White & Case - Al Dhafra

[traineeintraining]

Hi i'm not sure if anyone will be able to help me with this but i'm looking into a recent transaction W&C worked on and on their website it states that "the Al Dhafra project will be financed by a non-recourse bridge facility, with the intention that such bridge facility will be repaid by a long-term capital markets project bond issue. The bridge-to-bond template developed for Al Dhafra project represents the creation of a new green asset-class template designed to attract high quality investors to help finance Abu Dhabi's ambitious renewables growth plans. In addition, this benchmark template for capital markets financing will drive down the cost of debt and reduce transaction timelines and uncertainties for future solar PV projects."

my question is could someone explain why the benchmark template helps drives down the cost of debt for future solar projects?

 

[Anon08]

Right, this is complicated, and without any more expository information, this is tricky to understand. Nevertheless, I'll give it a shot.

First, let's break down bridge-to-bond facilities. In essence, it is a bridge loan, which is intended to be repaid via the issuance of (typically) high-yield bonds at a later date. A bridge loan is a kind of short-term financing - it is literally what it says, it bridges the gap between where the borrower is and where the borrower wants to be (where the borrower wants to be is only possible with capital that the borrower doesn't have, hence, we have the bridge loan to 'bridge' that 'gap').

Second, this 'benchmark'/'template'. The PR blurb doesn't really expand upon what exactly the agreement entails. I am inclined to believe that, considering they reference a 'new green asset-class template', there is some margin ratchet mechanism at play(?) Again, this is conjecture; however, it could be the case that, worked into the bridge loan or the planned bond issuance, there are ESG-linked margin ratchet mechanisms. Considering you've linked to a White & Case article, I'll link one back on this subject, which will do the bulk of the explaining (I would suggest googling to further your understanding of this kind of mechanism). To link back to your question, these mechanisms might drive down the cost of the debt for the borrower.

Alternatively, they could just be referring to how they have structured this kind of transaction, with this deal's structure acting as an archetype/benchmark/template for future deals to come. If they have secured a good deal (lower cost of debt for the borrower), considering everyone is super ESG conscious, provided that this new plant is a success, this might set a precedent for future deals concerning solar projects regarding the cost of debt.

I don't know whether I've managed to interpret this article correctly - I could be way off, but that's what sprung to my mind!