Overview
Rome (8 November, 2016) – McDermott Will & Emery successfully assisted Bayerische Landesbank, Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts (BayernLB) in a refinancing of a portfolio of Italian photovoltaic plants owned by CIC Renewable Energies Group. The three plants, with an aggregated capacity of 12 MW, are located in the municipality of Ceneselli in the Veneto Region of Italy.
The transaction was aimed at replacing a financing previously granted by another German bank. While the financing agreement was governed by German law and advised by Munich-based law firm LPA Rechtsanwälte, McDermott advised on the tax structuring of the transaction and on the preparation of the security package.
McDermott obtained a favourable tax ruling by the Italian Revenue Agency, confirming the application of the substitute tax (imposta sostitutiva) to the refinancing transaction. The applicability of the substitute tax was key to ensure a satisfactory security package for the lender at an acceptable cost. This was particularly delicate given the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Cassation (Cass. 16 January 2015, no. 695), which had rejected the application of the favorable substitute tax regime to refinancing transactions.
Although legally binding only with regard to the specific transaction at hand, the tax ruling obtained by McDermott on behalf of BayernLB is a landmark in restoring certainty on the terms and conditions under which re-financing transactions can benefit from the favorable tax treatment.
Carsten Steinhauer, head of the Italian energy practice of McDermott, commented: “We are proud to have successfully led our client through this complex cross-border transaction. It allowed us to highlight the seamless collaboration of some or our strongest practices, namely project finance, renewable energy and tax – all that in a cross-border context.”
The McDermott team was led by Carsten Steinhauer (Energy) and included Mario Martinelli (Tax), Marco Cerritelli and Valentina Perrone (Project Finance), Christian Fabricatore (Corporate), Riccardo Narducci (Energy) and Julia Menges (Commercial).
McDermott’s Italian Energy and Infrastructure practice provides a broad range of services to domestic and international clients on all aspects of the energy and infrastructure sectors in Italy, Europe and the Middle East. The Firm represents developers, operators and suppliers, as well as private investors and funds, financial institutions, and international brokers and dealers.
McDermott’s highly qualified Italian tax practice provides dedicated advice in all areas of taxation for major companies and financial institutions doing business in Italy, as well as those operating internationally. It assists with complex domestic and international tax planning, which includes providing advice on wealth management, mergers and acquisitions and group restructurings, as well as the tax implications of financial instruments and financing structures, private equity and investment funds.
About McDermott Will & Emery
McDermott Will & Emery is a premier international law firm with a diversified business practice. Numbering more than 1,000 lawyers, we have offices in Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Orange County, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Silicon Valley and Washington, DC. Further extending our reach into Asia, we have a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai.