Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised Crédit Mutuel Impact and Atlante Gestion on their equity investment in SO TOWT to finance the construction of six new sailing cargo ships for TOWT TransOceanic Wind Transport (“TOWT”), the pioneering French low-carbon shipping company.
The six new vessels are being built in Brittany’s Piriou shipyards for delivery in 2027. Once operational they will join the first two vessels of TOWT’s fleet, which are expected to enter commercial service by mid-2024. These new ships will strengthen the sea link with New York and open up new maritime routes for TOWT to South America, Asia and Africa.
With its eight vessels, TOWT will help transport around 200,000 tonnes of goods and save c. 40,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Each new vessel will reduce CO2 emissions by more than 90% and save 20g of CO2 per tonne transported per kilometre. Their primary wind propulsion will also reduce air pollution caused by heavy fuel oil typically used by commercial vessels.
The six vessels will be bareboat chartered by a dedicated vehicle majority owned by and sub-chartered to TOWT. This vehicle will finance the vessels through an innovative structure combining bank financing through leasing, bond financing and fundraising from the fund “Révolution Environnementale et Solidaire” financed by Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale’s Societal Dividend and managed by Crédit Mutuel Impact, and from Atlante Marine SPV 1, an investment vehicle managed by Atlante Gestion. The financings benefit either from a cover from Bpifrance Assurance Export or, for the first time, from a pool of private insurers as part of a “Marine Supported Finance” policy.
The WFW Paris team advising Crédit Mutuel Impact and Atlante Gestion was led by Corporate and M&A Partner Thomas Rabain, assisted by Counsel Anne-Kelly d’Amécourt and Associate Thibaut de Toytot. Finance expertise was provided by Partner Laurence Martinez-Bellet and Senior Associate Hugues Hounkpati, with Partner Romain Girtanner and Associate Marie Dubois advising on tax matters.
Thomas commented: “The decarbonisation of the maritime sector is accelerating and has become a major area of investment attracting both French and international investors. WFW’s extensive experience in this field allows us to support major players on particularly complex and innovative arrangements. We are delighted to have helped contribute towards the expansion of TOWT’s fleet and footprint”.
Laurence adds: “Our firm played a major role in the drafting of the Poseidon Principles promoting the decarbonization of maritime transport in line with the objectives of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and we are proud today to contribute to the sustainability of the maritime industry by acting on key transactions such as this one”.
A team from Stream, led by Finance Partner Olivier Challine, advised TOWT.
