Choharis Law
Project Finance
We help commercial and government clients with a full range of foreign investment matters, including commercial transactions, loan commitments and financings, workouts, debt restructuring, international dispute resolution, regulatory and legal matters, and anti-bribery and anti-money laundering compliance.
Our legal professionals have been principal counsel in all aspects of debt and financings in a wide range of sectors. They have led legal teams on loan commitments, documentation, renegotiations, workouts, monitoring, and litigation of loans. For several years, our firm has served on the U.S. government’s International Development Finance Corporation (DFC, formerly the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, OPIC) panel of outside counsel for both political risk dispute resolution and transactions. One of our attorneys is the only practicing lawyer currently serving on the U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Advisory Council. Our professionals have worked for and with sovereign governments, multilateral development banks (MDBs), large hedge funds and other private financial institutions, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in a variety of foreign capacities.
Select Representations:
Financial Sector
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Bayport Management Ltd. Represented Bayport Management Ltd (BML) in connection with a $250 million OPIC loan to fund BML’s strategic growth
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Rand Merchant Bank Facility. Represented OPIC in connection with a $200 million co-lending facility with Rand Merchant Bank to finance downstream projects
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LeapFrog Investments. Advised LeapFrog Investments in connection with various social impact equity investments
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Deutsche Bank/FINCA Microfinance Fund. Represented FINCA International in connection with a $21 million subordinated debt financing to provide FINCA banks in Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with $100 million in loan capital for on-lending to micro borrowers. This was the first single microfinance network subordinated debt deal and the first microfinance subordinated debt deal successfully completed since 2007
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Debt and Equity Financing. Represented the project sponsors in connection with potential debt and equity financing from various international finance institutions
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WorldBusiness Capital, Inc. Represented World Business Capital, Inc. in connection with an OPIC-guaranteed loan to Victoria Commercial Bank (VCB) to support its SME lending
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Financial Services Company. Represented Company in connection with a joint venture to provide retail financial services
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MAGIC I & II. Represented OPIC in the structuring and funding of two region-wide equity investment funds, the Modern Africa Growth and Investment, Corp. funds
Energy
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Offshore hydrocarbon. Advised Central Asian state-owned agency on development of oil and gas reserves
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Offshore hydrocarbon. Advised Southeast Asian state-owned regulatory authority on development of offshore oil reserves
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Oil refinery. Advised Southeast Asian state-owned entity on development of oil production facility and related infrastructure
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Biofuel. Advised the developer and equity investor in connection with the structuring and financing of a biofuel project
Transportation and Infrastructure
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LEDFC Reconstruction Facility. Represented OPIC in connection with a $20 million loan to Liberia Enterprise Development Fund Company for reconstruction efforts
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General Electric. Represented OPIC in connection with a multi-million-dollar loan to finance a desalination project
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SA Taxi. Represented provider of minibus taxi financing in South Africa, in connection with a $200 million loan from OPIC and other lenders to expand financial services business
Hotel and Real Estate
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SCI Cocoma. Represented OPIC in connection with the successful negotiation of the sale of shares as part of the restructuring of an OPIC loan that financed the construction of a hotel
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Home Loans. Represented OPIC in connection with the capitalization and financing of bank mortgage company to finance primary and secondary mortgages
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Residential Housing. Represented OPIC in connection with the financing of the construction and development of middle-income housing
Manufacturing
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Manufacturing and Distribution. Represented a lender in connection with a loan to a manufacturing company in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya, secured by carbon credits
Extraction Industries
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Teberebie Goldfields. Represented OPIC in connection with the successful restructuring and sale of an OPIC loan that financed the construction and expansion of a gold production facility.
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Off-Shore Diamond Mining Project. Represented governmental agency lender in connection with a multi-million-dollar loan to finance an off-shore diamond mining and processing project.
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Salt Mine. Represented OPIC in connection with the issuance of $60 million of political risk insurance to cover the debt financing of the construction and operation of a salt mine.
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Offshore minerals. As part of consortium, advised Pacific Island country on draft legal and regulatory regimes as well as best practices and good governance to develop offshore mineral deposits.
Pharmaceuticals and Food
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Camas. Represented OPIC in connection with the financing of the purchase, installation and operation of cocoa-bean sorting equipment as well as the successful negotiation of the restructuring of the OPIC loan
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Phyto-Riker Pharmaceuticals. Represented OPIC in connection with the financing of the privatization and expansion of a pharmaceutical distribution plant, as well as the successful negotiation of the equity restructuring and sale of the OPIC loan
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LaGray Pharmaceutical. Represented OPIC in connection with the financing of the construction and operation of a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility
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African-American Trading Company. Represented OPIC in connection with the financing of the construction and operation of a spice dehydration facility
Other
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ViVA Uganda. Advised the developer and equity investor in connection with the structuring and financing of an online property title registration system
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OCR Services, Inc. Advised OCR Services, Inc., a software developer, in connection with its licensing transactions
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Tugende Limited. Advised Tugende Limited, a leading provider of asset financing in connection with its investor portfolio