Banking
Capital markets
Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira
Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira lost a team of six finance lawyers to Sérvulo & Associados in June 2010 and the market is waiting to see what impact this will have. "They've lost a team of six lawyers from their banking and capital markets team, so I mean again it'll have a little bit of the same effect as it had on PLMJ and Uría Menéndez," says one partner....
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Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira lost a team of six finance lawyers to Sérvulo & Associados in June 2010 and the market is waiting to see what impact this will have. "They've lost a team of six lawyers from their banking and capital markets team, so I mean again it'll have a little bit of the same effect as it had on PLMJ and Uría Menéndez," says one partner. "I mean it's a small market, six-lawyers is a meaningful move in Portugal in all areas, particularly in finance."
That aside, the firm is still highly regarded. Partner Maria João Ricou and associate Filipe Santos Barata came in for personal praise. "They're very good, because we had a complex transaction involved in many jurisdictions, it involved Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Mexico and so they were able to understand the whole picture and they're also very available and quick," says one client.
In banking, the firm advised on a large number of mandates. Lead partners João Ricou and Duarte Abecasis acted for BPN in relation to the government's decision to nationalise the bank in the context of the current financial crisis, in order to avoid a systemic risk.
Another highlight saw Manuel Magalhães advise Caixa Geral de Depósitos on its incorporation with the largest state owned company in Angola and the team assisted on all the matters related to the banking activities. The mandate, worth €500 million, is expected to have a significant impact in Angola's economy promoting Portuguese investments in Angola and a deeper cooperation between both economies.
One client commented on his relationship with the firm by saying: "I think it was very good. They're very professional, but at the same time friendly, and it was not very tense, so they made everything smooth."
When it comes to the debt capital markets, João Ricou led the team advised IGCP – Instituto de Gestão da Tesouraria e do Crédito Público on the issue of $1.25 billion 3.5% notes due 25 March 2015 under the first EMTN programme of the Portuguese state, and partially placed in the US market under Rule 144a/ Reg S. The issue was syndicated and the notes were listed on the LSE.
On the equity side, André Luiz Gomes advised on a share capital increase mandate when Rentipar Financeira raised its capital from €45 million to €135 million through a private placement issuing 18 million new ordinary shares with the nominal amount of €5 each. Elsewhere he also acted for Banif on its share capital increase amounting to €80 million through a public offer.
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Leading lawyers
Maria João Ricou
Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira
Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira's M&A team has been heavily occupied with acquisition work since May 2010 and this is backed by a impressive list of mandates.
The biggest M&A ever completed in the Portuguese market fell under Cuatrecasas' belt when a team of practitioners, including Emílio Cuatrecasas, Manuel Castelo Branco and Maria João Ricou, advised Telefónica on the €7....
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Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira's M&A team has been heavily occupied with acquisition work since May 2010 and this is backed by a impressive list of mandates.
The biggest M&A ever completed in the Portuguese market fell under Cuatrecasas' belt when a team of practitioners, including Emílio Cuatrecasas, Manuel Castelo Branco and Maria João Ricou, advised Telefónica on the €7.5 billion acquisition of Portugal Telecom 50% stake in Brasilcel by Telefonica.
Another acquisition highlight saw Diogo Perestrelo and Nuno Sá Carvalho act for Gotan - SGPS on the acquisition of 50% of the share capital of The Edge II - SGPS.
Perestrolo also advised French acquirer Altrad on the acquisition of shares representing 66.7% of the share capital of the Portuguese company Irbal, both leading players in the European market for construction equipment.
Elsewhere ZEDH Capital called in André Luiz Gomes as the hedge funds entity acquired 100% of Dunas Capital - Gestão de Activos, an investment funds company. The transaction was completed in September 27.
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Leading lawyers
Frederico Pereira Coutinho
Diogo Perestrelo
Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira
Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira's Portuguese ability is quite exemplary as one client says: "They've got several offices in Portugal with similar capabilities, so I'd say three or four of them are in equal shape." The client admits that all these offices "are very able to provide very good services in terms of project finance" and "they're one of the top firms"....
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Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira's Portuguese ability is quite exemplary as one client says: "They've got several offices in Portugal with similar capabilities, so I'd say three or four of them are in equal shape." The client admits that all these offices "are very able to provide very good services in terms of project finance" and "they're one of the top firms".
"They've got a good interest in the project, so that the project can go on and surpass whatever difficulties we may find in the way and they don't only speak to the legal aspects in that sense, so they're quite commercial," says one.
Leading the project finance team is partner Diogo Perestrolo who was involved in a string of impressive mandates last year. In the infrastructure sector, the firm has secured a €377 million mandate when Perestrolo worked alongside Rita Roque de Pinho advising the lenders to the Oriental Lisbon hospital PPP (public-private partnership) project. The team was involved in drafting and negotiating the financial documents and reviewing the contracts. This project is part of a wider government programme for the construction and operation of eight new hospitals.
In two other similar transactions, the firm acted on the Algarve Central and Vila Franca de Xira hospitals projects, again advising on the lender side in relation to the hospitals' set up.
De Pinho and Perestrelo are clearly seen as the firm's leading figures and came in for personal praise due to their attention to detail. "They're very good. They seem to always have the first memory of everything that happened in the project; all the documents they've got a very good and interesting perspective and all things interconnected with what is needed in the various documents and contracts," says one client, "they are also very vocal when the client's company is in front of the opposition party. Overall, Cuatrecasas is a good firm."
Another highlight in July 2010 saw Perestrelo involved again advising Euroscut Norte – Sociedade Concessionária da SCUT do Norte Litoral who acted as concessionaire and Vialivre as operator in the negotiation with the Portuguese State, EP – Estradas de Portugal and other financial institutions regarding the transformation of Norte Litoral Shadow toll motorway concession into a toll motorway concession.
Another outstanding mandate involving the firm saw Perestrelo teaming up with Duarte Abecasis advising on the re-opening of the negotiation phase of the international public tender for the high-speed network the Poceirão-Caia stretch. The tender was for the first PPP project launched in Portugal within the high-speed network project, as part of the wider Lisbon-Madrid high-speed link. The Portuguese part of the network was awarded €383 million in funding from the trans-European transport network budget.
In terms of the team's legal knowledge, clients point out that "they've got a good knowledge of the basic concepts involved in the area, they've got a good knowledge of all the fundamental topics involved in the area".
In the renewable energy sector, the duo led the team advising Banif - Banco de Investimento on the cross-border financing of 12 photovoltaic projects located in Spain. In another very similar deal Perestrolo teamed up with Maria João Ricou and Mariana Norton dos Reis advising a Portuguese-based syndicate of banks on the cross-border financing of six photovoltaic projects based in Spain.
Some clients say that the firm's innovation also impressed, even when there didn't seem to be an option to do so. "Whatever it was, they were innovative. I think they're innovative enough to solve whatever problems appear in the project and capable for finding new solutions, so we always found them proactive in finding solutions to accommodate whatever problems appear from the financial aspects," says one client.
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Leading lawyers
Frederico Pereira Coutinho
Diogo Perestrelo
Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira
The firm's key partner José de Freitas, who was involved in most of the restructuring and insolvency mandates last year, grabbed clients' attention due to the high quality of his legal advice. "He's very good and very thorough....
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The firm's key partner José de Freitas, who was involved in most of the restructuring and insolvency mandates last year, grabbed clients' attention due to the high quality of his legal advice. "He's very good and very thorough. He's very experienced and a very good insolvency lawyer," says one. "He's very quick to react [on things], even just to cope with situations or high pressure."
The team's overall capacity also impressed its clients. "I'm very happy with the co-operation, because we're also a law firm, so we're sort of looking at the work very closely, and they always deliver fast and very good quality advice, the co-operation is very good."
Freitas last year advised Qimonda and Qimonda Dresden in relation to the insolvency case of Qimonda Portugal, which later led to a recuperation plan approved by both of the creditors. The mandate was worth €366 million.
The firm also advised on Extrajudicial Conciliation Procedure (PEC) related mandates. The procedure aims to avoid the deterioration of the company's economic and financial situation and thus to protect creditors from a worse scenario. One notable example saw the team led by Freitas advising Transportes Centrais do Minho and on another occasion advising MT - Instalações Técnicas, with a hope to conclude an agreement between both the said companies and their creditors in order to enable their economic recovery.
In terms of the communication between the firm and its clients, Freitas again came in for personal praise. "He's very accessible. If I call, he's always available; if not, he'll call me back the same day, or within a few hours, either him or his associates," says one client. "They even try to answer difficult questions in details about Portuguese law, with a high-quality answer and I'm very content with that."
Another highlight saw partner Rita Gouveia called in to advise plastics and textiles company La Seda de Barcelona in relation to Fibralegre's declaration of insolvency.
On the restructuring side, Frederico Pereira Coutinho was involved in the negotiation process with a syndicate of banks on the debt and operation restructuring of CampoReal 5-star tourist resort in Torres Vedras. The team represented the holiday resort CampoReal.
When comes to the firm's international network, clients expressed their good feeling towards the firm's Spanish branch. "I know my firm is frequently working with their Spanish office," says one. "I know we consider Cuatrecasas a very good law firm and we work together with them a lot."
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