Project Finance

Blakes Project Finance lawyers are actively engaged in advising clients across Canada and around the world to ensure successful financing of capital-intensive projects. Our teams in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Montréal have broad expertise and deep bench strength in project finance law and are seamlessly integrated into project teams.

Blakes acts for clients who need project finance products and clients that provide them. These include both large and small developers, financial sponsors and strategic owners of assets, governments, banks, insurance companies and other commercial lenders, pension funds, and long-term investors.

The practice is recognized for our comprehensive knowledge of project financing techniques and access to capital, as well as our ability to anticipate problems and devise strategies to mitigate risks. Blakes has first-class capabilities in raising equity, arranging debt financing in all its forms (construction, mini-perm and long-term), and issuing bonds and other financing instruments. We have extensive experience in capital markets and in-depth knowledge of the industries in which project finance is most in demand, including power, renewable energy, oil and gas, mining, utilities, hospitals and other health-care facilities, transit, roads, bridges, airports, stadiums, public-private partnerships, and other public infrastructure.

Blakes has served as counsel in many of the largest and most complicated project finance transactions, including several recent high-profile finance projects in both Canada and internationally.

Recent Experience

Gordie Howe International Bridge Project – Acted for successful consortium, Bridging North America Generation Partnership (ACS Infrastructure Canada Inc., Aecon Group Inc. and Fluor Canada Ltd.), on the financial close for the design, construction, financing, operations, maintenance and rehabilitation of the Gordie Howe International Bridge Project, a new publicly owned international bridge crossing between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan. This project was recognized as Project Finance International’s North America Transportation Deal of the Year and Lexpert’s top deal of 2018.

Nouvelle Autoroute 30 (NA30) Project – Acted for RBC Capital Markets and HSBC Securities Canada, including hedge providers, in a cross-border bond issuance valued at approximately C$1.218-billion to refinance the project debt for the Autoroute 30 concession project. The bond issuance is considered the largest transportation P3 bond deal in Canadian history.

A25 Toll Road and Bridge Project – Acted for Transurban Group on its acquisition of 100 per cent of the equity interests in the A25 toll road and concession in Montréal, Quebec, from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners.

New Toronto Courthouse Project – Acted for EllisDon Infrastructure NTC General Partnership on the financial close of C$964-billion for the design, build, finance and maintainance of the New Toronto Courthouse. The project is being delivered using an alternative financing and procurement model.

Trans Mountain Expansion Project Credit Facilities – Acted for Kinder Morgan Canada in connection with the establishment of project finance facilities in an aggregate amount of C$5.5-billion for the construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project and working-capital purposes for the existing terminals business.

Fengate Capital Management Ltd. – Advised Fengate Real Asset Investments in its multi-year, C$100-million equity commitment with energy developer Greengate Power Corporation to jointly pursue the development and acquisition of projects in Alberta, with the potential to expand across North America.

BluEarth Credit Arrangements – Acted for BlueEarth Renewables, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries on various credit arrangements including:

C$210-million project financing in respect of its Narrows Inlet hydro facilities in British Columbia
A combined C$156-million project financing in respect of the acquisition of its Clowhom River and Dasque-Middle Creek hydro facilities in British Columbia from Veresen
C$138-million project financing in respect of the acquisition of its St. Columban I and St. Columban II wind projects in Ontario from Veresen

Awards & Recognition

Blakes and members of the Project Finance group are recognized as leaders in the most recent editions of the following publications:

Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business
Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business
The Legal 500 Canada
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory
The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada
The Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada
IFLR1000: The Guide to the World's Leading Financial and Corporate Law Firms
Who's Who Legal: Canada (Project Finance)
Who’s Who Legal (Banking)
The Best Lawyers in Canada