About

Number of years practice: 38

Principal practice areas: M&A, corporate finance

Bar admissions: New York

Languages spoken: English, Spanish

Noted for his experience in the life sciences, banking and insurance sectors, Rubén Kraiem is especially strong in M&A and joint ventures in Latin America; he acts for clients based in Latin America as well as for entities with business interests in the region. Co-chair of the firm’s clean energy and climate industry group, he also has corporate experience in the media, telecoms, real estate, healthcare and consumer products sectors. Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina have been especially busy countries for his practice. A Mexican native, Kraiem advised One Equity Partners in connection with the acquisition of a minority interest in Grupo Phoenix, a consumer goods packaging company with operations in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico and the United States; assisted Citigroup with the sale of the merchant acquiring business of its Mexican affiliate Bancomext to EVO Payments International; and Citigroup also instructed him on the sale of its 16% stake in Grupo Aeroméxico. He advised Grupo Financiero Banorte, the Mexican financial group, and its affiliate Afore XXI Banorte in the $1.6bn acquisition of Afore Bancomer from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), the Spanish bank, to create Mexico’s largest pension fund.

In another high-profile mandate, Kraiem advised Grupo P.I. Mabe on its $425m sale to publicly listed Belgian company Ontex Group. Elsewhere in Latin America, he assisted Colombian financial conglomerate Grupo Sura with its $516m purchase of a 50% stake in Peruvian pension fund AFP Horizonte from BBVA.

Kraiem is an Honorary Trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council and a council member of Resources for the Future.