LATIN AMERICA PRACTICE
Holland & Knight’s Latin America Team regularly counsels clients in cross-border transactions, international trade and taxation, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capital markets, venture capital and private equity investments, project finance, real estate, international licensing and franchising, international litigation and arbitration, labor and employment, regulatory advice and government matters.
Our U.S. and international offices – combined with the depth and scale of our practices, regional relationships and global reach – enables Holland & Knight to provide comprehensive and seamless legal services to our clients, regardless of location.
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT US
Our lawyers are consistently recognized as leaders in the legal profession, earning accolades for service, responsiveness, results and pro bono commitment.
2024 Chambers Global
32 lawyers | Top rankings in nine practice areas in Latin America, Colombia and Mexico | Among the “world’s leading firms” in Latin America-wide: Banking & Finance; Colombia: Banking & Finance, Corporate/M&A and Dispute Resolution; Mexico: Banking & Finance, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution: Arbitration, Energy & Natural Resources and Tax: Non-Contentious
2024 Legal 500 Latin America
Colombia Practice | Recommended for Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution - Litigation, Energy and Natural Resources, Environment, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, Public Law and Tax
Mexico Practice | Recommended in Mexico for Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate/ M&A, Dispute Resolution - Arbitration, Energy and Natural Resources, Intellectual Property, International Trade and Customs, Projects and Infrastructure, Real Estate, Tax and Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT)
in our U.S. offices through our renowned Foreign Lawyer Trainee Program
LATIN AMERICA OUTLOOK
Holland & Knight is well-positioned to address client needs and goals with our full-service representation and value-added services around the globe. We are highly experienced in helping clients in the strategic areas of growth in Latin America, including in financial services, energy, mergers and acquisitions, and transportation and infrastructure.
2024 Latin Lawyer 250
Holland & Knight is recognized in Latin America for its “commendable breadth of practice” with 39 individuals earning mention; Latin America Practice noted for work in Arbitration, Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Corporate and M&A, and Litigation
2024 Chambers Latin America
24 attorneys honored as “Latin America’s best advisors” with top rankings and four attorneys recognized as Notable Practitioners
Recognition for International Counsel: Banking & Finance and Project Finance; Colombia: Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Competition/Antitrust, Corporate/M&A, Dispute Resolution, Energy & Natural Resources: Environment, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment, and Tax; Mexico: Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Compliance, Corporate/M&A, Corporate/Commercial: Monterrey, Dispute Resolution: Arbitration, Energy & Natural Resources, Intellectual Property, International Trade/WTO, Projects, Tax: NonContentious, and Telecom, Media and Technology (TMT); Cuba: Corporate/Commercial: International Firms
2023 IFLR1000 Financial and Corporate Guide
Recognition in Colombia, Banking & Finance, Project Development, Project Development: Mining, M&A and Capital Markets: Debt | Recognition in Mexico, Capital Markets: Debt, Capital Markets: Equity, Project Development, Banking, M&A and Project Finance
BENEFIT FROM OUR PRACTICE SYNERGY AND MULTICULTURAL
Holland & Knight’s substantial experience in a wide range of business sectors is enhanced by our established working relationships with business and government leaders.
As innovators in financing structures – that are now considered market role models – we have in-depth knowledge of how to work with country-level officials to analyze, design and draft legislation and regulations that advocates our client’s position in the marketplace.
We have been a key participant in several first-ever transactions in Latin America, including numerous large-scale deals, and are at the forefront of constitutional reforms and new energy laws in Mexico and beyond.
OUR TRACK RECORD
The firm partners with clients to deliver innovative business and legal solutions. Holland & Knight is one of the few U.S.-based firms with full-service offices in Mexico and Colombia, which allow us to play a key role in helping clients achieve their short- and long-term goals.
Recent Notable Deals in the News
Advised UMB Bank in connection with the acquisition financing of 13 power plants in Mexico. The deal, worth approximately US$6 billion, has been hailed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador as a “new nationalization” for the electricity market.
Represented Fibra UNO, the first Mexican real estate investment trust (REIT) and the largest in Latin America, in connection with a US$600 million public offering of senior unsecured green bonds –the first of its kind issued by a Mexican REIT.
Represented Oben Group, a Peru-based flexible film packaging supplier, in its $116 million acquisition of Terphane, a producer of biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate films with manufacturing plants in Brazil and the U.S., from Tredegar Corp., a leading manufacturer of plastic films and aluminum extrusions.
Represented Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN) as liquidity lender in the US$225 million refinancing of the Transversal del Sisga project in Colombia. The refinancing structure included four senior debt tranches (maturing one after the other) provided by FDN, BlackRock debt fund and Ashmore debt fund, as well as the liquidity line provided by FDN. The proceeds of the financing were used to repay the original debt of the project, and a dividend recap to the sponsors for their equity investments in other concessions in Colombia. The transaction was named the “Latin America Transport Deal of the Year – Roads” at the 2023 IJGlobal Americas Awards.
Represented the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) as lender in Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) financing totaling US$8 billion, where ICBC acted as part of a syndicated lenders party. The transaction was divided into a senior unsecured syndicated term loan facility agreement for an amount up to US$2.5 billion and a senior unsecured syndicated revolving credit facility agreement for an amount up to US$5.5 billion. This transaction
was recognized as “Syndicated Loan of the Year: Pemex” by LatinFinance’s 2019 Project and Infrastructure Awards.
Advised Fibra UNO, Mexico’s largest real estate investment trust, in connection with a $1 billion dual tranche (U.S. dollars and Mexican pesos) five-year sustainabilitylinked revolving credit agreement. The syndicated facility complies with the LSTA’s Sustainability Linked Loan Principles and is the first of its kind for a Mexican borrower like Fibra UNO. This transaction was recognized as “Financing Innovation of the Year: Fibra UNO” by LatinFinance’s 2019 Project and Infrastructure Awards.
Represented Mitsubishi Union Bank, N.A., and TMF Group, which acted as collateral agents in the US$8.7 billion financing of Engie’s acquisition of TAG, Brazil’s largest gas pipeline company. The transaction was named the“Oil & Gas Financing of the Year” at LatinFinance’s 2019 Project and Infrastructure Awards.
CONTACT US
Roberto R. Pupo
Co-Chair, Latin America Practice Group Miami +1.305.789.7750 roberto.pupo@hklaw.com
