A heavyweight in the M&A market, Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega is commended for both the volume and the quality of its transactional work; standout recent highlights include advising on high-profile deals in the financial services sector, and the team has also played a prominent role in M&A in the technology, logistics and food industries. The firm predominantly focuses on cross-border transactions, taking advantage of the strong international backgrounds of its team members (several of whom are qualified in New York and Florida), with a client base that includes multinationals as well as large Panamanian conglomerates. Co-managing partners Ricardo Arango and Rodrigo Cardoze steer the team; the former leads the M&A practice, while the latter heads the firm’s corporate counsel and 360 legal solutions group. The enviably deep bench also includes M&A specialist Andrés Rubinoff; Estif Aparicio, who lends his expertise to finance-related matters; and up-and-coming partners Fernando Arias F and Javier Yap Endara (who were promoted in 2022 and 2023, respectively). International senior associate Donald Canavaggio, international associate Isabella de la Guardia and associate Daniela Delvalle are also key members of the practice. The firm is noted for its commitment to pro bono and CSR, overseen by the Harmodio Arias Madrid committee.

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Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'They build a team and then become part of your team.'
'They stand out for their commitment.'

Key clients

Inversiones Atlántida
Moody's
McDermott International
E León Jimenes
Capital Bank
Empresa Panameña de Alimentos
The Mediam Group
Magna Motors
Banco Centroamericano de Integracion Economica (BCIE)
Inversiones Bahia

Work highlights

Advised Abu Dhabi’s Royal Group, through IHC Capital Holding, on the public Colombian tender offer launched together with Grupo Gilinski to acquire the majority of the shares of Grupo Nutresa.
Advised Banco Itaú Unibanco on the Panamanian legal aspects of the acquisition of a 30% stake of the share capital in Uruguayan payment and credit fintech companies Prex and Paigo, as part of its regional expansion and incursion into digital banking.
Advised Mediam Group (Google’s official media representative in Central America) on the sale of a minority stake to Aleph Group, a leading global enabler of digital advertising in emerging countries.

Lawyers

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