Multisector expertise

The business line has expertise in the sectors of natural resources (oil, gas, petrochemicals, mines and metallurgy), power generation and distribution, the environment (water, waste treatment) and in the area of infrastructures (transport, hospitals, prisons, schools, utilities). The size of examined projects is quite significant with usually over USD 100 million in debt per transaction.

Calyon has recognized know-how in the areas of financial advisory and arrangement of non recourse credit for new projects or privatization operations. Bank or bond finance arranged involve commercial banks, export credit agencies or multilateral organizations. 

Customized advisory services

Expert in devising innovative solutions, Calyon’s teams mobilize their know how to advise their customers. Their close and often long standing cooperation with each of them, the attention paid to their operational and financial objectives and to the constraints of their markets enable the business line to offer bespoke services.

The multi-product sectoral organization rationale decided in April 2008 reinforces Calyon’s expertise in its advisory business. The business line’s teams operate with different financial techniques for the same clients: project finance, commodities, natural resources finance or reserve based lending. 

Global coverage

the Natural Resources, Infrastructures and power business line has a staff of over 130 professionals distributed worldwide amongst the regional centres of expertise in Paris, London, Madrid, Milan, New York, Houston, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney.

Oil and gas

Calyon has acquired over the years specific competency in the oil and gas industries and in petrochemicals worldwide. It has solid expertise in the financing of the main players on these markets. It has consequently developed a particular competence in the financing of the development of oil and gas fields, of the natural gas chain (liquefaction, transport and regasification) as well as with pipelines and gas pipes. 

Calyon’s Reserve Based Lending team, comprised of Oil and Gas specialists, provides i.a. tailored financing solutions to the oil and gas producers worldwide. It arranges finance mainly based on the value of assets (oil reserves) owned by clients.

This covers a broad spectrum of different financings from current operations through to the acquisition and development of new oil fields.

The team comprised of structured finance and oil experts can meet all the requirements of its customers, be they stand alone, domestic oil companies or oil majors. 

Commodities structured finance

The business line also offers structured finance which is repaid out of the proceeds from the sell / export of commodities.

Therefore Calyon offers a wide range of financing solutions to the producers and exporters of commodities worldwide:

• export prefinancing: direct loan to the producer, 
• prepayment: loan with limited recourse granted to a buyer to finance the prepayment of a producer’s export,  
• barter: exchange of different products for an equivalent amount, 
• swap: exchange of a product against the same product of a different quality,  
• processing financing: commodities import financing repaid out of the proceeds from exports of semi-processed or finished products.

Centrally organized in London, this activity rests on the know how of 25 experts in different geographical areas (Africa, Latin America, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Russia, Asia and Central Asia). They receive support from the dedicated network teams in New York, Hong Kong and Moscow.

 

Calyon has now many references as financial advisor or arranger of complex and innovative financial structures in the areas of infrastructures and transport (road, ports, airports and railways). 

Calyon has been present since 1996 on the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) market where it has been lead manager particularly in the areas of building, roads and health. It actively participated in the implementation of the regulation relative the French partnership contracts a market on which it is a leader (prisons, hospitals, road and railway transport).

Furthermore, at world level, Calyon structured innovative finance or approaches as part of Private-Public Partnerships (PPP). In this connection it has established close contacts with multilateral organizations and the government authorities of many countries with which it has participated to think tanks. 
 

Calyon arranged its first electric power plant financings in the early 1990s, and its long-term commitment in the electric power sector has given it globally recognized experience on both regulated and unregulated markets.

The Bank has financed all types of technologies (combined cycle gas turbine, cogeneration, coal-fired plants with desulfurization units, renewable energies) throughout the world. Financings have focused as much on developing and constructing new units as on large clients’ acquisitions of existing plants.

Over the years, financing techniques have been extended to portfolios of power plants in the framework of acquisitions or privatizations, as has happened in Italy and more recently in Singapore.

Calyon’s ability to find innovative solutions to financing “firsts” has often been demonstrated and rewarded (first private power plant financings in China, Saudi Arabia and Bulgaria, and the first financing for acquisition of an international portfolio of power plants).

In March, the Project Finance team in New York closed a deal that comforted Calyon’s position as a reference player in coal mine financing in the USA.

Calyon acted as Sole Lead Arranger in a USD 335 million refinancing for Trinity Coal Corporation, a subsidiary of Denham Capital Management. Trinity Coal Corporation is a coal producer operating in West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. The debt structure is a hybrid debt incorporating both project finance and corporate style terms and covenants.

Calyon’s expertise and performance in that deal strengthened the long established relationship with the client and opened up other opportunities particularly in the dynamic coal sector. Calyon’s willingness to underwrite the bank facilities for this transaction reflects our confidence in the structure, strategy and outlook of the company over the coming years.

Arranged in an unstable market environment, this transaction also proved Calyon’s ability to adapt to difficult market conditions. After long term efforts by the Project Finance team, the deal successfully closed in March 2008.

Trinity is a low cost producer in the Central Appalachian (“CAPP”) region due to its strategic concentration in surface mining and its innovative mining techniques that standardize and optimize the use of dozers in its operations.