Gruba Caganda Advincula Melo & de la Fuente

Partner.

Corporate Law, Tax Advisory, Banking.

Atty. Caganda is a partner at the Firm specializing in Corporate Law, Tax Advisory, and Banking. He graduated with a Juris Doctor Degree from the Ateneo Law School in 1994, and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1995. His practice is focused on business entity formation/reorganization/winding up, crossborder transaction structuring, acquisitions and divestitures, debt financing arrangements, securities transactions, real property acquisition and conveyancing, and contracts.

Notable engagements of Atty. Caganda include: 1) Transaction advise on the acquisition of a major Philippine bank by way of a government privatization process; 2) Supervising a team a lawyers engaged by Project EMERGE of the USAID to review the Philippine government policy on Financial Sector taxation (First Module) (the study identified instances of tax arbitrage across different industries in the Philippine financial sector, with the purpose of eventually promoting a tax-neutral environment); 3) Transaction advise on the real property asset acquisition by a private equity fund, including tax advise on the structure of the inward investment and the capital and profit repatriation upon divestiture of the investment; and 4) Legal review of the Philippine operations of a multinational seed products and planting materials company.

Atty. Caganda also advised a Philippine business process outsourcing (“BPO”) company in the partial acquisition by a Fortune 500 company of a USD 15 million ownership stake and a China-based company in the USD 20 million acquisition of a mixed use leisure and resort park, where the Firm performed extensive due diligence, deal structuring, acquisition agreements drafting, and management of tax implications.

In addition, Atty. Caganda likewise advised the documentation and implementation of a USD 400 million capital infusion activity in a major Philippine Commercial bank and  a publicly-listed Philippine Universal bank in a USD 18.9 million acquisition-financing of Philippine collegiate educational institution.

Atty. Caganda also represented a manufacturing and distribution company in a USD 1 million divestment and sale of the entire business enterprise and also represented a publicly-listed Philippine Universal bank in a USD 705 thousand acquisition of 100% of ownership in a Singapore-based and licensed remittance company.

English, Filipino.

Ateneo de Manila School of Law - Juris Doctor University of the Philippines - AB Philosophy.