LatinFinance - January/February 2013 - 61

ﬁnancing for Pemex. The ﬁrm expects
to see the loan market pick up in the
year ahead as borrowers seek to ﬁnance
projects, says partner Pablo Perezalonso.
The new government is prioritizing
infrastructure projects, and the ﬁrm
expects to see more interest from
US banks in the loan market as their
European counterparts focus on issues at
home, says Perezalonso. Mexican banks
are well capitalized and looking to lend
more, encouraged by the government.
Local banks are joining subsidiaries
of Spanish banks in focusing on
infrastructure, Obregón says. Road
projects and pipeline ﬁnancings are of
particular interest, with multilaterals also
playing a signiﬁcant role, especially for
renewable energy projects.
“You’re going to see a couple of solar
deals in Mexico in 2013 which are going
to be interesting,” Obregón says. He also
expects to see reﬁnancings as competition
among lenders makes rates better.

M&A was a big part of the ﬁrm’s
business in 2012, with Ritch Mueller
representing Grupo Modelo’s principal
shareholders in the $20.1 billion sale of
50% of Grupo Modelo to Anheuser-Busch
Inbev and Coca-Cola Femsa’s merger
with Grupo Fomento Queratano for an
undisclosed amount.
M&A is likely to be one of the ﬁrm’s
primary areas of opportunity in 2013,
Obregón says. He sees the markets
being active as private equity ﬁrms raise
“signiﬁcant capital” in new funds.
“Putting aside larger strategic
transactions, you’re going to see a lot of
activity between $25 million-$60 million
dollars. That’s going to be a very active
market for 2013,” Obregón says. The
frequency of larger deals will be harder to
predict.
Spanish developers with positions in
wind farm and other power projects in
Mexico will likely continue liquidating
them, but Obregón says that’s not the

only sector that will see sales. “There are
PE ﬁrms that focus on food and beverage,
ﬁrms that focus on retail – I think you’re
going to see activity across all sectors,”
Obregón says.
Energy and infrastructure – which the
incoming government has indicated it will
look to reform Pemex, the oil company,
and CFE, the electricity utility – will
become a bigger part of the ﬁrm’s work,
along with real estate, as funds seek to
raise money in Mexico either via Fibra
funds or private placement.
“Real estate is going to be more
active than in 2012 and 2011 with new
projects instead of only existing portfolio
transactions,” Obregón says.
Firms now have to turn their attention
to getting ready for the activity, and for
the uptick in work ahead, he says. “The
biggest challenge is being able to hire
competent associates to be able to respond
to the greater and more sophisticated
workload,” Obregón says. LF

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