Barbosa
Müssnich Aragão, or BMA, was founded in 1995 and has since become a highly regarded firm in the financial and corporate practice areas. Team members are spread out across three offices: São Paulo, Rio de
Janeiro and Brasília. The firm’s international focus is represented through their China and French desks.
The firm is strong across
all of their financial and corporate practice areas, but it is
perhaps most highly regarded in M&A, where the team advises buyers and sellers alike.
The banking team works with both borrowers and lenders, with an emphasis on the borrower side.
Similarly, the capital markets debt and equity practice areas mostly
advise issuers, but also underwriters.
The project development practice area advises sponsors on infrastructure construction in a range of industries.
Key clients for of the firm span all industries. Some examples include
Brasil Telecom
ComunicacãoMultimídia,
Petrorecôncavo, BHP Billiton
Brasil,Lojas Americanas, Carrefour, Olympique Lyonnais Groupe, Queiroz Galvão Group, XP, Zurich Airport Latin America and LATAM Airlines.
Research period review: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
During the research period the firm was active in banking, capital markets,
investment funds,
M&A and restructuring and insolvency.
The banking team
advised
more lenders than borrowers, including some development banks
on financing in the real estate, energy and banking
industries among others.
The firm’s capital markets work included issuances from a diverse set of industries including healthcare, investment management, hospitality and real estate. On the equity side, the firm was mostly active in investment management and real estate.
Consistent with the other practice areas, the investment funds team
mainly advised
domestic asset managers in the investment management, real
estate and financial services industries.
In M&A, the firm
participated in acquisitions in the fintech and financial services sectors. It also
advised on cross-border joint ventures and mergers.
The restructuring and insolvency team
advised creditors and debtors in high profile restructurings and insolvency proceedings.
Deal highlights: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Cimento
Tupi restructuring
CSN Resources $500 million bond issuance
Indorama Ventures
$1.3 billion acquisition of
Oxiteno
Pyxus International $100 million refinancing
Sul América/Rede D'Or São Luiz $2.9 billion merger
XPart/IUPAR
$1.9 billion merger
Client feedback: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Bank lending: Lender side
“Very knowledgeable of Brazilian law and business orientated.”
“The partner and the senior team are very responsive and experienced, combining consistent technical skills with solutions to help the adequate negotiation of the agreements.
The documents are carefully drafted, and the key points are raised and addressed
in a timely manner, with consistent comments.”
“Deep knowledge of the subject, agility in the service and presence of the partners in the meetings.”
“BMA provides clear and straightforward opinions; they are also
very familiar with commercial aspects that rule the legal transactions, therefore
providing great advice.”
“Among the many qualities of the team is the ability to respond quickly, their in-depth knowledge of the topics and agility in deliveries.”
“BMA has deep knowledge
regarding capital markets and the energy sector, which were fundamental to the success of the transaction. The team is business-orientated and totally hands-on.”
Capital markets: Structured finance and securitization
“Extremely dynamic with very quick response time as well as being highly knowledgeable about local capital markets regulations.”
“Very smart and creative, responsive, up to date with capital markets innovations, and good negotiators.”
“BMA has an experienced team with good skill in creating efficient and complex legal structure for restructuring assets.”
Financial services regulatory
“Fast and objective answers.”
“Always very professional, everyone we ever had contact with seemed very competent and knowledgeable about their field.”
“BMA's team is very proactive in suggesting the strategy we should adopt in this specific case.”
“Knowledgeable and well-connected, they are always able to provide us with commercially sound advice.”
Investment funds: Private equity funds
“In addition to robust technical knowledge, based on an interdisciplinary approach and excellence, the BMA team is different in every way. They are more than service providers – they are unconditional partners, always available to customers, with intelligent and
feasible solutions and excellence in soft and hard skills. We are especially grateful to partners Roberto Dias Carneiro, Thiago Frazão, Conrado C. Stievani and Mariana
Gofferjé Pereira for all their support.”
“Deep knowledge about the rules and law applicable for investment funds.”
“Extremely solid and diligent. I felt safe throughout the
whole process given I trust their work.”
Investment funds: Real estate funds
“They are
totally accessible, responsible and deliver extremely well-done and technically
accurate work.”
“The team is hands-on and really knowledgeable on the matter.”
Investment funds: Registered funds
“Hermano Barbosa is extremely up to date in tax issues and skilled in extremely complex situations. Always very efficient.”
“Organized,
very knowledgeable in several areas – capital markets, tax, real estate and corporate.”
“The office has a very specialized,
diverse and always available team.”
“They have broad knowledge of the market and are very quick to answer questions and solve problems.”
“Technical quality of the lawyers involved in the operation.”
“They have a deep knowledge of the areas related to the transaction and
provide extremely fast feedback from different demands. Development of
very good ideas of how to structure the deal, and on legal and tax perspectives.”
“Vast knowledge and very available to help.”
“He has a variety of skills that not only enables his high-quality
assistance, but he also has the sensibility to
identify the best course of action to meet the client's needs.”
“Strong knowledge of M&A transactions.”
“Very calm, dedicated and business oriented.”
“Gabriel forms an excellent partnership with the business team and internal counsel. He has very solid
expertise and is keen on
providing solutions to the adequate negotiation of the agreements.”
“Very knowledgeable of Brazilian law and excellent attention to detail.”
“Extremely capable and diligent lawyer, with technical
expertise in various legal aspects, always available and willing to think of creative solutions. He brings what a lawyer should pass on to the client: peace of mind, security and robustness.”
“An excellent professional with a lot of experience, he
is able to support the company in complex matters and find sustainable solutions for the business.”
“Extremely competent and diligent, a creative head to solve problems like
I've never seen. It is a well of legal knowledge, in several areas.”
“Mariana is an extremely diligent, proactive, intelligent,
creative and caring attorney. She has robust technical knowledge and is an amazing professional to work with.”
Camila Goldberg
Cavalcanti
“Very business oriented.”
“Camila takes ownership of the situation and
anticipates client needs.”
“Jane
provides
very clear and straightforward opinions; she is also
very detailed when revising and
providing comments on legal agreements, which is
a great quality for real estate deals. She is also very committed to deadlines and easily accessible.”
“Excellent skills in relationship management and communication. Aggressively meets all deadlines. Provides excellent knowledge in
jurisdiction and industry sector.”
“Always extremely up to date
regarding the regulation of the asset management industry, knows how to advise on a broader range of aspects of the business, including
very good referrals for external advisers when needed (usually for other
jurisdiction matters). Very accessible and quick to respond.”
“Deep knowledge about the fund investment industry and M&A transactions.”
“Extremely solid and diligent. I felt safe throughout the whole process given I trust their work.”
“Jane is a highly trained professional and plays a crucial role in upholding the rule of law and ensuring a well-done transaction in the Brazilian market. Her positive attributes are her strong and solid legal knowledge,
good communication, and she is very ethical.”
“Jane is very committed and knowledgeable.”
“Broad knowledge
of capital markets and
good communication skills.”
“Jane has a deep knowledge of the local funds industry, and M&A transactions too.”
“Pedro is always very available and willing to find the best solution.”
“Technically he has
a very good and excellent attitude during negotiations.”
“Deep knowledge of the venture capital industry.”
“Deep knowledge about the local fund industry.”
“Very proactive,
very good at suggesting the best strategies to be adopted.”
“Very knowledgeable and business oriented.”
Thiago Baptista Ferreira Pinho
“Pinho is always very available and willing to find the best solution.”
“Very responsive,
knowledgeable and extremely committed to deadlines.”
“She has good analytical skills and is very quick to answer every question.”
“Responsive, knowledgeable, and easy to communicate with.”
“One of the best capital markets lawyers in Brazil, in charge for several deals. He is business-oriented, hands-on, and my first choice in any matter related to capital markets.”
“Eduardo has great language skills, being able to lead complex negotiations in different languages. He also has good restructuring and financial knowledge.”
“He understands my business very well. Proactive and supportive.”
