About

Bergé y Cía is one of the biggest Spanish business groups with international outreach, mainly operating in the fields of maritime and ports, car distribution, logistics, renewable energy and finance. Heading a strong, cross-functional team Salvador Bautista Enciso leads the legal and tax affairs for the group. He joined the company in 2006, following a two-year tenure at the market-leading Spanish law-firm Cuatrecasas. Operating amid the financial crisis has been very challenging and Bautista Enciso has been at the forefront, providing the company with solutions. To that end, he reduced the use of external law firms by more than 30% and instead executes more tasks in-house. ‘We try to do as many projects (M&A, contracts, etc.) as possible in-house. We have also focused on middle and small size law firms or boutiques more than the big traditional ones, although we still work with the big firms in the most relevant corporate matters’ he comments. With an impressive record of successfully handled cases, Bautista Enciso was actively involved in the legal work for the refinancing of Bergé group’s debt, a deal amounting to more than €900m. ‘It was a deal which started in 2008 and ended in 2010, before I was appointed as head of legal and secretary to the board, but in which I was personally involved in depth’. Recently he participated in the acquisition of a majority stake in the automotive distribution companies Mitsubishi Spain and Portugal, a deal in two jurisdictions, which closed between 2014 and 2015 and was negotiated for four years. ‘The deal with Mitsubishi meant a substantial increase of our stake in the Spanish automotive market and came in a moment in which there was a comeback in the market; a deal in which the legal department played a very important role’ Bautista Enciso comments proudly.