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We advised Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Natixis in the US$280 million secured loan facility granted to Terminal Internacional del Sur S.A. (“TISUR” - concessionaire of Matarani Port, located in Arequipa) and Santa Sofía Puertos S.A. (shareholder of TISUR) for the project financing fo the increase of the processing capacity of the Matarani port. Although the port already existed, the size of its expansion and the need to contract directly with those who would use the infrastructure linked the deal to a project finance structure.

With this transaction, the client obtained the required financing in order to start construction. The expansion of the port will seriously benefit southern mining companies. It is envisioned that most of the mineral produced by Las Bambas copper mine (estimated in 2 million tons over the next five years) will pass through Matarani.

Besides the fact that the transaction required insights from different standpoints (legal, finance, technical, and insurance advisors), the deal is, by itself, one of the first of its kind: it has successfully financed the infrastructure of a port in a context where many port works are constantly paralyzed. The complexity of the transaction resided in the coordination between all parties, requiring a sophisticated network of legal documents, subject to both Peruvian and New York Law.