Latin Finance - January/February 2012 - 56

among others, and is also involved in signiﬁcant restructurings and tax cases. Carey y Cía has been instrumental in large transactions, such as advising

Latin America, he also believes the momentum will push activity ahead. “The country is growing and we need more infrastructure,” he says, explaining that he expects growth of 5%-6% in the year ahead. “Mining and energy, that’s where the big booms are coming.” The ﬁrm continues to deepen its expertise in various areas. This includes recently being hired by the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped underground last year as they look for someone to represent them in negotiations to sell the movie and life story rights. LF

Mexico Law Firm
Ritch Mueller

The stars are aligned: Carey state-owned copper company Codelco when it sought debt ﬁnancing to acquire interest in a copper mine owned by Anglo American. The result was a loan facility for up to $6.75 billion from Mitsui & Co. Carey y Cía also advised Swedish appliance maker Electrolux in the acquisition of Chile’s largest home appliance manufacturer, Compañía Tecno Industrial, from Sigdo Koppers and associated parties in a $670 million deal. It also advised Brookﬁeld Asset Management as it acquired Spanish construction company ACS Group’s stake in the Vespucio Norte Express toll road and San Cristóbal tunnel for €216 million. Other work included advisory roles in the $1 billion international bond placement by Republic of Chile and a reopening of a related $350 million peso-denominated bond placement. “The stars have aligned correctly, the country’s doing well, investments are increasing inwards and outbound and the transactions have been very large in di erent areas,” Carey says. “And we’ve been able to use our expertise in all of the areas.” Carey says he is optimistic about prospects for next year. Though he expects problems in Europe will a ect

A Broad Sweep
I
n a tough global economic marketplace, Mexican law ﬁrm Ritch Mueller found itself involved in most of the relevant deals with respect to Mexican clients, says Pablo Perezalonso, a partner with the ﬁrm. It assisted Citibank in the restructuring of autoparts company Nemak, and also carried out signiﬁcant transactions in project ﬁnance, representing Banobras in the construction operation of a highway in Oaxaca. On the capital markets side, it represented JPMorgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the register o ering of América Móvil. And in M&A, it advised Arca in its acquisition of Grupo Continental, in what Perezalonso says is the largest merger of listed companies in Mexico. “The ﬁrm has continued to see a strong and continuous growth in its demand for new business,” says Perezalonso. The upcoming presidential election year and ongoing volatility in US markets will be something to watch in the months ahead, but the ﬁrm says it hopes to see the same amount of work and the same type of deals. He expects that activity on the reﬁnancing, transaction, and loan front will continue, while the capital markets are likely to see debt deals but not as

much on the equity side. As for project ﬁnance, he says there may be new transactions in terms of government spending during the election year. Much will be contingent on US regulations a ecting derivatives, he adds. The ﬁrm continues to represent most of the ﬁnancial institutions that operate in Mexico, both Mexican and foreign, including banks and broker dealers, he says. “[FIG] continues to be our strongest area of practice.” he says. In recent years, the ﬁrm has also expanded its focus to include M&A and real estate transactions. In 2011, it represented Brazilian development bank BNDES in a $330 million aircraft reﬁnancing for Aeroméxico and Deutsche Bank and other lenders in a Four Seasons hotel reﬁnancing. Still, traditional and capital market segments remain central to the ﬁrm’s business, he says.

More project ﬁnance on the horizon: Perezalonso Looking ahead, Perezalonso expects US banks such as JPMorgan and Bank of America to continue to be active in crossborder transactions, while Spanish banks are likely to be less active as they have to focus on home markets. LF

UPDATE
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56 LATINFINANCE

January/February 2012

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Latin Finance - January/February 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Latin Finance - January/February 2012