Deon Wilken

Deon began his career at Adams & Adams as a Candidate Attorney in 1998 in the Commercial and Tax department. In 1999, Deon moved to Cliffe Dekker Fuller Moore. He was made an Associate in 2000. Deon was promoted to Senior Associate in 2001. In 2003, Deon was made a Director at Cliffe Dekker Inc, now Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr in 2008.

• Represented the BEE Shareholder in refinancing its DFI facilities with inflation linked debt in the R150 million Kalkbult Solar Project. Advising the BEE Shareholder on the sale of its interests in 2 other REIPPP round 1 solar parks.

• Advised the Lender to a R100 million water pipe production facility project financed, in Rustenburg.

• Represented a broad range of sponsors and banks in syndicated project financings for several of the renewable energy projects in South Africa’s independent power producers programme.

• Deon also worked on a refinancing of a REIPPP round 1 concentrated PV solar park in the Western Cape (bond refinancing).

• Advised Senior Lender to 5MW solar PV plant under the Namibian feed in tariff scheme.

• Deon advised the Lenders to a project financing for the construction of a 38MW gas fired power plant in Mozambique and the ZAR 200 million upgrade of the gas pressure reduction station.

• Deon advised Lenders on R105 million project financed Energy Recovery Plant utilising process water from mining activities passed through an Organic Rankine Cycle Plant to generate electrical power.

• Advised Lonmin on its USD800 million equity recapitalisation and full debt refinancing and restructuring in 2012 and 2015

• Advised Atlatsa Resources on ZAR2,3 billion debt restructuring with Anglo Platinum

• Advised Sephaku Cement, the first domestic entrant into South Africa’s cement market in more than 70 years, in its ZAR1.95bn debt funding for its R3.4bn project financed cement plant and grinding facility project near Delmas, South Africa

• Chambers Global 2021–2024 ranked Deon Wilken in Band 3 for banking & finance.
• Chambers Global 2025 - 2026 ranked Deon Wilken in Band 4 for banking & finance.
• The Legal 500 EMEA 2013–2023 recommended him for banking & finance.
• IFLR1000 2024 - 2025 regarded Deon as a leading lawyer Project Development, and Capital markets: Debt.
• IFLR1000 2018–2023 recommended Deon as a highly regarded lawyer for capital markets: debt, energy and infrastructure, and for project finance.