H1 2021 infrastructure legal adviser rankings

inspiratia reviews the legal advisers in infrastructure for H1 2021 which reveals a continued trend in digital infrastructure cinching top positions

A mammoth telecommunications deal US$9.3 billion (£6.7bn €7.8) rocketed a legal firm to the top position for the first half of 2021. 

With an aggregated volume of US$13.6 billion (£9.8bn €11.5bn), the top legal advisor for infrastructure by transaction volume is Allen & Overy. 

During H1 2021, Allen & Overy advised on one of the largest M&A telecom deals, working on behalf of US-based American Towers – a real estate investment trust and owner and operator of wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure – on its US$9.3 billion (£6.7bn €7.8) acquisition of Telxius Towers.

Telxius is a global telecoms infrastructure operator previously owned by Telefonica. The sale transfers 31,000 existing communications sites in Germany, Spain, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Argentina to American Towers.

Linklaters takes second place for advising on US$4.5 billion (£3.2bn €3.8bn) worth of deals. The most notable deal remains the financing of Unsere Grüne Glasfaser in Germany which helped secure its first position in Q1 2021. Linklaters advised the sponsors Allianz (50%) and Telefonica-Infra (40%) who raised US$1.9 billion (£1.4bn €1.7b n) in debt to support the rollout of fibre-to-the-home networks across rural and semi-rural areas in Germany. Overall, the rollout has a total value of US$4.2 billion (£3bn  €3.5bn).

Amongst the group of lenders were Santander, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, KfW-IPEX, SEB, Société Générale and Unicredit. 

In third place is Ashurst having advised on US$2.8 billion (£2bn €2.3bn) of infrastructure projects in 2021. Ashurst acted as legal adviser to N.M. Rothschild & Sons - the the UK-based merchant banking arm of the Rothschilds - on the acquisition of the of St. Modwen Properties, a British-based property investments company located in the UK, from Brighton Bidco, in a deal worth US$1.6 billion (£1.1bn €1.3bn).

Deal Count

When analysing the deal count, the most active law firm in the infrastructure sector in 2021 so far has been DLA Piper , having advising on a total of 12 deals.

One of the most notable deals for DLA Piper was the primary financing of the Saudi Arabian desalination project, Yanbu IWP Portfolio. DLA Piper advised sponsors Mowah, a water utility company, and Nesma which are developing the new facility. The deal reached financial close in March [2021] with a transaction volume of US$880 million (£637m €744m).

Ashurst and Allen & Overy tied in second place with a total of 11 deals each.

Another deal in Ashurt's portfolio for the quarter is the acquisition of a 5.6% stake in Acciona by LA Verdosa back in January [2021]. Ashurt advised  La Verdosa which, as a result of the deal, now owns 101.050 shares in Acciona's share capital.

As for Allen & Overy, they provided counsel to the Port of Newcastle for its US$518 million (£372m €429m) refinancing that took place in May [2021]. The refi was ESG-based with funds including a green loan and sustainability linked loan facilities with long-term environmentally and socially responsible outcomes. A group of international lenders participated on the deal, including  Royal Bank of Canada, China Everbright Bank, MUFG and Mizuho Bank.

Watson Farley & Williams secured  third place, participating in 8 deals. 

Q2 2021 focus

When analysing the data from Q2, Allen & Overy secured first place of the quarter rankings, with a transaction volume of US$2 billion (£1.44bn €1.6bn). The chunk of its aggregated volume for the period is attributed to its advisory on the DIF and PERENfra partnership, where Allen & Overy acted on behalf of fund manager DIF.

DIF and US-based infrastructure company PERENfra entered a US$1.5 billion (£1bn €1.2bn) agreement in April [2021] to develop and acquire water assets in North America. Their target is set on late-stage developments in the municipal and industrial water market.

Ashurst follows second with a quarterly volume of US$1.9 billion (£1.3 bn €1.6bn), but achieved the highest deal count of 7 for Q2.

Top 10  infrastructure legal advisers by deal count and transaction volume, Q2 2021

Source: inspiratia | datalive

Ashurst barely missed first place having accumulated a quarterly volume of US$1.9 billion (£1.3 bn €1.6bn), but achieved the highest deal count of 7 for Q2.