JSA and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. (SAM) advised on USD 1 Billion financing for Jindal Energy’s thermal power project in Botswana.

The financing is being extended to set up a thermal power project in Botswana, which is the only fossil fuel-based power plant that Botswana plans to procure in the next 20 years.

The transaction reflects the growing confidence of Indian financial institutions in supporting cross-border infrastructure projects and demonstrates the capacity of Indian banks to structure and execute complex project finance transactions in nascent African markets and has been recognised as one of the most significant financings of a thermal power project in Botswana.

JSA advised Jindal Energy (Botswana) Proprietary Limited, part of the Jindal Group, in connection with USD 1 billion senior secured financing availed from a consortium of lenders led by Axis Bank Limited and ICICI Bank for the development of a greenfield thermal power plant in Botswana.

Given that Botswana is a nascent jurisdiction for cross-border financings of this magnitude involving multiple jurisdictions, the security structure and documentation were highly complex and required swift resolution of issues raised by various stakeholders.

The JSA team was led by Partner Karan Mitroo, supported by Partner Ankita Parasar, Principal Associate Samarth Sharma, Associate Harshil Kakkar and Paralegal Supriya Saxena.

SAM acted as legal counsel to the consortium of lenders led by Axis Bank Limited in extending the senior secured financing to Jindal Energy (Botswana) Proprietary Limited, a step-down subsidiary of Jindal Power Limited.

The SAM team was led by Partner Anurag Dwivedi, with client relationship support from Partner Anoop Rawat and inputs from Partner Saurav Panda, Principal Associate Megha Kaur, Senior Associate Shashwat Bhaskar and Associates Arpana, Amogh Mittal and Ananya Khanna.