Leveraging the bench strength of offices in Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala, BLP advises multinational corporations, financial institutions, insurers and international development banks on day-to-day corporate and financial matters and complex, high-value, multi-jurisdictional transactions. With a client base spanning such sectors as tobacco, shipping, agriculture, motor vehicles, sports, manufacturing, telecoms, aviation and apparel, the practice’s full offering covers M&A, corporate restructurings, distribution agreements, administrative matters, consumer rights issues, credit restructuring and retail banking transactions. The practice is led by Ernesto Rizo, who brings over 20 years’ experience to the practice space, and specialises in capital markets, loans and structured financing. Director Federico Barrios brings expertise to business cooperation agreements and the handling of the purchase and sale of shares and assets.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘They are always attentive to our queries and help us resolve our concerns, as well as delivering the work we request of them.'

  • ‘They have lawyers specialising in all the areas which we need, thus providing us with an efficient and punctual service.’

  • ‘BLP Nicaragua's corporate and finance team is unique, as it combines technical legal knowledge, experience, availability and unparalleled knowledge of the country's situation, as well as recent regulatory changes, locally, regionally and internationally.’

  • ‘Ernesto Rizo has a lot of experience in the management of legal issues in the field of corporate and finance, differentiating himself from his competitors with his 24/7 availability, his work ethic, experience and comprehensive overview of matters.'

Key clients

  • Arturo Fuente – FSM
  • Renewable Resources Group
  • Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI)
  • Desjardins Développement International
  • Royal Road Minerals
  • Joya de Nicaragua
  • Volvo Group - Volvo Trade Finance
  • Grupo Numar
  • American Airlines
  • Coralsa
  • Unicomer
  • Avianca

Work highlights

  • Advised Moody's on acquiring Central American rating company SCRiesgo, including due diligence, revision of agreements, clean up pre-closing, negotiation of agreements, closing of the transaction and post-closing, including regulatory filings and authorisations.
  • Assisted Renewable Resources Group in the preparation of a due diligence report and the subsequent preparation, negotiation and signing of the SPA for the purchase of Mercon Ventures.
  • Advised Apollo Group, through Paul Weiss and Morgan Lewis, on the potential acquisition of Millicom in Central America.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Ernesto Rizo