Global Law firm Mayer Brown’s Mexico City office advises clients investing both locally and internationally

We regularly advise on innovative deals—domestic and worldwide—involving M&A, acquisition finance and leveraged finance, FinTech, asset and project finance, securitization/ structured finance and derivatives, chain supply finance, trade finance, project finance, bank lending, cross-border lending, regulatory finance and capital markets.

INDUSTRIES

We are one of the few firms in Mexico that has provided counsel in matters across multiple industries. In addition to our work in the traditional energy industry, we have advised clients in the renewable energy, alcohol (spirits), infrastructure (e.g., toll roads), e-commerce, chemicals, automotive, pharma and transportation (aviation and shipping) industries, among others.

We have a long track record of successfully working with international companies entering Mexico. Guiding a client through its acquisitions outside of its home market takes not just transactional legal knowledge but also deep commercial instincts. Having both, we provide insight and solutions that other firms may struggle to present.

A GLOBAL PLATFORM

Our lawyers based in Mexico work closely with colleagues from Mayer Brown offices around the world, such as those in New York, Chicago, Charlotte, Houston, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Beijing—a global platform built to serve our clients, whose businesses and matters are increasingly multi-jurisdictional in nature.

• Asset finance

• Banking
• Capital Markets
• Financial restructuring
• Financial services regulatory
• FinTech
• M&A
• PPP/PFI
• Private equity
• Private equity funds
• Project finance
• Real estate finance
• Real estate funds
• Restructuring and insolvency
• Securitisation
• Structured finance/securitisation
• Trade finance

Mergers and Acquisitions
Raúl Fernández Briseño                               
raulfernandez@mayerbrown.com            

Recent transactional highlights:

• Representation of Grupo Casa Lumbre and its current shareholders in a capital investment made by different Mexican and foreign investors in an amount up to USD$75,000,000 through (i) the acquisition of certain investors of a significant minority equity participation in a holding company; and (ii) an Investment, Management and Business Activities Trust entered into by a Casa Lumbre entity, as General Partner, Banco Actinver, as trustee, and other investors, as Limited Partners. Casa Lumbre is a leading company in the spirits industry and the funds contributed to the holding company and the trust will be used by Grupo Casa Lumbre as investment in different spirits beverage projects and companies.
• Representation of the existing shareholders (including a private equity fund) of one of the largest SOFOMs in Mexico and leader in the multi¬product lending market in the acquisition by an international investor of a 70% equity participation in the SOFOM. The acquisition price was US$86 million. The transaction also included the antitrust approval from COFECE.
• Represented Patria Investments as sellers in its acquisition by Aligned Data Centers, ultimately owned by Macquarie Asset Management. The sale involved the 100% of participating interest of their companies in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Brazil and Uruguay.

FinTech
Raúl Fernández Briseño                               
raulfernandez@mayerbrown.com

Francisco García Naranjo
fgarcia@mayerbrown.com

Recent transactional highlights:

• Represented Goldman Sachs Bank USA, as administrative agent, collateral agent and lead arranger, in a senior secured revolving credit facility up to USD$140,000,00 with Operadora Falcon, S.A.P.I. de C.V., SOFOM, E.N.R. (Xepelin).
• Represented Goldman Sachs Bank USA, as administrative agent, collateral agent and lead arranger, in a senior secured revolving credit facility up to USD$150,000,00 with CF Tech, S.A. de C.V. (Clara).
• Represented MiStori (StoriCard), a fintech that provides credit card financing to a specific segment of Mexico, in a USD$37.5 million warehouse securitization through a specialized vehicle consisting of a Mexican trust. The agent is CIM, based in California.

Banking
Ariel Ramos                                      
Aramos@mayerbrown.com                       

Raúl Fernández Briseño     
raulfernandez@mayerbrown.com                          

Francisco García Naranjo
fgarcia@mayerbrown.com

Recent transactional highlights:

• Represented APJusto, S.A.P.I. de C.V., SOFOM. E.R. and Justo Lease, S.A.P.I. de C.V., and several of its subsidiaries and affiliates, in the restructuring of an existing loan facility with Goldman Sachs Bank USA to finance the acquisition of lease and loan portfolio acquired by APJusto, S.A.P.I. de C.V., SOFOM. E.R. and Justo Lease, S.A.P.I. de C.V. from Crédito Real.
• Represented Proteak UNO, S.A.B. de C.V., one of the main producers of teak and eucalyptus timber in Mexico, and several of its affiliates and subsidiaries, as borrowers, in the refinancing of an existing credit facility with International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Société de Promotion et de Participation Pour la Coopération Économique (PROPARCO).
• Acted as special Mexican counsel to Alloy Merchant Finance LLC, as borrower, AMF Mezzanine Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V., as originator, guarantor and portfolio asset servicer and Alloy MF Gestión, S. de R.L. de C.V., as guarantor in a USD$100 million loan and servicing agreement. Alloy will use the USD$100 million loan to offer structured financial loans in Mexico. The complexity of this matter lay in the nature of the collateral, which involved several underlying syndicated loan agreements originated in Mexico as well as the underlying collateral arising from such underlying facilities, among others, security trusts, source of payment trusts and pledge agreements; the complexity also lay in the manner of transferring each of the underlying pledge assets and only with respect to certain commitments and percentages in each of the underlying syndicated loan agreements of which the guarantors were holders.

Project Finance
Ariel Ramos
Aramos@mayerbrown.com

Recent transactional highlights:

• Represented X- Elio (Perote II) as the sponsor in the commercial bank and multilateral financing of the 118 MWAC Perote II Solar Project. The $44.1 million debt package was provided by the International Finance Corporation and Sabcapital, S.A. de C.V., SOFOM, E.R.
• Represented X-Elio, as sponsor, in a +$175 million (cumulative) financing packages for the construction and maintenance of three photovoltaic solar plants, which was awarded a PPA under the new power auctions.

Energy - Oil & Gas

Recent transactional highlights:

• Represented Petronas in the incorporation, tender process, corporate, tax and financial legal aspects in Mexico for all their upstream projects including the negotiation and drafting of multiple farm-out agreements and joint venture and joint operating agreements.
• Representing LUKOIL in the preparation and negotiation of farm-outs, joint to their operations activities. We also have assisted them in administrative and regulatory procedures before governmental authorities.

• Aviation

• Banking
• Construction and materials
• Consumer goods and services
• Energy
• Financial services
• Food and beverage
• Government and public policy
• Healthcare
• Industrials
• Insurance
• Investment management
• Natural resources
• Oil and gas
• Private Equity
• Real estate
• Shipping
• Social infrastructure
• Tech and telecoms
• Tourism
• Transport
• Utilities

Mayer Brown LLP                              
South Wacker Drive                     
Chicago, IL 60606
United States of America
T: + 1 312 782 0600
W: mayerbrown.com

In Brazil, Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown offers clients access to a full service Brazilian domestic law practice. Tauil & Chequer has offices in Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Vitória.