Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) acted as a structuring lead on Starwood Property Trust Inc.'s first project finance collateralized loan obligation (CLO) – STWD 2021-SIF1.

The deal also represents MUFG's first structuring lead mandate on a project finance CLO backed by a pool of $500 million project finance and corporate infrastructure loans secured primarily by long-term, critical, core infrastructure projects. STWD 2021-SIF1 was designed to optimize Starwood's portfolio management strategy while leveraging MUFG's experience and deep technical expertise in project finance loans.

"This is a milestone transaction for our Securitized Products group. We saw demand from the US and Europe, as investors are looking for deals backed by project finance loans in order to diversify their investments and risk profile," said Tricia Hazelwood, International Head of Securitized Products, MUFG. "We saw superior execution for Classes A through D of this CLO, including a number of first-time investors in the project finance space."

"We are very excited to announce the pricing of our inaugural Energy Infrastructure CLO, a first of its kind in the structured finance markets," said Andrew Sossen, Chief Operating Officer, Starwood Property Trust. "This important transaction enhances our asset returns with match term financing that is non-recourse and has no mark-to-market exposure. We intend this CLO to be the first of many for Starwood Infrastructure Finance."

The CLO is managed by STWD Investment Management, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Starwood Property Trust.