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Ravenhall Prison utilises US debt funding
Allens has advised The GEO Consortium on the refinancing of the Ravenhall Prison Public-Private Partnership.
Grace Ormsby
Firm: Allens (The GEO Consortium)
Value: Undisclosed
Area: Infrastructure
Key players: Allens’ team consisted of partners David Donnelly and Michael Ryan with managing associate Matthew Meyerink and Ben van Weel.
Deal significance: Ravenhall Correctional Centre is a medium-security prison located in Victoria’s Ravenhall.
The refinancing of the Ravenhall Prison Public-Private Partnership was undertaken by way of a long-term US Private Placement, Allens noted.
The Ravenhall Prison Project was designed and built by The GEO Consortium, and is being maintained and operated by the group too.
Allens has identified the public-private partnership arrangement as involving The GEO Group Australia, Capella Capital, GEO Care, Honeywell, John Holland and Forensicare with others.
The firm has advised the GEO Consortium throughout the project’s life cycle, since the original development bid took place in 2013.
Michael Ryan has noted the transaction as continuing a trend for operating PPP projects accessing the US private placement market for longer-term debt funding, but said it’s “the first custodial prison in Australia to access that market”.
David Donnelly added that the Ravenhall Prison Project “is a great example of our team’s ability to service our clients as their needs evolve over the entire life of a project”.
“We’ve been there from day 1 – through the bid, construction and commissioning phases and now as the project transitions to steady a state of operation with an accompanying long-term debt solution,” he continued.
Lawyers Weekly previously reported on the advice given by Allens to The GEO Group on the expansion of Victoria’s Fulham Correctional Centre.
