DLA Piper LLP

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DLA Piper is a global law firm with more than 4,400 lawyers in 33 countries and with 76 offices throughout Asia, Europe, the US and the Middle East. Consistent with the breadth of the firm’s expertise, our work in Latin America is multi-disciplinary in nature reflecting our broad experience in banking and finance, project and infrastructure financing, capital markets, M&A, debt restructuring, dispute resolution and labour and employment.

An important component of our global strategy is representing multinational clients doing business in the region. In Brazil we have advanced that goal through our cooperation agreement with Campos Mello Advogados, a highly respected firm with offices in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and through our office in São Paulo. In addition, we opened an office in Miami in 2011 to facilitate our representation of European companies who use Miami for their Latin American-directed business and investments, and Latin American companies who use Miami as a hub for their US-directed business and investments. In view of the close connection between South Florida and Venezuela, we established a relationship in 2011 with Interjuris Abogados SC, a firm in Caracas that operates as DLA Interjuris Abogados.

Our primary Latin American practice areas include:

Banking and finance: DLA regularly represents institutional lenders and borrowers in single-bank and syndicated financings in the region, including acquisition financing, recapitalisation financing and working capital financing. Recent transactions include representation of RBS in a secured import financing for a subsidiary of the Schahin Group, a major Brazilian conglomerate, secured by drill rigs leased to Petrobras, and representation of Banco Santander (Brasil) in a secured revolving credit facility for Citrosuco Trading NV, a Netherlands Antilles subsidiary of the Fischer Group, one of Brazil’s largest fruit exporters.

Project and infrastructure financing: DLA lawyers regularly represent sponsors and financial institutions in project and infrastructure financings throughout the region. Our experience includes projects in the energy and power sectors, and in financing toll roads, ports, airports, water treatment facilities and medical facilities. Recently concluded transactions include representing BNP Paribas in financing the Taboada and Huascacocha water treatment facilities in Peru, and representing RBC Merchant Bank (Caribbean) and a group of lenders in refinancing the Hidro Xacbal hydro-electric project in Guatemala.

Capital markets: Partners in the firm regularly advise Latin American companies and their underwriters in securities offerings in the international debt capital markets, including high yield bonds, medium-term notes, project bonds, private placements and credit-linked notes. Among our notable transactions in 2011, we represented BNP Paribas as lead arranger in several project bond offerings in Peru; represented Arendal, S de RL de CV in several offerings of medium-term notes; and represented Banco Santander (Brasil) SA in a private placement of credit-linked notes.

M&A: DLA routinely advises multinational clients, project sponsors, private equity firms and hedge funds in connection with the full spectrum their investment activities in the region, including greenfield investments, joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions. DLA often leverages its global network of offices and multi-disciplinary strength in such transactions, including having recently advised TNK-BP, a joint venture between oil giant BP and a consortium of Russian investors known as Alfa-Acess-Renova, on its US$1 billion acquisition of a 45 per cent stake in a project pursuing oil and gas deposits in the Amazon basin in Brazil.

Debt restructuring: DLA partners have extensive experience advising companies, creditors (including banks, other institutional creditors, bondholder committees and hedge counterparties), financial advisers and dealer-managers in debt restructuring and liability management transactions. Partners in the firm recently represented BTIG as placement agent in the exit financing (in the form of a high yield bond) for Independencia SA in Brazil; two groups of institutional lenders in the debt restructuring of Usina Santa Isabel and Usina São João in Brazil; RBC Merchant Bank and a group of lenders in the recapitalisation of Hidro Xacbal in Guatemala; and Viaçao Itapemirim, the largest interstate passenger operator in Brazil, in connection with an exchange offer of its Regulation S notes.

Dispute resolution: DLA Piper has a leading dispute resolution practice, globally and in Latin America, with extensive experience in litigation, international arbitration and mediation. We are committed to an organised approach to delivering seamless legal solutions and we have handled significant disputes arising in a broad range of sectors throughout Latin America: DLA has assisted clients with sophisticated cross-border disputes in virtually every country in the region. In 2011 DLA advised US and international corporate clients in significant arbitrations and disputes involving the Republic of Venezuela, the Argentine Republic and Peru, and disputes occurring involving parties or assets in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico and Peru. Our cases were in English, Portuguese and Spanish.

Labour and employment: DLA Piper works with its multinational clients in connection with their most sophisticated employment issues, which range from guiding companies through multi-jurisdiction reductions-in-force; designing cross border compensation and pension plans; and representing our clients in employment-related litigation. DLA recently advised a major financial services company on reductions-in-force rules in countries throughout the region.

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