Latin America - Latin America: International firms
Proskauer Rose LLP
Proskauer Rose LLP’s Latin America group is largely located in New York and São Paulo, with much of its banking and finance practice in the Brazilian city. The team has an excellent record in pre-export finance, acquisition finance, syndicated loans, restructurings and project finance. Moreover, it is one of few firms to have both US and UK qualified lawyers in its São Paulo office. The practice represents an impressive number of Brazilian corporates and banks, along with a series of financial sponsors, and is also noted for cross-border financings to Brazilian banks and financial institutions, and international acquisition financings for Brazilian corporates. Although the São Paulo team has a primary focus on the Brazilian market, it does have a broader geographic, including Chile. New York-based head of the Latin America practice Carlos Martinez is a versatile practitioner with a solid record in restructurings and bank lending. Head of the São Paulo office Antonio Piccirillo is a recognised finance specialist, highlighted for his recent record in acquisition financings and sustainability-linked loans. Dual-qualified (New York/UK) David Fenwick is noted for bank lending, securitisations, and hedging and derivatives transactions; while Fábio Yamada is also rated for bank lending and pre-export financings. Named individuals are based in São Paulo unless stated otherwise.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Excellent team, with fluent command of the Spanish language and knowledge of the Latin culture.’
- ‘Pro-deal approach with sensitivity to the Latin American markets. Carlos Martinez. Antonio Piccirillo. Fabio Yamada.’
- ‘Proskauer has a reputable banking practice.’
- ‘Fabio and Antonio lead the practice and are responsive.’
Key clients
- Banco Sofisa
- Gilinski Group
- Companhia de Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia (Coelba) (Neoenergia Group)
- Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN)
- Sociedad Portuaria Puerto Bahia
- Prisma Capital
- Santher
- Sylvamo Brazil
- HIG Brazil
- Financiera Maestra
- Itaú Unibanco
Work highlights
- Advised Banco Sofisa, as borrower, on a financing provided by the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the proceeds of which will be used to make loans to small and medium enterprises in the Amazon region.
- Represented the Gilinski Group in a series of financings related to hostile tender offers to acquire Grupo Nutresa and Grupo Suramericana, two public companies in Colombia.
- Represented Companhia de Eletricidade do Estado da Bahia (as borrower) and Neonergia (as guarantor), in a $107m financing by the International Finance Cooperation (IFC), to finance the borrower’s network expansion and loss reduction projects in accordance with Neoenergia’s Green Finance Framework.