Phillip Cornwell

Background

About Phillip Cornwell

My main areas of practice are project & structured finance (including infrastructure, ECA funding and renewable energy), acquisition finance (including privatisations) and corporate finance. Major infrastructure financings I have worked on include the Melbourne City Link Toll Road, the Alice Springs to Darwin Railway and the Commonwealth's $2bn concessional loan for WestConnex Stage 2. I have advised on Public Private Partnerships as they have evolved, including the Illawarra/Woronora Water Treatment Plant BOOT, the $2bn New Royal Adelaide Hospital the North West Metro and Canberra Metro. I have also advised on student accommodation and private hospital projects. Renewable energy projects include the first syndicated wind farm financing in Australia, Lake Bonney (SA) and, recently, Goldwind's Gullen Range project (NSW). In more traditional project finance, my transactions include the TiWest Mineral Sands project (WA), the Kupe Gas Project (NZ), the Phu Kham Copper Gold Project (Lao PDR), the Jinfeng Gold Mine (PRC) and the Kutubu Oil project (PNG). Export Credit Agency financings include North West Shelf LNG (WA) and the Australia Pacific LNG (Qld). I have acted on many acquisition financings, including ground breakers like Amatek and Pacific Brands, and headline deals like the financing for the APA spinoff from AGL, and then the Energy Infrastructure Investments spinoff from APA, as well as APA's acquisition of the BG LNG gas pipeline, the initial IPO financing of Spark Infrastructure and the privatisations of the Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart Airports and of Southern Hydro. I have been consistently rated a leading or tier 1 lawyer by Chambers, Best Lawyers in Australia and Who's Who in Project Finance and Banking & Finance and was named one of the world's ten leading project finance lawyers and even as one of the top 100 commercial lawyers globally. I am passionate about sustainability, clear thinking, good governance, music, art and cycling.