E&C Intelligence

Origination detail on the mezzanine and subordinated participation rights within the $1.5B syndicated financing of West Africa's largest natural deep-water terminal — arranged by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Standard Chartered, and ICBC. The $200M allocation is structured across a senior tranche, targeting a fixed coupon with first-priority claim on terminal tariff revenue, and a subordinated tranche offering a higher target return with second-priority claim. Credit enhancement is built into the structure at several levels: an IFC-arranged partial risk guarantee sits ahead of the mezzanine tranche in the capital stack; a revenue reserve account, funded directly from terminal tariff receipts, must maintain a minimum of two quarters of debt service before any cash can be released to subordinated holders; and a debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR) covenant is tested quarterly, triggering a mandatory cash sweep to noteholders if coverage falls below the contractual threshold. The terminal itself handles 100% of post-Panamax vessel traffic along its coastline under a concession with 22 years of remaining term — a structural monopoly position with no near-term competing capacity in development. Tariff revenue is contracted and collected in USD, insulating investors from local currency and convertibility risk.

Origination note on a build-to-suit hyperscale data centre in a Tier-1 Chinese metro, developed to hyperscale specification and pre-let in its entirety under a 15-year triple-net lease to the data-infrastructure subsidiary of a leading Chinese technology group, with two further 5-year renewal options at the tenant's election. The $600M allocation is structured as lease-backed fixed income, with several layers of protection built around the underlying rental stream: rental payments are assigned directly into a noteholder-controlled collection account before any funds reach the sponsor; rent escalates on a fixed contractual schedule rather than an inflation-linked formula, removing that source of uncertainty; the tenant's payment obligations are backed by a parent-company guarantee from its ultimate holding group, together with a security deposit equivalent to twelve months' rent held in escrow for the life of the lease; and a debt-service coverage ratio covenant of no less than 1.35x is tested semi-annually, with an automatic cash-sweep mechanism triggered on any shortfall. The underlying facility already has its full power allocation secured and is grid-connected, removing the construction and energisation risk that typically affects data-centre developments at this stage. For context on sector demand: capital expenditure by major Chinese technology groups on data-centre and IT infrastructure has grown by roughly half year-on-year according to recent public disclosures, underscoring the structural demand this asset class is designed to capture.