CMS Belgrade provides full support to UniCredit Bank Serbia in the refinancing of Elicio’s Alibunar wind farm

UniCredit Bank Serbia and Elicio Ali VE, a 100% subsidiary of Elicio NV, successfully closed the refinancing transaction of the 42 MW Alibunar wind farm in Q3 2021. CMS Belgrade has been selected to prepare the full set of finance documents for UniCredit Bank Serbia as the sole lender in the EUR 53 million refinancing. 

Commenting on the transaction, Nikola Vuletić, Chairman of the Management Board of UniCredit Serbia, said: “We are proud that Elicio once again recognised our bank as a reliable partner for the first refinancing of an operational wind farm conducted in Serbia. This is a clear example of how banks and the renewables sector can contribute to improving overall energy security and consumption of renewable energy in Serbia.” 

Alain Janssens, CEO of Elicio, added: “This refinancing represents an important milestone for the Serbian renewables market as it affirms the strong fundamentals of the project and the bankable regulatory environment for renewable energy production in Serbia. The transaction also confirms the funding available in the Serbian market to locally finance well-structured projects and to do so on longer tenors. These are crucial conditions for realizing Serbia’s considerable ambitions in terms of an increased contribution of wind energy to the energy mix, an area in which Elicio will continue to actively participate.”

The team of CMS Belgrade experts headed by partners Ivan Gazdić and Milica Popović provided full legal support in every phase of this landmark refinancing, from the legal due diligence review to full-scope advice on multiple regulatory, real estate, corporate, project finance and other legal issues and drafting of the finance documents. Other team members include Ksenija Boreta, Marija Marošan, Igor Đorđević, and Teodora Vujošević.