firm has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The firm now has over 640 lawyers, including more than 100 lawyers in Europe. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.debevoise.com.

Source: prnewswire

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