Julian Nichol

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Julian Nichol is a member of Akin Gump's global project finance group. Mr Nichol advises on a wide range of transactional work, with a focus on representing sponsors, funds, financial institutions, governments and contractors on the development and financing of power, oil and gas projects. He also advises clients on mergers and acquisitions and private equity investments in the energy sector. Mr. Nichol's practice focuses on the acquisition, disposal, development and project financing of independent power generation projects and power transmission/distribution projects in the U.K, continental Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Mr. Nichol also advises on oil and gas projects, including reserve-based financing. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Nichol has worked on more than 30 power generation projects encompassing gas, coal, oil, hydro, solar, wind, geothermal and biomass technologies. He also advises clients on energy storage, transmission and distribution projects, including the range of services to grid required as a result of the increasing role played by renewable technologies in the generation mix. Mr. Nichol's clients include developers, funds and lenders, as well as governments and contractors, and much of his recent work has been in Sub-Saharan Africa, where he has developed experience in DFI-funded power projects involving the IFC, AfDB, EBRD, EIB, OPIC, Proparco, BDEAC, FMO, DEG, Swedfund and EAIF. Mr. Nichol's recent work includes: ' Advising the sponsors on the development and financing of the Kribi and Dibamba IPPs in Cameroon (Cameroon's first IPPs) ' Advising a majority private equity house on the acquisition of a majority equity stake in the Azura Edo IPP in Nigeria ' Advising the sponsors on the development and financing of the 52.5 MW Shams Ma'an Solar PV Project in Jordan, financed by JBIC, NEXI and a range of international commercial banks

Contributed to

1

Structuring a project finance

Practice notes

This Practice Note considers the meaning of the term ‘structure’ in a project finance transaction and identifies the key issues which may inform the approach to structuring such a transaction. It explains a ‘plain vanilla’ project finance structure and then contrasts that with some of the innovations employed in the Azura Edo IPP project, a conventional power project in Nigeria. This Practice Note was produced in partnership with Julian Nichol, Robert Aulsebrook and Herman Park at Akin Gump LLP who have experience in the EMEA project finance markets and who co-advised (along with Clifford Chance LLP) emerging markets investor, Actis, on its acquisition of a majority stake in the Azura Edo IPP post-financial close.

Banking & Finance