Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega

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Established in 1911, ARIFA has been at the forefront of the legal profession, advising leading international financial institutions, multinational corporations and some of the largest Panamanian companies, for 100 years. Its practice spans 23 areas of law, in 12 practice groups, including capital markets; banking and finance; M&A; corporations; regulatory work; government contracts; antitrust; litigation; real estate; environmental; labour; shipping; estates, trusts and foundations; taxation and IP. ARIFA is widely recognised for its expertise in structuring complex and innovative M&A, capital market and financial transactions. It also has a strong offshore practice.

Capital markets and banking: ARIFA has one of the pre-eminent capital markets practices in Panama and is an acclaimed market leader for its experience in working with innovative financial structures, particularly in cross-border transactions. The firm has unmatched expertise in securitisations and in the initial public offerings of Panamanian corporations, having counseled five Panamanian corporations listed on the NYSE. Recently ARIFA advised: Citibank in a $20 million financing to Madden-Colon toll road, a $100 million loan to TACA, a $17.5 million purchase facility to Odebrecht and a $225 million loan to BAC/Credomatic Group; Barclays Capital in a €120 million renewal of Codere’s senior facilities agreement and €100 million bond offering; Morgan Stanley in a $95.8 and $351.6 million bond offer of Panama, and $100 million COPA secondary offering of shares by CIASA; HSBC in the first $1 billion Panamanian registration of a programme of negotiable banking certificates in Mexico; BNP Paribas and Euler Hermes Kreditversicherungs on financing seven Avianca aircrafts; BLADEX in a $2.25 billion EMTN Program update and the first Panamanian registration of a programme of negotiable banking certificates in Chile; Fresh del Monte in a $500 million debt restructuring; QBE del Istmo in a $30 million joint financing package by IFC and IIC; and Credit Suisse in a $62.2 million bond offer of Panama.

Mergers and acquisitions and corporate: ARIFA is one of Panama’s M&A leaders in terms of dollar value of deals, complexity and frequency of transactions. Recently ARIFA represented: Grupo Mundial Tenedora in a $211 million strategic alliance with Mapfre; Harsco in its acquisition of Esco; and Sibur in its acquisition of Citco Warren-Handelsgesellschaft.

Corporate services and trusts: With experience of over 50 years in this sector and thousands of companies under administration, ARIFA is one of the leading brands in the offshore business. Its network of fully integrated offices in Panama, London, Luxembourg, Geneva, Hong Kong, BVI and Belize serves clients around the world with offshore solutions, including company formation and management services, as well as trust and estate planning foundation services.

Litigation: The firm’s strong litigation team covers civil, commercial, regulatory, antitrust, tax, admiralty and intellectual property disputes, before lower, appellate and the Supreme Court. ARIFA is also very active in both domestic and international arbitration. Three ARIFA partners are accredited arbiters in the Arbitration and Conciliation Center of the Chamber of Commerce.

Real estate: ARIFA’s real estate team covers the entire spectrum of real estate activities. Its lawyers have expert knowledge of complex hotel, casino, environmental, zoning, construction and property law regulations. The firm represents Multiplaza, the largest upscale shopping mall, owned by Grupo Roble; the most successful all-inclusive beach hotel, the Decameron Resort; international hotel chains such as Marriott and Sheraton; and Regus, the world’s largest office space provider.

Infrastructure projects and government concessions: With one of the most active project infrastructure practices in Panama, ARIFA has been involved with all major road projects, including the new coastal highway along Panama Bay and the new Madden-Colon toll-road. The firm represents several power generators, including Suez Energy and Enel. It negotiated the Petaquilla concession, the largest copper mine in Panama. The firm also represented clients acquiring an interest in MIT port, the largest port in the Caribbean coast of Panama and has secured oil free zone, tank farm, and pipeline concessions for clients such as ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil. It also represents several companies operating under the new call center and headquarter-law regimes, including Sitel.

Shipping: Regarded as ‘a premier firm for ship financing in Panama’, ARIFA lawyers facilitate the registration and financing of vessels for clients around the world through its own network of offices in London, Hong Kong and Panama. ARIFA also has a growing interdisciplinary maritime litigation practice.

Intellectual property: ARIFA offers its clients a full range of IP legal services. Through a well-established network of IP corresponding firms, it coordinates the registration of trademarks and other intellectual property rights around the world, particularly in Latin America.

www.arifa.com