Winners of Latin Lawyer’s 2019 Deal of the Year Awards announced

The winners in all 10 categories of our 14th annual Deal of the Year Awards are revealed here.

Latin Lawyer’s editorial team selected winners from more than 400 nominations. All deals under consideration had to have closed in 2019.

The winning deals all exhibited truly novel legal work at a level of complexity that broke new parameters in the jurisdictions they occurred in. Their impact and significance are evident well beyond the negotiating table.

In previous years we have announced winning deals at a charity awards dinner, but due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, this year we are instead revealing the winners online.

Latin Lawyer congratulates all the lawyers whose hard work brought these winning deals to successful completion. Full deal teams are listed below.

The winning deals are:

M&A (Private) - Engie buys TAG from Petrobras for US$8.6 billion

M&A (Public) - Suzano and Fibria create world pulp leader

Private equity - Rappi obtains US$1 billion financing from SoftBank

Project finance (Infrastructure) - Uruguay finances Montevideo-Paso de los Toros railway PPP

Project finance (Energy) - Energía del Pacifico power plant gets project financing in El Salvador

Regulatory - Brazil raises US$16 billion in transfer-of-rights oil auction

Disputes - Vigor vs CCPR and Lactalis in the battle for control of Itambé

Banking and finance - China Three Gorges gets hydroelectric dam refinancing  

Capital markets - Chile issues Latin America’s first green sovereign bonds

Restructuring - Constellation oil group completes US$1.5 billion global restructuring

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M&A (Private)

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Engie buys TAG from Petrobras for US$8.6 billion

Counsel to Engie

In-house counsel - Patrick Baeten, Oyhana Maurat, Tim Venables, Alan Duque, Guilherme Schmitt, Ana Mellone and Christina Aguiar

Jones Day

Herbert Smith Freehills

Stocche Forbes Advogados

Schmidt, Valois, Miranda, Ferreira, Agel Advogados

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão

Counsel to Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec - CDPQ

Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown

Counsel to Petrobras

In-house counsel – Danielle Dantas, Josiane Simioni and Fernanda Valeriano

Machado Meyer Advogados

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M&A (Public)

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Suzano and Fibria create world pulp leader

Counsel to Suzano Papel e Celulose

In-house counsel - Pablo Gimenez Machado

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

Cescon, Barrieu, Flesch & Barreto Advogados

Counsel to Votorantim

In-house counsel - Tatiana Anderson, Mariane Vlach and Gilberto da Silva

White & Case LLP

TozziniFreire Advogados

Counsel to Fibria

Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados

For antitrust matters

Counsel to Suzano and Fibria

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão

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Private equity

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Rappi obtains US$1 billion financing from SoftBank

Counsel to Rappi

Cooley LLP

Counsel to SoftBank

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Machado Meyer Advogados

Brigard Urrutia

Marval O'Farrell Mairal

Galicia Abogados

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Project finance (Infrastructure)

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Uruguay finances Montevideo-Paso de los Toros railway PPP

Counsel to Grupo Vía Central

In-house counsel to Vía Central - Leandro Iglesias

In-house counsel to SACYR - Karina Martínez

In-house counsel to SACEEM - Federico Gianero

In-house counsel to NGE - Pierre-Antoine Rohan

In-house counsel to Berkes - Pedro Bellocq

Baker McKenzie LLP

Baker McKenzie (Chile)

Baker McKenzie (Mexico)

Estudio Echecopar member firm of Baker McKenzie International

Dentons Jiménez de Aréchaga

Counsel to IDB Invest, CAF, CAF-AM, Sumitomo Mitsui and Intesa Sanpaolo

In-house counsel to IDB Invest - Ignacio Imas Inella

In-house counsel to CAF - Gonzalo Soriano

In-house counsel to CAF-AM - Laura Berkman

Clifford Chance LLP

Ferrere (Uruguay)

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Project finance (Energy)

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Energía del Pacifico power plant gets project financing in El Salvador

Counsel to Invenergy and Energia del Pacifico

In-house counsel to Invenergy - Will Borders and Jessica Kraig

White & Case LLP

Arias (El Salvador)

Counsel to Overseas Private Investment Company, the International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank, Finnvera and KfW

Norton Rose Fulbright

Romero Pineda & Asociados

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Regulatory

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Brazil raises US$16 billion in transfer-of-rights oil auction

Counsel to CNOOC

Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown

Counsel to CNDOC

Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados

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Disputes

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Vigor vs CCPR and Lactalis in the battle for control of Itambé

Counsel to Vigor

Ferro, Castro Neves, Daltro & Gomide Advogados

Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados

Counsel to Itambé Alimentos

Sergio Bermudes Advogados

Counsel to Cooperativa Central dos Produtores Rurais de Minas Gerais

Cescon, Barrieu, Flesch & Barreto Advogados

Counsel to B.S.A. International

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão

In the out of court settlement

Counsel to the companies

Pinheiro Neto Advogados

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Banking and finance

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China Three Gorges gets hydroelectric dam refinancing

Counsel to Chaglla Holdings

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Muñiz, Olaya, Meléndez, Castro, Ono & Herrera

Counsel to Odebrecht

White & Case LLP

Counsel to Bank of China, Industrial Commercial Bank of China and BBVA Banco Continental

Allen & Overy LLP

Hernández & Cía Abogados

Demarest Advogados

Counsel to the existing lenders

Clifford Chance LLP

Rodrigo, Elías & Medrano Abogados

Counsel to The Bank of New York Mellon

Hogan Lovells LLP

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Capital markets

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Chile issues Latin America’s first green sovereign bonds

Counsel to Chile

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

Morales & Besa

Counsel to the underwriters

Shearman & Sterling LLP

Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (Chile)

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Restructuring

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Constellation oil group completes US$1.5 billion global restructuring

In the 1st Business Court of Rio de Janeiro

Counsel to Constellation

Galdino & Coelho Advogados

Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados

Loyens & Loeff

Counsel to Lux Oil & Gas

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão

Counsel to funds managed by Pacific Investment Management Co.

Cascione Pulino Boulos Advogados

Counsel to SBM Holding and Capital International Private Equity

Pinheiro Neto Advogados

In the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York

Serviços de Petróleo Constellation S.A., et al. Case No. 18-13952

Judge Martin Glenn

Counsel to Constellation and Fund Fiduciary Partners

White & Case LLP

Galdino & Coelho Advogados

Counsel to Lux Oil and Gas

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão

Counsel to certain asset-backed loan lenders of Constellation

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

Stocche Forbes Advogados

Counsel to Banco Bradesco

Norton Rose Fulbright

Machado Meyer Advogados

Counsel to the 2024 bondholders

Milbank

E.Munhoz Advogados 

Counsel to Wilmington Trust

Pryor Cashman

Counsel to Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas

Holland & Knight LLP

Counsel to Alperton Capital

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Graf & Pitkowitz

Counsel to funds managed by Pacific Investment Management Co.

Dechert

Counsel to Capital International Private Equity

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP