Fredrik Lindblom

Energy and Energy Project/Debt Finance

• Core international team lead for a syndicate of European banks in respect of the €1,500,000,000 financing of a leading European strategic’s bid to acquire a portfolio 10GW+ renewables projects across a significant global country mix.
• (Ongoing) Core international team lead for a leading European developer in respect of the sale and transfer of a portfolio of 10GW+ renewables projects across a significant global country mix – handling all aspects of this transaction through DD and corporate/M&A.
• Core international team lead for a leading European asset manager in respect of the sale and transfer of a portfolio of 25+ individual renewables assets totalling more than 700MW of installed capacity across 10+ countries on a combined sell-down and continuation fund structure, including a holdco financing – handling all aspects of this transaction through DD, corporate/M&A, funds structuring and debt finance.
• (Ongoing) Core international team lead for ongoing advisory relating to the 1GW Fosen Vind onshore wind project in Norway on behalf of international investors (alongside Statkraft) on ESG and human rights, negotiating with the Norwegian Government and the Sami (indigenous people) following an unprecedented ruling in the Norwegian Supreme Court threatening project permits, as widely reported in the international press and as top of domestic government agenda.
• Core international team lead for leading European asset manager in respect of its sell-down of a stake to a European institutional in one of Europe’s largest individual onshore wind projects, handling all aspects of this transaction through vendor DD and corporate/M&A.
• Core international team lead for a European investment consortium led by a leading European asset manager in respect of its potential acquisition of a stake in one of Austria’s largest utilities.
• Core international team lead for a European investment consortium led by a leading European asset manager in respect of its acquisition of an up to 600 MW portfolio of development and ready to build solar PV projects in Spain, combined P2X solutions for a significant portion of the portfolio of projects.
• Advising Hive Energy on its acquisition of a stake in one of South America’s largest and most innovative renewables projects (covering an area of 38,000 hectares with integrated green hydrogen and ammonium production facilities and a contemplated total see-through investment value of approx. US$6 bn.)
• Advised Hive Energy on their sale of Cleve Hill - UK’s largest consented solar-plus-storage site (350MW) - to Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners.
• Advised Prime Green Energy Infrastructure Fund and Enlight Renewable Energy on their co-investment in the 372 MW ready-to-build Björnberget wind park project in central Sweden from RES. Closed 2020. This transaction was awarded “Renewables Deal of the Year, Global” and “Renewables Deal of the Year, Europe” in 2020 by Infrastructure Investor.
• Core international team lead for MB2 North AB, owned by funds advised by Energy Infrastructure Partners AG, on the issue of long-term project bonds. The bonds will finance its 253 MW operational onshore wind project in Sweden, which operates on a fully merchant basis. The bond is subscribed by a group of ten institutional investors, including the MEAG Infrastructure Debt Fund II.
• Core international team lead for an Asian investment consortium advised by a leading European asset manager in respect of a c. 100MW ready to build onshore wind farm in Sweden.
• Core international team lead advising a major European energy company in respect of its potential acquisition one of the largest solar PV developments in the U.S. to supply a large-scale green hydrogen production facility.
• Core international team lead advising a major European energy investor in respect of its potential acquisition a minority stake in a c. 750MW hydropower project in a country in the Andean region, Latin America.
• Core international team advising a consortium led by Credit Suisse Infrastructure Partners AG (renamed Energy Infrastructure Partners) in respect of its acquisition of the largest on-shore wind park development in Europe (1 GW, located at Fosen in Mid-Norway in a joint venture with Statkraft), including full all aspects due diligence, acquisition and project documentation and financing, with a total project value of close to €2 bn.
• Core international team lead for a European investment consortium led by Credit Suisse Energy Infrastructure Partners AG (renamed Energy Infrastructure Partners) in respect of its acquisition of a c. 500MW portfolio of operational and ready to build onshore wind farms across the Nordics from Fortum (Finnish utility, retaining 20%), including advising in relation to the senior project financing provided by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken and National Australia Bank.
• Acting as lender's legal adviser to DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale in connection with the 254 MW Stavro Vind project in Sweden, acquired by an international investment consortium from Germany and South Korea. Advising and negotiating directly in relation to PPAs with Google and Swedish industrial player, Holmen. Our team comprised lawyers across 9 jurisdictions.
• Core international team lead (at times comprising up to 20 DLA Piper lawyers internationally) for a consortium led by Credit Suisse Infrastructure Partners AG alongside E.ON in respect of its acquisition one of the largest on-shore wind park developments in the Nordic region (500MW, located in Sweden), including full all aspects due diligence, acquisition and project documentation and financing.
• Core international team lead (comprising a team of up to 10 DLA Piper lawyers internationally) for DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale in connection with the project financing (KfW backed) of the Kvitfjell and Raudfjell (300MW) wind farms in Northern Norway (second largest on-shore wind project in Norway after Fosen Vind and largest European on-shore wind transaction in 2017 with a total project value of approx. EUR 500 million), involving a first of its kind GIEK (the Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency) wrapped long-term corporate end-user PPA (Alcoa). Our work included full bank due diligence, supporting sponsors in the negotiation of key project agreements and the drafting and negotiation of the full suite of project financing documents across a complex multi-SPV structure.
• Core international team lead for a European investment consortium led by Prime Capital AG in respect of its acquisition of the c. 200MW ready to build onshore Lappfjard wind farm in Finland from CPC Germania.
• Core international team lead for DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale as lenders in relation to the acquisition by Blackrock of a 197.4 megawatt (MW) wind farm in western Norway from Zephyr. The project will be built on the West coast of Norway around 10km north of the city of Florø. It has a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) in place with aluminium producer Alcoa and has entered into a power purchase guarantee with the Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency (GIEK).
• Core international team lead for Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg (LBBW) in relation to the circa €150 million project financing of the on-shore wind farm project Tonstad in South-Western Norway, with Engie and Susi Partners as sponsors. The project has a total investment value of close to €300 million and will have an installed capacity of 208MW.Our work included a complex and ultra-long term power purchase agreement (PPA) arrangement with Norsk Hydro as well assisting the lenders on all aspects of the transaction, through full due diligence of all project agreements and project related aspects, negotiation of key project documentation and the drafting and negotiation of the full suite of project financing documentation.
• Assisting - as team lead - different European developers in respect of their potential acquisitions of several material wind farm projects in the Nordic region, ranging from 50MW to 450MW.
• advising a bank in respect of a large Nordic energy asset in distress, on reconfiguration of construction agreements and implications to financing package.
• Core international team lead in respect of Norfund's joint venture with an international developer for the development and operation of a number of renewables projects across the African continent.
• Core international lead team member and lead for projects related work in respect of Norfund's acquisition of Globeleq Africa from Actis (in a Joint Venture with CDC), comprising of a number of high value and material energy assets (renewable and thermic) across a number of countries on the African continent.
• Acting for a Nordic bank on several transactions involving the financing of different hydroelectric power project portfolios in Norway.
• Advising on and negotiating several major greenfield and brownfield power plant up-grades, and district heating projects in Eastern Europe on behalf of Nordic Investment Bank.

Project finance/Infrastructure/PPPs/Industrial

• (ongoing) Core international team lead for a syndicate of commercial banks, a European multilateral and an ECA in respect of the project financing of a large-scale, first-of-its-kind European circular economy project (high-grade vanadium pentoxide recovery from steel slag) related to the novel EU critical raw materials initiatives – handling all aspects of this transaction through bankside project structuring and DD, project documents advisory and finance documentation.
• (ongoing) Core international team lead for a leading European asset manager in respect of its bid to acquire one of the largest maritime transportation systems of its kind in a Nordic country – handling all aspects of this transaction through DD and corporate/M&A and debt (re)finance.
• Acting as international team lead for the lenders to Skanska in respect of the E10 PPP project in Norway, the third PPP project in the second round of new Norwegian PPP projects (approx. € 1 bn. project value).
• Core international team lead and projects strategic advisor to Wastefront (a rubber waste recycling company on a mission to stop unsustainable handling of end-of-life-tyres) in respect of the development of their recycling plants in UK and internationally, including all aspects of regulatory, permits and land, as well as contracting for engineering and construction, supply and offtake and debt funding by UKIB.
• Assisting the arranger (a Nordic bank) in respect of the ECA (GIEK) backed project financing of a lignin production plant in the USA (under a complex joint venture structure), supplying approximately 10% of global annual lignin production volume, including full project due diligence.
• Assisting UBS Asset Management as lender in respect of the financing of Lefdal Datacentre, one of Norway’s largest and most innovative datacentres, including full project due diligence.
• Acting as international team lead for a consortium of leading European construction companies in respect of the Rv555 PPP project in Norway, the second PPP project in the second round of new Norwegian PPP projects (approx. € 1 bn. project value).
• Acting as lenders’ legal counsel - as team lead - in respect of the Skanska consortium on the Rv3 PPP, the first PPP project in the second round of new Norwegian PPP projects.
• Assisting the arrangers (Nordic banks) in respect of a number of project financings in the renewable energy sector (wind farms and other renewable energy power generation plants) internationally, including in Eastern Europe (some of which have been export credit agency backed/wrapped).
• Acting for a large Norwegian construction company (sponsor and company awarded contracts) with respect to (project contracts and financing) two pilot school PPPs in Norway, with a total value of approximately NOK 1 billion.
• Advising on and negotiating two major Scandinavian highway Public Private Partnerships (PPP) financings (E18 Lohja – Muurla, Finland and E-18 Grimstad – Kristiansand) on behalf of Nordic Investment Bank.
• Assisting as lead international counsel a major Swiss bank as arranger on a number of pre-export and project financings (in the US$ 50-100 million range, including commodity hedging) in the minerals and mining sector internationally, including on the African continent.

• Practice head Fredrik Lindblom acts on financing and refinancing agreements, and often assists organisations from the energy, construction and industrial manufacturing sectors. Interviewees report that he offers "strong technical knowledge" combined with "commercial awareness." Chambers & Partners, 2019
• "Fredrik Lindblom is an experienced adviser to lenders, handling transactions in the energy sector as well as real estate finance. He led an international DLA Piper team assisting a consortium of lenders with a cross-border EUR228 million debt facility for an onshore wind farm in Norway. A client describes him as "very service-oriented and eager to get the job done."
  Chambers and Partners, Europe 2018
• "Fredrik Lindblom leads the team, holding significant international experience of project finance, bond loans and mezzanine structures. One client describes him as "pragmatic and very service-minded, with broad experience of banking and finance matters," adding: "He is very easy to co-operate with and has a good knowledge and standing in the market."
  Chambers Global 2017
• "Fredrik Lindblom leads the team and advises a range of clients on banking and finance issues. Sources say: He is extremely service-minded, available and able to deliver at very short notice…"
  Chambers Global 2016
• "The ‘strong and client-friendly’ team at DLA Piper, led by Fredrik Lindblom, combines substantial experience in straight lending matters and complex financings with a robust regulatory practice..."
  Legal 500 2016
• "Fredrik Lindblom is praised for his "good commercial understanding" and is described as "reliable and proactive." His expertise includes project and debt finance and he has an extensive banking clientele."
  Chambers Global 2015
• "Practice head Fredrik Lindblom receives many positive references from clients, who say that "he is very interested in the commercial side of the business." Another comments: "He is extremely knowledgeable about structured finance and what is going on in Europe. He is also a charming individual."
  Chambers Global 2014