About

A subsidiary of Companhia Brasileira de Distribuição and Brazil’s biggest electronic appliance chain, Via Varejo requires comprehensive and timely legal advice to mitigate the many risks the business encounters across its operations spanning more than 20 states, 900 stores and 55,000 employees. Leading the legal team is legal director André Rizk, who has provided excellent counsel to the company since 2004. Rizk’s most notable achievements are perhaps shown via his work leading various multibillion dollar M&A transactions, which resulted in the formation of Via Varejo as it is today. The retailer, which had a 2015 gross sales figure of R$21bn, operates some of the best known retail brands in Brazil and therefore needs consistent support from Rizk and team. Rizk was recently part of the negotiating team that completed a reorganisation of the company’s holding in Cnova, an e-commerce company founded in the Netherlands. Under the agreement, Cnova will receive some 97 million of its own ordinary shares currently held by Via Varejo and $5m in cash in exchange for all of its ownership interest in local subsidiary Cnova Brazil.