DEAL CLOSED!!!!

Yes, you are getting 2 posts today.  I realized last night that I spend so much of my waking hours at work everyday, but most people probably have no idea what I actually do.  Well this week was a big one for me in my career.  A large deal that I have been working on finally closed!  I flew ~15,000 miles (most during my first trimester of pregnancy), spent ~15 nights in hotel rooms, and hundreds of hours on conference calls regarding this financing.  Not only is the loan very large ($1.51Bn), but since it is a construction loan, it is very complex.  Essentially the Company is building a 675 mile pipeline to transport natural gas from Wyoming to Oregon.  The natural gas will be transported from the natural gas rich Rocky Mountains region to the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.  Anyway here is the press release that was posted this week when the deal closed.  Here's to many more adventures in corporate banking!

El Paso Corporation and Global Infrastructure Partners Close $1.5 Billion Ruby Financing

HOUSTON, TX, May 05, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --El Paso Corporation (NYSE: EP) and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) today announced they have closed the project financing for the Ruby Pipeline project. The seven-year, $1.5 billion debt facility is supported by a group of domestic and international banks. Ruby's borrowing rate is LIBOR plus 300 basis points for the first two years; LIBOR plus 325 basis points for the third and fourth years; and LIBOR plus 375 basis points for the fifth, sixth and seventh years, assuming that $700 million of debt is refinanced by the end of the fourth year. Ruby intends to enter into forward swap agreements to fix at least 75 percent of the floating LIBOR interest rate, beginning in June 2011 and extending through the maturity of the bank facility. Assuming the current six-month LIBOR rate, the expected weighted average rate for the financing is expected to be less than 7 percent, excluding debt issuance costs. "The closing of the Ruby Financing project represents the delivery of the most significant component of our 2010 financing plan," said Doug Foshee, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of El Paso Corporation. "With the sale of our Mexican pipeline assets and the recent drop down to El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P., we have effectively addressed our funding requirements for 2010." Ruby will not draw under the new facility until it has received final regulatory approvals and other conditions precedent under the financing agreements. The debt will be supported by the equity of Ruby and an El Paso Corporation construction completion guarantee. El Paso Corporation provides natural gas and related energy products in a safe, efficient, and dependable manner. The company owns North America's largest interstate natural gas pipeline system and one of North America's largest independent natural gas producers. For more information, visit www.elpaso.com. El Paso has entered into agreements with GIP, whereby GIP will invest up to $700 million in the Ruby project. Upon satisfaction of various closing conditions, GIP will acquire a 50 percent equity interest in the project.