Saptak Santra is an English-qualified partner in the Singapore office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.  His experience focuses on lending and structured finance, asset finance, acquisition finance, financial restructurings, and general corporate M&A transactions, with a particular concentration in the energy (including renewable energy), infrastructure, and real estate sectors.  He is also a member of the firm’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Practice Group.

Mr. Santra has worked on some of the most high-profile transactions in Asia.  He has represented a number of major financial institutions, governments, and multinational corporations such as Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Mizuho Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, ING Bank, Wachovia Insurance, CIBC, Société Générale, Coface, Siemens AG, Vietnam Airlines, the British government, the Government of Laos, Chevron, TNK-BP, UBS, and Merrill Lynch on transactions throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Mr. Santra has been listed as a leading lawyer in the following publications: Chambers Asia Pacific and Chambers Global in the field of Energy & Natural Resources; Asian Legal Business, the Singapore Legal Who’s Who, in the field of Finance; The Legal 500 Asia Pacific in the fields of Banking and Finance, Project Finance and Corporate/ M&A; IFLR1000 in the fields of Banking, Energy and Infrastructure and Project Finance; Best Lawyers in the fields of Banking and Finance and Energy Law; and Global Restructuring Review 100 in the field of Restructurings and Insolvencies.  In addition, he is a regular speaker on the Asian conference circuit and sits on the committees of several trade and industry organizations.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Santra worked with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in their London (1996-2000) and Singapore (2000-2001) offices and with Jones Day in their Singapore office (2001-2008).  He also served with the British Army.

Mr. Santra is a member of the Law Society of England & Wales.  He sits on the Banking Law Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) and is a member of the Asia Pacific branch of the International Project Finance Association (IPFA) and the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA).  In addition, Mr. Santra is a member of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS), the International Construction Law Association (ICLA) and the U.K. Society of Construction Law (SCL).  He is also a member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and was on its Financial Services Committee for several years.

Mr. Santra was born in Royal Leamington Spa, England and is admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales.

Representative Experience*

• Guangdong Dapeng LNG Company, Ltd., a joint venture borrower (led by main sponsors BP and China National Offshore Oil Corporation) in the financing of a LNG terminal and trunkline project in Guangdong Province, China – the PRC’s first ever LNG import and regasification terminal project and among the first energy projects open to foreign participation in China.  The joint venture was named the “Energy & Resources China Deal of the Year” by Asian Legal Business, the “Asia-Pacific Oil & Gas Deal of the Year” by Project Finance International, and “Best Project Finance Deal” by FinanceAsia and Asiamoney.
• Kimberly-Clark Corporation in its acquisition of Softex Indonesia, a leader in the fast-growing Indonesian personal care market, in an all-cash transaction for approximately US$1.2 billion from a group of shareholders including CVC Capital Partners Asia Pacific IV.
• A consortium comprising of Petronas, ConocoPhillips, Talisman Energy, and Singapore Petroleum in the acquisition from Indonesia’s state-owned PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) of an interest in PT Transportasi Gas Indonesia (Transgasindo), which holds the Trans-Central Sumatra gas transmission pipeline and the project development and financing of a new 500 km gas pipeline from Sumatra to Singapore.
• Arcapita Bank B.S.C. (a Bahrain-based investment bank and private equity company) and its affiliates (including Arcapita Investment Holdings Limited) in relation to a US$150,000,000 term Murabaha debtor-in-possession facility and generally in connection with certain Chapter 11 cases styled In re Arcapita Bank B.S.C., et al. before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (and in ancillary proceedings in the Cayman Islands). At the time of its Chapter 11 filing, Arcapita, a leading global manager of Shari’ah-compliant alternative investments, had approximately US$7 billion in assets under management related to approximately 30 portfolio companies located around the world. The confirmed Chapter 11 plan of reorganization for Arcapita went effective on September 17, 2013.  The transaction received The American Lawyer’s 2014 Global Legal Award, for “Global Finance Deal of the Year: Restructuring and Insolvency (Middle East),” and The M&A Advisor’s 2014 Turnaround Award for “Cross-Border Restructuring Deal of the Year (Over $1 Billion)”.
• Berkshire Hathaway Energy in relation to both their direct acquisition and purchase as a tax equity investor of a series of solar and wind projects totaling over 2GW of generating capacity throughout the United States.
• Brunei Economic Development Board in relation to the development of an IPP programme and certain other foreign investment initiatives.
• Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in relation to the US$1.4 billion financing of a 1040 MW coal fired power project in Andhra Pradesh, India.
• Apollo Management, UBS, Merrill Lynch International, GLG Partners and Jabre Capital as noteholders in relation to the restructuring of, and enforcement action relating to, US$100,000,000 Guaranteed Senior Notes issued by Mobile-8 Telecom Finance Company B.V. and guaranteed by PT Mobile-8 Telekom Tbk, an Indonesian cellular phone operator.
• Suez Lyonnaise Des Eaux in the financing of a BOT water treatment facility in Thu Duc Province, Vietnam (the first ever BOT project in Vietnam).
• Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. in relation to its investment in a casino resort project in Vung-Tau Province, Vietnam.  The development will be Vietnam’s first integrated resort and gaming complex and one of the largest in Southeast Asia.
• TNK-BP in the development of up to 2400 MW of gas-to-power generating capacity in West Siberia, Russian Federation.
• Wachovia Insurance in the structuring of certain financial insurance-linked derivative products in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea, and China.
• London Regional Transport in various projects under the U.K.’s Private Finance Initiative, including the financing of a £1.2 billion train radio and fiber-optic cable data transmission system for the London Underground; the restructuring of London Underground Limited’s interests in, and the tax leasing of equipment and rolling stock under, the Northern Line Train Services Contracts (the U.K.’s first ever private finance initiative project); and the £7 billion public private partnership for London’s Underground network.
• Lloyd’s of London in the financing of its reconstruction and renewal programme – the world’s largest ever insurance market restructuring.

* Includes experience gained prior to joining Gibson Dunn.