Pinheiro Neto is one of only two firms, alongside Machado, to maintain its top tier postion in both tables this year. This is credit to the firm's balanced financial offering, which continues to be recognised by the market....
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Pinheiro Neto is one of only two firms, alongside Machado, to maintain its top tier postion in both tables this year. This is credit to the firm's balanced financial offering, which continues to be recognised by the market.
However the firm did have a few departures to deal with last year within its banking and capital markets practice. Lior Pinsky and Carlos Lobo both left the firm to join Veirano, while Daniela Anversa Sampaio Doria moved in-house.
The firm's banking practice has shown its strength this year in the regulatory space, including advising the Brazilian Association of Foreign Banks (ABBI) on the new rules surrounding the establishment of representative offices by international banks. The firm has also advised Merrill Lynch on various regulatory issues.
On the capital markets side, the equity and debt teams are led by Henrique Silva Gordo Lang and José Carlos Junqueira Meirelles respectively.
On the equity side, the largest mandates saw the firm act as underwriters counsel, including advising Banco Itaú, BTG Pactual and Credit Suisse on the R$1.37 billion ($846 million) IPO of Ecorodovias Infraestrutura e Logística and Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup again as underwriters on the R$2.5 billion IPO of petroleum company HRT Participações IPO.
In another substantial deal, the team advised Banco do Brazil as the issuer in an $8.8 billion share offering.
On the debt side, the team acted for Santander on an issue of $2.8 billion 6.75% convertible bonds, due in 2013.
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Pinheiro Neto remains in the top tier this year, having established itself as one of the strongest firms in the energy sector.This was backed up by its work last year on two major hydroelectric projects, including the 11,000MW Belo Monte dam that will, upon completion, be the third largest in the world in terms of capacity....
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Pinheiro Neto remains in the top tier this year, having established itself as one of the strongest firms in the energy sector.
This was backed up by its work last year on two major hydroelectric projects, including the 11,000MW Belo Monte dam that will, upon completion, be the third largest in the world in terms of capacity. The firm negotiated on behalf of the lenders over the $11 billion of financing for the project.
In the same area, the firm also negotiated on behalf of lenders including Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, Itaú BBA, Banco do Nordeste and Caixa Econômica Federal for the Jirau Dam, a hydroelectric plant currently under construction on the Madeira River in Rondônia, Brazil. The project involved several environmental challenges and was valued at around R$10 billion ($6 billion).
The firm has also been busy in other areas of energy and advised the EDP Group over aspects of its acquisition and construction of two wind power plants.
Infrastructure has been a talking point this year, with all firms trying to break into the projects available. In this light and breaking away from its energy focus, last year the firm advised on two rail projects in the northeast of Brazil, Serra Norte and Serra Sul. The team advised mining companies Vale and Odebrecht on the deal, which will improve transport links between key mining centres and the coast.
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With over 800 members of staff, Pinheiro Neto is one of the largest law firms in Brazil. One competitor referred to the firm as "a very finance-driven firm"....
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With over 800 members of staff, Pinheiro Neto is one of the largest law firms in Brazil. One competitor referred to the firm as "a very finance-driven firm". During the first half of 2011, its attorneys worked on $14.37 billion worth of transactions, according to Thompson Reuters - more than any other Brazilian firm in that period. Pinheiro Neto is also the first Brazilian firm to be certified as carbon neutral.
In October 2010 Lior Pinsky, who was then an associate at Pinheiro Neto, moved to Veirano to become a partner. Carlos Alexandre Lobo also left Pinheiro Neto to join Veirano in January 2011. Competitors say that the firm has "a lot of weight and respect", but believe the losses may be a blow to its practice.
In a transaction which has received widespread media attention, Pinheiro Neto is representing LAN Airlines in a $10 billion deal which combines its operation with TAM, another airline operator, under a single parent entity.
The firm also advised Santander, one of the world's largest banks, on the sale of a $2.7 billion stake in its Brazilian assets. The sale, to government sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding, made international headlines and closed in October 2010.
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