MahoneyLiotta

MahoneyLiotta’s banking and finance practice is highly regarded in the market. Daniel Mahoney, “a great lawyer”, says a client, advised copper-gold mining company Oyu Tolgoi on its $4.4 billion project finance facility, one of Mongolia’s largest project financings ever.  Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world’s largest copper-gold mines to open in the past decade, is a joint venture between Rio Tinto’s Turquoise Hill Resources (66% interest) and the Mongolian government (34%). The team has been working with the joint venture since 2001. Mahoney also advised an international commercial bank on a $175 million term loan facility.

MahoneyLiotta has been involved in some of Mongolia’s largest capital markets transactions the past year. The practice acted for the Mongolian government to update its $5 billion global medium term note programme. It also worked on the Singapore-listed Rmb1 billion ($150 million) 7.5% notes due in 2018. Paul Weiffenbach and Nomindari Otgonbayar have been advising a Mongolian commercial bank on its $150 million global bond issuance.

The construction and real estate practice at MahoneyLiotta advises a number of international real estate developers. Narantuya Gundegmaa and Daniel Mahoney advised an overseas developer on licensing and permitting issues in the development of a real estate project in Mongolia, as the project does not have a Mongolian co-development partner.

MahoneyLiotta’s corporate and M&A practice is the domestic counsel for some of the largest international law firms in the world. James Liotta regularly advises on market entry and local partner selection for foreign companies. Daniel Mahoney has been acting for an international investor with their prospective acquisition of a controlling interest in a Mongolian company in the process of developing a coal mine and associated mine mouth power plant. Drafting, negotiating and finalising the power purchase agreement have been important elements of the transaction.

In MahoneyLiotta’s energy and natural resources team, James Liotta is advising the lending consortium for the near-$1 billion 450 megawatt  (MW) Combined Heat and Power Plant Number 5 (CHP-5) project, one of Mongolia’s first coal-fired build-operate-transfer power projects. Daniel Mahoney and Ariuntuya Rentsen provided advice to an international development finance institution on a cross-border transaction, in one of the first financings to the agricultural sector on a commercial basis. A reduction in mining output, according to the Asian Development Bank, is expected to decelerate Mongolia’s economic growth to below 1% in 2016 and 2017, contracting demand for energy and natural resources practices while boosting restructuring and insolvency and dispute resolution work.

Instructed by an international private equity investor, Daniel Mahoney of MahoneyLiotta is handling their prospective acquisition of a controlling interest in a Mongolian company in the process of developing a coal mine and associated mine mouth power plant.

MahoneyLiotta’s project transactions have a strong focus on metals and mining. Narantuya Gundegmaa, a former senior legal adviser at the Minerals Resources Authority of Mongolia, specialises in environmental compliance, and minerals and mining exploration. Enkhtur Demberelsuren advises on resolving contentious matters through arbitration and litigation. James Liotta advises on a variety of legal issues in the infrastructure sector. The energy, project and infrastructure team acted for the lenders in their $1 billion financing of the 450 MW Combined Heat and Power Plant Number 5 (CHP-5) project. The project is under a build-operate-transfer agreement between the Mongolian government and project sponsors.

MahoneyLiotta’s Daniel Mahoney and Uuganbayar Otgondorj advised an international leasing company on its repossession of leased Mongolian aircraft seized in Hong Kong. The team acted to deregister the aircraft from the Mongolian registry and negotiate with the Mongolian lessee to settle final outstanding issues. The matter required first-time application of the Cape Town Treaty’s aircraft protocol in Mongolia and close work with the Mongolian authorities. The treaty provides global standards for movable assets, such as aircraft, railway rolling stock and space equipment.

MahoneyLiotta provides a range of tax advisory services to clients – from cross-border tax planning to domestic compliance. The practice has been involved in several tax litigation cases.  Enkhtur Demberlsuren, James Liotta and Daniel Mahoney have been managing tax cases for companies which were originally civil tax assessment matters but have turned into criminal cases, as the government leverages its taxation and enforcement authorities.