Q3 2021 infrastructure legal adviser rankings

inspiratia reviews the performance of legal advisers in the infrastructure sphere for Q1 to Q3 2021

The legal adviser league tables for infrastructure by deal count alone was a tight race, with each law firm showcasing they're expertise across different markets and sectors.

But only one legal adviser tops the rankings for Q1 to Q3 2021 with a disclosed transaction volume of US$13.6 billion (£9.9bn €11.7bn), and that is Allen & Overy.

The largest deal in Allen & Overy's arsenal is the acquisition of Telxius Towers by American Tower, an estate investment owner and operator of wireless and broadcast communications. American Towers, advised by Allen & Overy, bought Telxius from Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica. The deal closed with a deal volume of US$9.3 billion (£6.8bn €7.7bn). Telxius' portfolio includes 31,000 communication sites across Germany, Spain, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Argentina.

Bonelli Erede takes second place after advising on a cumulative disclosed volume of US$7.6 billion (£5.5bn €6.5bn) worth of deals. Most recently, the Italian law firm advised on the primary financing of the Pedemontana Lombarda Motorway in Northern Italy which aims to speed up travel in north of Milan. Bonelli Erede advised the sponsors, Autostrada Pedemontana Lombarda. The US$4.7 billion (£3.5bn €4.1bn) financing was provided by seven banks including Intesa Sanpaolo, European Investment Bank, UniCredit.

Following closely in third place is Linklaters having advised on US$6.1 billion (£4.5bn €5.3bn) worth of infrastructure deals, primarily driven by Linklater's counsel to Allianz and Telefonica  for the US$1.9 billion (£1.4bn €1.6bn) debt financing of Unsere Grüne Glasfaser, a fibre-to-the-home platform in Germany formed by Allianz and Telefonica Infra. But adding to its arsenal for Q3 2021 is its involvement in the landmark transport PPP in the Baltics, Latvia's US$72 million (£52.7m €61.1m) Kekava Bypass. Linklaters advised the lenders on the design, build, finance, and maintain project which involves improvements to a 17.5 km section of the E67/A7 road and construction of a new bypass that will run 14km around Kekava.

Deal Count

Analysing the deal count, securing first place in the rankings is DLA Piper with a total of 20 deals.

Notably, DLA Piper advised Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewer Authority (PRASA), a Puerto Rican water utility, on the refinancing of public corporation bonds. The deal reached financial close in August [2021] with a disclosed transaction volume of US$1.8bn (£1.3bn €1.5bn).

Ashurst follows closely in second place with a total of 17 deals. The law firm's largest deal concerns the Royal Adelaide Hospital, dubbed as Australia's largest green loan for a PPP due to its US$1.6 billion (£1.1bn €3.3bn) sustainability-linked loan. The Celsus consortium, which includes global investment manager, AMP Capital - via its Community Infrastructure Fund (CommIF) -, secured the loan from a consortium of 18 banks including CBA, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, ANZ, ING Bank, MUFG and others. The deal reached financial close in July [2021.

In third place is Allen & Overy with a total number of 11 deals. Allen & Overy advised infrastructure equity fund manager DIF in its agreement with PERENfra, a US-based investment company, to develop and construct water infrastructure assets in North America. The deal reached financial close in April [2021] with a disclosed transaction volume of US$1.5 billion (£1bn €1.2bn).

Q3 Analysis

Analysing the data for just Q3 2021, by total transaction volume Bonelli Erede secured first place with a cumulative total of US$4.7 billion (£3.4bn €4bn) from a mix of Italian rail and road transport deals.

Aside from the Pedemontana Lombarda Motorway deal mentioned earlier, Bonelli Erede also advised Marguerite II, the Luxembourg-domiciled infrastructure fund, in its 25% acquisition of Italian freight operator GTS Group. At the time of the acquisition the operator owned 20 electric locomotives, 350 wagons, and 2,450 containers.

DLA Piper secured second place with a disclosed transaction volume of US$2.4 billion (£1.7bn €2bn), and just surpassed Bonelli Erede with a total of five deals spanning water, broadband and EV charging.

The latter concerns, BlackRock Real Assets investment in Australian electric vehicle charging company, JOLT Charge. Advised by DLA Piper, the transaction notably marks BlackRock's first investment in the EV charging space.

Ashurst manages to secure third place with five deals focused on social infrastructure in Australia and a disclosed transaction volume of US$1.8 billion (£1.3bn €1.5bn). One of which is the acquisition of Queen's Wharf Residences in Melbourne, Australia. Ashurst advised the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in the purchase.