3 December 2008 - Gide Loyrette Nouel Paris, legal counsel to Eiffage in connection with the Great Lille Stadium PPP project:

The Greater Lille Metropolitan Council (LMCU) and Groupe Eiffage entered into a partnership agreement on 15 October 2008 for the construction of the Great Lille Stadium (Grand Stade de Lille Métropole). The financial close of the project was achieved on 21 November 2008. 
 
This partnership agreement relates to the design, construction, financing, maintenance and operation of the Great Lille Stadium. This stadium will have a 50,000 seat capacity. The operation will last for a term of 31 years from the operational launch, scheduled in 2012. The Grand Stade de Lille Métropole will be used first and foremost as the home of LOSC-LM (Lille Football Club) for its football matches but will also be available for other sporting, cultural or economic events. The partnership agreement also provides for the creation of 3,500 parking spots and the construction of other associated buildings to house hotels, restaurants, leisure businesses and even a sports-health centre. This is the first example of a major project in which the party awarded the partnership agreement creates a real estate project ancillary to the main construction project, pursuant to Ordinance No. 2004-559 of 17 June 2004 on partnership agreements.  

This partnership agreement was signed following a competitive tendering procedure that was launched on 5 December 2006. In accordance with the 17 June 2004 Ordinance, a competitive dialogue was organised throughout 2007 with three bidding consortia headed respectively by Eiffage, Bouygues and Vinci. Based on the final offers submitted on 21 December 2007, the Greater Lille Metropolitan Council commenced a phase of finalisation of the partnership agreement with Groupe Eiffage, starting on 1 February 2008.  

The partnership agreement was signed on 15 October 2008 by Martine Aubry, President of the Greater Lille Metropolitan Council, and by Jean-François Roverato, President and CEO of Eiffage SA, on behalf of Elisa, Eiffage’s project SPV.

Groupe Eiffage was advised by Gide Loyrette Nouel: between the launch of the competitive dialogue stage and the closing of the financing deal, Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. mobilised a team of 28 lawyers, led by Thomas Courtel, Alexandre Balia (structured finance and project finance) and Bénédicte Mazel (public law and project finance). This team included 7 partners (Eric Cartier-Millon, structured finance; Thomas Courtel, public law and project finance; David Desforges, environmental law; Guillaume Goulard, tax law; Eric Martin-Imperatori, real estate transactions and financing; Nadège Nguyen, mergers and acquisitions; Emmanuel Vital-Durand, urban planning law)