Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Latin America
Firm Details:

Chair, Executive Committee: Alden Millard

Administrative Partners: Elizabeth Cooper, Jonathan Karen

Number of partners worldwide: 253

Number of other lawyers worldwide: Over 1000

Firm Overview:

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is widely recognised as one of the pre-eminent law firms in the world, the direct result of its commitment to the success of its clients. The firm devotes to its clients the legal talent and skill of over 1,300 lawyers with a commitment to excellence, integrity and client service. Building on more than 135 years of experience, the firm has played a substantial role in many of the most complex and noteworthy transactions of the last decades. The firm provides coordinated legal advice and transactional capability throughout the world's principal financial centres, from 11 offices, covering 32 major practice areas and almost every industry sector. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett brings the collective expertise of the entire firm to bear on the business challenges facing each one of its clients, including in Latin America.

Latin America:

Simpson Thacher has built a powerful practice group serving clients throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, advising on transactions that cut across a range of disciplines and practice areas. The team offers a broad-based, collaborative practice—anchored by offices in New York and complemented by offices in São Paulo, Houston, London and Palo Alto—and led by 7 partners fluent in Spanish and/ or Portuguese who are dedicated exclusively to the region. The powerful combination of their local presence in São Paulo — combined with its global resources — enhances the firm's ability to provide clients with the exceptional service that is its hallmark.

Main Areas of Practice:

Capital Markets:

The firm advises issuers and underwriters on all types of capital markets transactions, including IPOs and follow-on offerings, as well as high yield and investment grade debt offerings, sovereign bond offerings and liability management transactions. Recent work includes advising on the SEC-registered IPOs of Latin American companies including Corporación Inmobiliaria Vesta, dLocal, VTEX, Zenvia, CI&T, and Pátria Investimentos, as well as advising on the B3 IPOs of Kora Saúde Participações, Brisanet Participações, CM Hospitalar (Viveo), Desktop, Multilaser, SmartFit, Dotz, Blau Farmacêutica, Diagnósticos da América, Espaçolaser and various follow-on offerings on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, including those for BRF (R$5.4 billion private placement), CVC Brasil, Diagnosticos da América, Fras-le, Hidrovias, Oncoclinicas do Brasil, Banco BTG Pactual, 3R Petroleum, Magazine Luiza, Totvs, Sinqia, Globant, Lojas Renner, Petro Rio, Burger King Brasil and Suzano. Other recent work includes debt transactions involving Banco BTG Pactual, Braskem, BRF, StoneCo, Iochpe-Maxion, Tupy Overseas, Banrisul, Unigel and FS Luxembourg in Brazil; AgroSuper, Entel, LATAM Airlines and Banco de Crédito e Inversiones in Chile; Grupo Axo, Vesta, BBVA México, CFE, Total Play Telecomunicaciones, Kimberly-Clark de México and América Móvil in Mexico; InRetail Consumer, Petroperú, and Banco Internacional del Perú in Peru; as well as regional entities including ATP Tower Holdings, BBVA Bancomer, IRSA, Panamerican Energy (Argentine branch) and Investment Energy Resources Limited. The firm has also advised on numerous sovereign debt offerings by the Republic of Peru and the Republic of Guatemala, as well as multiple debt offerings involving the Dominican Republic, the Republic of Chile, the Government of Bermuda, the Argentine Provinces of Santa Fe, Mendoza, Salta, Cordoba and Chaco and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

M&A/Private Equity:

Simpson Thacher is recognised globally for its role advising on all sides of complex M&A transactions including buyouts, stock and asset purchases, PIPEs, restructurings, spin-offs, joint ventures and contested transactions. Recent M&A experience includes advising Advent in its acquisition of a majority stake in Neoris N.V.from CEMEX; Sudamericana, Agencias Aéreas y Marítimas in the $1 billion sale of its shipping terminal and logistics businesses to Hapag-Lloyd; IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones S.A. and its subsidiary IRSA Propiedades Comerciales S.A. in the merger of IRSA CP with and into IRSA; Braskem in its acquisition of taulman3D; Grupo Romero in the sale of a 50% stake in Trabajos Maritimos to Global Infrastructure Partners; Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners in its acquisition of Latin American business of Lumen Technologies; SCC Power Plc and MSU Energy Holding Ltd. in the acquisition by SCC Power of the business enterprise of Stoneway Capital; Billpocket in its sale to Kushki; COPEC in its sale of MAPCO Express; Agrovision in the preferred equity investment made by responsAbility Investments and Avenue Sustainable Solutions Fund; Masplay in its acquisition of Nike de Chile Limitada; Ambipar in the proposed merger with HPX Corp.; Cresca in its private investment in Virtu. Laureate Education, Inc. in the sale of Walden University to Adtalem Global Education Inc. for US$1.48 billion in cash; KKR in its acquisition of a majority stake in Telefónica Chile’s existing fiber optic network; Dock Ltd (formerly Conductor Technology Ltd) in a $110 million equity investment round; and Nadir Figueiredo in its acquisition of Cristar TableTop S.A.S. in Colombia from Industrial de Materias Primas and Cristalería Peldar, subsidiaries of O-I Glass, Inc.

Banking & Finance:

Simpson Thacher is widely recognised for representing both borrowers and lenders in the US, Latin America, Europe and Asia on a broad range of financing transactions, including syndicated loans and acquisition financings, project financings, structured export financings and export credit agency-guaranteed and insured loans and securitisation transactions. The firm recently advised the lenders in financings involving 3R Petroleum, Lenus Capital, Merama, Lenus Capital, EBANX, Exitus Capital, StoneCo, InRetail Consumer, ATP Tower Holdings, LLC, and Investment Energy Resources Limited, as well as the Borrowers in financings for Creditas, Urbanova, Minsur, Electromovilidad, Equinox Chile, Empresas Copec, Despegar.com, PayClip, SIBA Energy, YPF Luz, FIBRA Macquarie México, Grupo Monge, Arauco, Albanesi Energía and Minsur, among others.

Private Funds:

Simpson Thacher has one of the world’s pre-eminent private funds practices and represents many of the world's best-known fund sponsors, as well as sophisticated fund investors. The practice is global in scope and covers funds with a variety of investment criteria. The firm has advised on the formation of Latin America focused funds for sponsors such as Actis, Arlon Group, BTG Pactual, Macquarie, Pátria and P2Brasil.

Energy & Infrastructure:

The firm represents energy and infrastructure companies and their lenders on a broad range of activities in Latin America. The firm provides counsel on major project finance and leasing transactions, including energy related infrastructure, toll roads, railroads, pipelines, manufacturing facilities and airports. The firm recently represented the initial purchasers in a US$1.75 billion sustainable debt offering by Comisión Federal de Electricidad. The firm also advised SIBA Energy in a DOP$4.1 billion senior loan for construction and operation of a 252 MW combined-cycle gas fired power plant and the lenders in IERL’s $440 million senior secured term loan facility. The firm's Latin America team regularly advises on matters involving some of the region’s most well-known energy and infrastructure players, including matters involving Termovalle, Telefónica Chile, Petroperú, Pan American Energy, Minsur, Arauco, Ambipar, Aura Minerals and 3R Petroleum Óleo e Gás, among many others.

Real Estate:

The firm's real estate practice spans all areas of the real estate industry, including sophisticated finance, sales and acquisitions, funds, restructurings, development, leasing, joint ventures and partnerships. The firm represents all real estate industry participants, including private equity sponsors and REITs and FIBRAs like FIBRA Prologis and FIBRA Macquarie México. The firm has advised on acquisitions of real estate portfolios throughout Latin America.

Restructuring:

For the past two decades, Simpson Thacher has been at the forefront of advising sovereign and corporate clients and financial institutions on innovative ways to manage capital markets exposures in Latin America. Recent work includes advising Corp Group Banking, a privately-owned Chilean holding company that owns a large stake in in Itaú Corpbanca, and its affiliated debtors in their chapter 11 cases filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The firm guided Corp Group on numerous complex corporate transactions in the course of the case. The transactions included: the sale of Corp Group's minority stake in Itaú Corpbanca Colombia, a Colombian bank, to Itaú Unibanco in exchange for the satisfaction of over $400 million in secured loans; the sale of certain subscription rights to purchase shares in Itaú Corpbanca, a Chilean bank partly owned by Corp Group; and numerous sales of Itaú Corpbanca stock. The firm also recently represented placement agents in LATAM Airline’s equity rights offering pursuant to its exit from bankruptcy.

Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations:

The firm has one of the most dynamic and successful cross-border disputes and international regulatory and compliance practices in the world. The firm represents a range of US and international clients in complex commercial, securities, and M&A disputes; global investigations and inquiries; FCPA and anti-corruption matters; and private, commercial and investment treaty arbitrations. Recent representations include matters for Andrade Gutierrez, Avianca, CorpBanca, Corp Group, Inversiones y Representaciones Sociedad Anónima, Cresud Sociedad Anónima Comercial, Inmobiliaria, Financiera y Agropecuaria, and Graña y Montero.