Holland & Knight Advises Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional as Lender in Colombian Toll Road Acquisition by ISA Inversiones Costera Chile

BOGOTÁ (November 11, 2020) – Holland & Knight advised Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), Colombia's infrastructure development bank, as lender in the approval process for the acquisition of Concesion Costera Cartagena Barranquilla S.A.S., the entity that oversees the toll road project connecting Cartagena and Barranquilla in the northern Caribbean coastal region of Colombia. The deal was approved by all lenders and bond holders on October 22.

In this transaction, ISA Inversiones Costera Chile SpA, a Chilean subsidiary of Interconexión Eléctrica S.A. E.S.P., acquired 100% of the equity interest of the Costera Cartagena Barranquilla Concession pursuant a purchase agreement entered into in late 2019 with Constructora Colpatria S.A., Castro Tcherassi S.A., Constructora Meco Sociedad Anónima and MHC Ingeniería y Construcciones de Obras Civiles S.A.S., as sellers.

FDN is the lender under a liquidity credit facility entered into in July 2016 to provide credit enhancement for the project financing provided to the Costera Cartagena Barranquilla project, which includes project bonds issued in the international markets and a long-term credit agreement denominated in Colombian pesos.

The Holland & Knight team advising FDN was led by Partner Norberto Quintana. He was assisted by Senior Counsel Maria Juliana Saa and Associate Gustavo Rodriguez.