Financial advisory services to an international consortium in the tender win and subsequent financing of the Tel Aviv Purple Line light rail PPP/BOT project
• Business Dilemma:
The government of Israel published a competitive tender for the Design, Financing, Construction and MThe government of Israel published a competitive tender for the Design, Financing, Construction, and Maintenance of a new greenfield light-rail line in the Gush Dan area (the Purple Line). The tender drew significant competition and required a complex financing plan that relied on the strengths of the CAF-Shapir consortium to secure local and international financing for the project.
• Process:
We provided sole financial advisory to the consortium, focusing on:
- Tender Strategy Development: Collaborated with the consortium to develop a unique tender strategy and personalized financing approach, relying on the unique capabilities of our clients.
- Financial Modeling: Built a detailed project-finance financial model that was used for both submission and grading by the state and financing by local and international lenders.
- Debt structuring: Designed a complex, non-recourse financing structure that included offshore long-term ECA and commercial tranches and local short-term and long-term tranches to fully finance the project.
- Negotiations: Negotiated all debt documents with multiple lenders, led by HSBC and Bank Leumi, and supported the lenders’ due-diligence process, completing the process within strict timelines.
• Strategic Solution & Impact:
Our financial-advisory services enabled the consortium to complete its financing obligation within the required timeline and under terms exceeding market expectations while bringing new types of debt to the Israeli PPP/BOT market. Thanks to these efforts, our clients were able to maximize their returns while offering the State of Israel the best possible solution for the implementation of the project.
