Herbert Smith Freehills advises on the sale of 60% of equity in Victoria’s Lal Lal Wind Farms

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group and investment manager InfraRed Capital Partners on the sale of a 60% equity interest in Victoria’s Lal Lal Wind Farms to Igneo Infrastructure Partners.

Macquarie Capital Australia was the financial adviser for the competitive process for the assets, which comprise the Yendon Wind Farm (144 MW) and Elaine Wind Farm (84 MW).

The Herbert Smith Freehills team included partner and Head of Energy (Australia) Nick Baker, senior associate Maddison Hardiman, and solicitor Sarah-Anne Butler.

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised the sponsors for the lifecycle of the assets across the procurement and construction phase with a team consisting of Alison Dodd, Heidi Asten, Clare Smethurst and Kimberly Lean, and Elizabeth Charlesworth advised on the financing of the project.

With this transaction, Herbert Smith Freehills continues to demonstrate its market leadership in the energy sector, having recently advised:

• bp on acquisitions of a ~40% equity interest in the proposed 26GW Asian Renewable Energy Hub;
• the shareholders of wind farm developer Epuron, on their sale of Epuron to Korea Zinc owned Ark Energy;
• Pacific Partnerships, a member of the CIMIC Group, on the acquisition of the 125MW Glenrowan Solar Farm development in Victoria from Esco Pacific and the project on its successful VRET2 proposal;
• Brookfield, HOOPP, AIMCO, IMCO and Australian Retirement Trust on their acquisition of Ausnet;
• bp on its move into offshore wind in partnership with Equinor and the development of its Kwinana hub; and
• ENGIE on the establishment of the Australian Renewable Energy Trust (“ARET”), and the sell-down of a 75% stake in ARET to the Infrastructure Capital Group-managed Australian Renewables Income Fund.