About

Comprised of nine employees, the legal team of Celeo, a Madrid-based developer and operator of energy transmissions assets, provides legal advice across several areas of the law and helps oversee the management, promotion and development of the activities of the company across its three main locations – Spain, Brazil and Chile. With an ability to adapt to changes while keeping its corporate culture intact, the team easily tackled recent regulatory changes to the Spanish energy sector, while at the same time learning to understand the urgency of the issues at hand and to provide practical solutions relevant to the changing reality of the business. On the transactional arena, the team recently impressed with its facilitation of the sale of seven transmission lines in Brazil to State Grid International Development, a wholly owned subsidiary of State Grid Corporation of China. ‘It was, a complex cross-border transaction of €1bn involving Brazilian, Spanish and Chinese jurisdictions and complicated regulatory and financing authorisations’, says Alberto Ferrández, head of the Celeo legal team. ‘As a result of deep involvement of the legal team in this transaction, the company changed its perception of the legal team. As from then, the legal department of Celeo is on the front line during all the phases of any transactions and is considered as a valid interlocutor with the different agents, such as banks, consultants, advisors, investors, and partners’. Today Celeo’s legal team is perceived as a trusted partner by senior management and works closely with the CEO, playing an active role in managing the company and its subsidiaries. Other notable wins for the team include: creating a corporate structure for the issuance of project bonds for roof-top photovoltaic plants; the coordination and implementation of two compliance programs in Chile and Brazil; and the refinancing of two solar thermal projects in Spain. Apart from Alberto Ferrández, who is among the most well recognised lawyers in the Spanish energy sector, the team features many bright and up and coming lawyers. Marta Blanco is a highly skilled lawyer, known for her strong eye for details in the review of contracts and documents and Luis Jerez, has a strong sense of organisation and a remarkable talent for relationship with authorities and third parties.