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
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