Sydney, 9 September 2008 – Baker & McKenzie has advised Camco International Limited (Camco) on the successful completion of one of the world's first structured finance transactions in the international carbon market. Camco is a leading climate change business and developer of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects under the Kyoto Protocol. The transaction, involving the auction of carbon credits, was four times oversubscribed, and the bid prices were substantially higher than expected.

The transaction involved Standard Bank Plc auctioning the carbon credits, or Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), from a number of Camco's CDM projects in a pool of ranked tranches, as well as an upfront non-recourse cash payment from Standard Bank for future CER deliveries under the transaction.

Lawyers from across Baker & McKenzie's offices were led by Paul Curnow, Partner, and Lachlan Tait, General Associate, from the Firm's climate change practice in Sydney. Bruce Taylor, Partner, and Jastej Bains, Senior Associate, from the Melbourne banking and finance practice, advised in relation to structured finance issues. The transaction also included members of the Sydney and London tax teams.

Paul Curnow commented on the deal, saying "We were delighted to advise Camco on this innovative structure, and are very happy with the successful conclusion. We have worked for the company on several other CDM matters, and we were proud to be chosen to advise them again. This is a very sophisticated and innovative transaction which breaks new ground in the carbon markets. Our work on the matter brought together Baker & McKenzie's world-leading global climate change practice and the Firm's expertise in structured finance. Together we were able to play a key role in structuring and ultimately closing the transaction.

The fact that our Australian offices were able to advise a Jersey-incorporated and AIM-listed client so effectively demonstrates the value of the Firm's global office network and global approach to these types of transactions."

Bruce Taylor noted that the successful completion was a reflection of the Firm's efforts in applying structured finance techniques to the carbon credit market. He said, "The contractual arrangements were particularly complex. In particular, the back-to-backing of primary, secondary and tertiary emission-reduction purchase agreements. The tranches and delivery obligations needed to be structured to ensure risks were allocated between the parties in an efficient manner."