Latin Lawyer Deal of the Year winners announced

Latin Lawyer announced the winners of its 17th annual Deal of the Year Awards at a charity dinner in São Paulo on 11 May, which was attended by over 270 guests.

The winning deals are:

Capital markets – Brazil privatises Eletrobras 

Banking & finance – Phoenix Towers repackages loans

Project finance: infrastructure – Peruvian port concessionaire gets novel IDB Invest financing

Project finance: energy and natural resources – Innergex refinances Chilean renewables projects with proceeds from green bond offering

M&A (public) – Univision and Televisa form largest Spanish-language media group 

M&A (private) – GIP buys LatAm renewables group Atlas from Actis

Corporate finance: ESG – Chile issues world’s first sovereign sustainability-linked bonds

Private Equity – Multiple firms steer Lumen’s US$2.7 billion LatAm business sale

Disputes – Rutas de Lima vs the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima

Regulatory – Aegea wins bid in Corsan privatisation

Restructuring – LATAM Airlines exits Chapter 11

The proceeds from the awards will go to three local clearinghouses: Brazil’s Instituto Pro Bono, Paraguayan clearinghouse CIDSEP and Fundación Pro Bono in Uruguay.

Latin Lawyer also presented Individual Awards to lawyers that have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to the legal community in 2022. Beccar Varela’s managing partner Horacio Beccar Varela was presented with the Law Firm Leader of the Year Award, while the recipient of this year’s Specialist Law Firm Leader of the Year Award was Martín Gustavo Ibarra Pardo, CEO of Colombia’s Araújo Ibarra International Trade Consultants.

At the event, two Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Carlos Lombardi of Argentina’s Bruchou & Funes de Rioja and Ordélio Azevedo Sette, founding partner of Azevedo Sette Advogados in Brazil. Julie Bédard of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP was the winner of this year’s International Lawyer of the Year Award.

Guyer & Regules went home with this year’s Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year Award for its monumental efforts to both build a robust, internal pro bono practice and encourage other local firms to take on pro bono work. Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez SC in Mexico City and Latham & Watkins LLP were presented with this year’s Pro Bono Project of the Year Award for helping LGBTQ+ charity The Trevor Project launch in Mexico.

TozziniFreire Advogados collected the Diversity Initiative of the Year Award for its commitment to hiring more transgender people. Fellow Brazilian firm Pinheiro Neto Advogados took home the inaugural ESG Initiative Award for its sustainable and socially responsible policies.

On behalf of Latin Lawyer, we would like to congratulate all of this year’s winners for all of their hard work on the deals awarded last night.

Capital markets

Brazil privatises Eletrobras 

Counsel to BNDES 

Shearman & Sterling LLP 

Lefosse 

Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown 

Counsel to Eletrobras 

In-house counsel - André de Avellar Torres, Pedro Motta and Paula Prado Rodrigues 

Clifford Chance LLP 

Pinheiro Guimarães  

Counsel to Banco BTG Pactual, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Banco Múltiplo, Goldman Sachs do Brasil Banco Múltiplo, Banco Itaú BBA, XP Investimentos Corretora de Câmbio, Títulos e Valores Mobiliários, Banco Bradesco BBI, Caixa Econômica Federal, Citigroup Global Markets Brasil, Banco de Investimentos Credit Suisse (Brasil), Banco JP Morgan, Banco Morgan Stanley and Banco Safra  

White & Case LLP  

Mattos Filho 

***

Banking & finance

Phoenix Towers repackages loans

Counsel to Phoenix Tower International 

Locke Lord LLP 

Barros Silva Varela & Vigil 

Posse Herrera Ruiz

Bustamante Fabara 

Greenberg Traurig SC  

Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee 

Nassar Abogados (Costa Rica) 

Nassar Abogados (El Salvador) 

Nassar Abogados (Guatemala) 

Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (Peru) 

Counsel to Scotiabank 

In-house counsel - Joanna Weinstein 

White & Case LLP 

Moreno Baldivieso Estudio de Abogados 

Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (Chile) 

Brigard Urrutia 

Zürcher Odio & Raven  

Headrick Rizik Alvarez & Fernández 

Pérez Bustamante & Ponce (PBP) 

BLP (El Salvador) 

BLP (Guatemala) 

Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega 

Payet, Rey, Cauvi, Pérez Abogados 

***

Project finance: infrastructure

Peruvian port concessionaire gets novel IDB Invest financing

Counsel to Salaverry Terminal Internacional 

In-house counsel – Jaime Noel 

White & Case LLP 

Rodrigo, Elías & Medrano Abogados 

Counsel to IDB Invest, Prudential, Metlife and Cigna 

In-house counsel to IDB Invest – Katherine Scheider Hallahan and Ignacio Imas Innella

Allen & Overy LLP 

Garrigues (Peru) 

Counsel to Citibank 

Miranda & Amado 

***

Project finance: energy and natural resources

Innergex refinances Chilean renewables projects with proceeds from green bond offering

Counsel to Innergex  

DLA Piper LLP  

DLA Piper (Chile) 

Counsel to SMBC and CIBC World Markets 

Paul Hastings LLP 

Garrigues 

Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría (Chile) 

***

M&A (public)

Univision and Televisa form largest Spanish-language media group 

For the acquisition 

Counsel to Univision 

In-house counsel – Amy Tenbrink 

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP 

Galicia Abogados 

Counsel to Televisa 

In-house counsel – Luis Alejandro Bustos, Armando Martínez, Nemer Farjat, Javier Luevanos Ortiz de Rosas, Liliana Martínez and Francisco Fernández 

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz LLP  

Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes SC 

Gómez-Pinzón

For antitrust matters 

Counsel to Univision 

Covington & Burling LLP 

Galicia Abogados 

Counsel to Televisa 

In-house counsel – Luis Alejandro Bustos, Armando Martínez, Jesus Araujo, Nemer Farjat, Javier Luevanos Ortiz de Rosas and Liliana Martínez 

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman 

Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes SC 

For the equity investment   

Counsel to Softbank  

In-house counsel – Stephen Pelliccia and Stephen Lam 

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP 

Galicia Abogados 

Counsel to Google

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP 

Counsel to The Raine Group 

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman 

***

M&A (private)

GIP buys LatAm renewables group Atlas from Actis

Counsel to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)

In-house counsel - Julie Ashworth and Marissa Marco 

Latham & Watkins LLP 

Machado Meyer Advogados 

Morales & Besa 

Galicia Abogados 

Posadas 

Counsel to Actis 

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP 

Pérez-Llorca 

Mattos Filho 

Claro & Cía 

Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes SC 

Ferrere (Uruguay) 

***

Corporate finance: ESG

Chile issues world’s first sovereign sustainability-linked bonds

Counsel to the Republic of Chile 

Linklaters 

Morales & Besa 

Counsel to BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale 

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP 

Garrigues (Chile) 

***

Private Equity

Multiple firms steer Lumen’s US$2.7 billion LatAm business sale

Counsel to Stonepeak Infrastructure 

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP 

Marval O’Farrell Mairal  

Mattos Filho  

TozziniFreire Advogados

Barros & Errázuriz Abogados 

Gómez-Pinzón 

Consortium Legal (Costa Rica)   

Pérez Bustamante & Ponce (PBP)  

Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enriquez SC 

Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega 

Rebaza, Alcázar & De Las Casas  

Guyer & Regules  

Travieso Evans Arria Rengel & Paz 

Counsel to AustralianSuper 

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP 

Counsel to Lumen

Jones Walker LLP

KLA Advogados

Miranda & Amado

D'Empaire

***

Disputes

Rutas de Lima vs the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima

Counsel to Rutas de Lima 

White & Case LLP

Estudio Echecopar member firm of Baker McKenzie International

Rodrigo, Elías & Medrano Abogados 

***

Regulatory

Aegea wins bid in Corsan privatisation

Counsel to Aegea 

Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown 

Souto Correa Advogados 

Counsel to Companhia Riograndense de Saneamento (Corsan) 

Lefosse 

***

Restructuring

LATAM Airlines exits Chapter 11

Counsel to LATAM Airlines 

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP 

Norton Rose Fulbright

Togut, Segal & Segal LLP 

Claro & Cía 

Demarest Advogados 

Machado Meyer Advogados

Brigard Urrutia  

Pérez Bustamante & Ponce (PBP) 

Rodrigo, Elías & Medrano Abogados 

Counsel to Delta Airlines 

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP 

Perella Weinberg Partners 

Barros & Errázuriz Abogados 

Counsel to Qatar Airways 

Alston & Bird LLP 

Mattos Filho

Carey 

Counsel to the ad hoc group of claimants 

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP 

Bofill Escobar Silva Abogados 

Coeymans, Edwards, Poblete & Dittborn 

Counsel to the ad hoc group of LATAM bondholders 

White & Case LLP 

Bofill Mir Abogados 

Counsel to Bank of America

Paul Hastings LLP

Pinheiro Neto Advogados

Counsel to local bondholders and Banco Estado

In-house counsel to Banco Estado - Gabriela Blu Salcedo and Arturo Corte Eterovic

Paul Hastings LLP  

Garrigues (Chile) 

Honorato Delaveau 

Gutiérrez, Waugh, Jimeno & Asenjo 

Counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors 

Dechert 

Morales & Besa

Counsel to Oaktree Capital Management 

White & Case LLP 

Cescon, Barrieu, Flesch & Barreto Advogados 

ROBALINO 

DLA Piper (Chile) 

DLA Piper Martínez Beltrán 

DLA Piper (Peru) 

Counsel to Knighthead Capital Management 

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP 

Counsel to Cueto Group and Eblen Group as shareholders of LATAM 

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz 

Cuatrecasas (Chile) 

Counsel to Columbus Hill Capital Management  

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP  

For the exit financing 

Counsel to JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs 

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP 

Cescon, Barrieu, Flesch & Barreto Advogados 

DLA Piper (Chile) 

DLA Piper Martínez Beltrán

Unlock unlimited access to all Latin Lawyer content