Supporting your infrastructure projects

Addressing your needs

Regardless of the nature of your project, your interests are defended by our specialists, armed with in-depth knowledge of the sectors concerned and a real capacity for innovation.

France is recognised as one of the top countries in terms of infrastructure, in particular in energy, transport and “social infrastructure” (especially in healthcare, justice, education and housing). It is an essential attractiveness factor for your investments.

Yet in recent years, national and local government budgets have been particularly tight, which raises the question of the maintenance and development of these infrastructures.

But many challenges will need to be overcome in the coming years to improve the quality of infrastructures.
One of the issues raised by the prospect of a virtuous post-Covid recovery is the need to replace or upgrade existing infrastructures to take the effects of climate change into account.

In this context, arranging suitable funding and innovative contractual structuring can prove to be a key issue.

To support you in implementing your infrastructure projects, the Infrastructure & Projects team at CMS Francis Lefebvre offers an approach based on in-depth knowledge of the various business sectors concerned, synergies between member firms of the CMS network, as well as the expertise and innovation of our lawyers.

Our experience allows us to understand and defend our clients’ needs and demands, whatever their role in the
transaction. We regularly advise operators in all sectors: industrial actors, infrastructure investment funds, as well as public sector entities (States, public institutions, local authorities), banks, financial institutions and debt funds.

Our offer

Our wide range of expertise enables us to guide you for the duration of your infrastructure projects.

Supporting your projects

Our Infrastructure & Projects team provides support for your public sector contracts, such as:

• concessions;
• public-private partnerships (PPPs);
• partnership contracts;
• complex public procurement contracts;
• contractual arrangements involving public properties or administrative authorisations or a public regulation;
• business transactions between industrial or financial players.

In various sectors:

• transportation;
• administrative buildings;
• defence and security equipment;
• electronic communications;
• water, sanitation and waste;
• renewable and conventional energies, mines.

At each stage

Legal and tax due diligence and project structuring for a new project (greenfield) or an existing project (brownfield):

• analysis of the applicable regulations;
• analysis of authorisations obtained or to be obtained and of the contract documentation in force.

Project documentation: development, review and negotiation of contract documentation

•  “head” contracts (concession, public global or partnership contract, contract of occupancy of the public domain, etc. or administrative authorisation);
• project contracts and industrial contracts (design, construction, operation and maintenance, supply and subcontracting, interface, etc.);
• contracts for the sale of securities or assets;
• consortium and joint venture agreements, articles of association and shareholders’ agreements, etc.;
• legal documentation relating to investment-equit and quasi-equity investment and issue of equity, debt and complex securities.

Support for developers and investors in structuring their projects:

• securing property and land issues;
• obtaining authorisations required under energy law, urban planning law, environmental law, “single authorisations”, etc.;
• assistance during the construction phase;
• assistance in negotiating design, construction, operation, maintenance, supply, subcontracting and other contracts;
• advising on energy law regulations (self-sufficiency, private networks, connection, etc.);
• project funding (documentation on the project and relevant securities).

Financing and refinancing

We support our clients at every stage of the financing of a project: structuring, negotiating finance documents and security documents acting for the lenders or borrowers, satisfaction of conditions precedent, closing and assisting in relation to interest rate fixing operations.

We advise them in relation to all types of fifinance documents: intercreditor agreements, direct agreements, public guarantees or even personal or real property security rights in connection with bank or bond funding. Our expertise also covers the analysis of compliance of the public funding granted to the project with EU law as well as support in case of notification to the European Commission by the French State.

Procurement procedures

We accompany our clients from the public sector to establish competitive bidding procedures, especially when they include negotiation or dialogue phases. We assist consortia in preparing their candidatures and tenders to these procedures and, where appropriate, their legal actions.

Performance of contracts/Prevention and resolution of disputes

Throughout the project, we provide regular advice on preventing and managing potential disputes, even before State or arbitration courts.

Secondary market

Our expertise also covers legal and tax structuring for acquisitions or divestments of stakes in project companies held by sponsors and financial investors – individually or in their asset portfolios – as well as audits of existing projects.