About

Number of years practice: 16 Principal practice areas: Corporate, finance Bar admissions: New York, Mexico Languages spoken: English and Spanish

Armando Rivera Jacobo is a counsel based in the New York office of Debevoise & Plimpton’s corporate department and finance group. He focuses on financing transactions both in the US and internationally, including project financings, leveraged acquisition and other secured and structured financings. Rivera also actively participates in infrastructure development and strategic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, both in the US and internationally, primarily in Latin America. Over the past year, Rivera has advised private equity firms on proposed acquisitions in Mexico; acted for the selling shareholders of an auto-parts manufacturer on a divestment that included Mexican assets; assisted a hedge fund with planning its participation in a consortium bid for Mexico’s shared broadband network; and established a joint venture for a transport services company. Previous Mexican experience on the corporate side includes acting for Eutelsat Communications on its $1.14bn purchase of Satélites Mexicanos and advising AXA Group on its $1.5bn acquisition of ING Seguros. On the financing side, he advised MBIA on a $200m offering of local currency bonds by a Mexican administrative trust established to securitise the toll receivables from the Cadereyta Toll Road; and MBIA also instructed him on a wrapped bond financing for the El Cajón hydroelectric project. The Debevoise Latin America Group has built strong connections with top local law firms, bankers and business people over many years of working in the region and through the firm’s international associate program, which regularly brings the most promising individuals from leading regional law firms and clients to work at Debevoise on a rotating basis. The result has been a cohesive and quite extensive alumni network throughout Latin America. Elsewhere in Latin America, he has advised on the financing of the Cerro Verde mine in Peru, and acted for ING Capital as administrative agent for a bank syndicate on a $100m loan to Grupo Posadas, one of the region’s largest hotel operators. Rivera has been deeply involved in educational and market research initiatives relating to impact investment in Mexico. He is also a member of the Project Finance Committee of the New York City Bar Association.