Arias
Arias has offices throughout Central America: in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The Costa Rican branch of the firm was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San José.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm has established a distinct presence in corporate and M&A matters, as well as in project development. The banking and finance team largely represents lenders in credit and loan guarantees towards refinancing, development financing, trade finance and other types of financing.
Key clients
Key clients include Natural Partners and Refeel, Telefónica, HSBC, Citibank, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the Sardinal Water Trust.
Research period review: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Over the research period, the banking team represented borrowers and lenders equally in financing arrangements.
The M&A team acted for buyers and targets across numerous industries in company and asset acquisitions.
The project development team supported bidders and project developers in concessions and other project matters in the real estate, technology, healthcare and energy industries.
Client feedback: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Project development
“Arias took hands-on and arranged to resolve the issue in two weeks, smartly managed.”
Carlos Ubico
“Welcoming every time and that provides such confidence and trust that we as customers can freely express our needs, their easy communication and constant updates make a big difference from others, we are always aware of what is going on (good or bad) with no gray areas.”
Consortium Legal
Full service Central American firm
Consortium Legal has offices in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Its Costa Rican branch is in San José.
In 2018 Randall Barquero began leading the firm’s brand-new Fintech practice.
The
firm’s industry strengths include banking, construction and materials, food and beverage
and tourism.
In banking and finance, the firm largely advises lenders in loan facilities and credit facilities regarding refinancing and project financing.
In M&A, the firm advises strategic buyers and sellers in
asset acquisition and merger transactions.
Key clients for the firm include
Bofa Securities, HSBC Securities (USA),
Citigroup Global Markets,
CEMEX, Scotiabank de Costa Ricaand
Grupo El Colono.
Research period review: 32nd edition (2021/2022)
During the research period the firm
was notably active in retail banking as well as corporate and commercial banking; The corporate and commercial banking work included secured and unsecured credit transactions.
The M&A team
was active in the construction and materials, food and beverage and tourism industries, advising buyers and sellers alike in several acquisitions.
Deal highlights: 32nd edition (2022/2023)
Banco BAC San José/Credomatic de Costa Rica/Immobiliaria Credomatic/Medio de Pago $335 million merger
Bofa Securities Inc. and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. $300 million joint arrangement bond issue
CEMEX $335 million divestment to Cementos Progreso Holdings S.L.
DD Pen Dragon $20 million acquisition of S.T.T Group
EY Law
EY Law is a global firm boasting over 700 offices spread across over 150 countries. The firm’s Costa Rica location is found in San José.
Focusses/specialisms
The firm is most active in the M&A sphere, as well as in other corporate practice areas. In M&A, the team focuses its efforts chiefly on the acquirer side, though it also represents sellers.
Key clients
Among the firm’s key clients are Cisneros Digital, Dole Food Company, Kimberly Clark, Liberty Latin America, Sanford Health and Universidad Hispanoamericano.
Nassar Abogados
Nassar Abogados was founded in 1982 and has offices in Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The main office is in Costa Rica.
Focusses / specialisms
The industries that the firm has the most presence in are finance and manufacturing, but it is also active in healthcare, telecommunications, technology and commerce.
In banking and finance, the firm advises credit lenders and financers in a wide variety of industries.
In M&A, the firm mostly advises buyers in asset acquisition and merger transactions, as well as corporate and regulatory matters.
Key clients
Key clients for the firm include Visa, IBM, Prival Bank, PRO Unlimited, Phoenix Tower International and Textron Finance.
Research period review: 32nd edition (2022/2023)
This past research period, the M&A team was actively busy. The team represented both buyers and targets in acquisitions and mergers across several industries including technology and manufacturing.
The team also worked on some banking transactions, namely representing borrowers in financing arrangements.
Deal highlights: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Phoenix Tower International $2 billion financing
UFP Technologies acquisition of Advant Medical
Client feedback: 33rd edition (2022/2023)
Financial services regulatory
“Direct personal attention and comprehensive knowledge.”
M&A
“Nassar's team is very organized, the team is very proficient in local legislation and in the attention to international clients.”
Tomas Nassar Jr.
“Experience and seniority, deep relationships at high administration and government levels.”
“Tomas is a great leader for the team, his advice is always precise and easy to follow for clients. He provides advice and service beyond what is quoted for clients and promotes for the service of the entire team to be detail oriented.”
Alta Batalla
Batalla is a law firm in Costa Rica that works in collaboration with three other firms in Central America. It was established in 2001.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm advises on corporate work, particularly project development in the energy and public infrastructure sectors.
Key clients
Key clients include China Harbour Engineering Costa Rica, Enel Green Energy, International Development Bank and CEMEX.
Client feedback: 31st edition (2020/2021)
Investment funds: Private equity funds
"They are proactive and keep up-to-date on all topics important to an investor such as our private equity fund. In addition, they are easy to access and quite efficient at getting things done."
Project development
"Extremely passionate. Committed to the task. Effort on understanding the customers' industry."
PPP/PFI
"The Battala firm is very focused on instruction and definitions."
Project development: Energy
"In the project that we are working on, environmental risk assessment is very important - at Batalla they have specialists in environmental law."
BG&A Abogados Corporativos
Founded in 1997,
BG&A Abogados
Corporativos is housed in San
José.
The firm specializes in corporate and M&A matters.
The firm is also involved in the project development space.
In the corporate space, the
firm regularly advises national and international clients in incorporations.
The firm’s M&A practice
includes
acquirer and seller representation.
Key firm clients include Colegio de San Luis Gonzaga, Hotel
Planas, the Municipality of San
José, Office Depot, Universidad Internacional Sek de Ecuador and Plasma Innova.
Client feedback: 32nd edition (2022/2023)
“There are many positive aspects: teamwork, the training of its specialists, the efficiency in the processes, the agility in the immediacy of the information, and the use of new technologies for customer service.”
“Instant answers to our queries”
BLP
BLP
is a Costa Rican firm founded in 2003. It
boasts a large regional footprint with offices in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras, in addition to a Spanish representative office. The firm is a member of the Meritas and
Interlaw networks of law firms.
The banking and finance group advises on innovative transactions,
attending to local and international deals
on the behalf of private equity groups
and commercial banks. The team advises borrowers and lenders on
among the largest and most complex deals in Costa Rica.
The M&A team advises buyers and sellers on complex deals for national and international clients and is noted for its acumen as to large-scale and sophisticated cross-border transactions.
In project
finance, the firm advises
on large infrastructure project financing and project bonds
with particular emphasis on clean energy. The team works with international and local borrowers and lenders.
Client feedback: 32nd edition (2022/2023)
“Best talent in the region, engaged partners, strong business view.”
“Creative, team oriented, specialized, responsive. They are very deal-oriented and extremely knowledgeable.”
Central Law Costa Rica
Founded in 2003, Central Law
is comprised of a network of
offices across Central America. Its Costa Rica locations are in
Cóbano,
Escazú,
Santa Cruz and San José.
The firm is active in the M&A practice, in addition to providing regulatory and corporate governance representation.
Its team boasts specialized knowledge of numerous
sectors, including but not limited to
food and beverage, hospitality,
insurance,
pharmaceuticals and technology.
Key firm clients include Hoffman La Roche, Hotel Manatus, Isuzu and Planet Payment.
Deloitte Legal
Deloitte Legal’s Costa Rica office is found in the country’s Heredia province.
Focusses/ specialisms
The firm is noted for its activity in the financial and corporate sphere, namely in the practice areas of M&A and corporate restructuring. The firm’s M&A team holds representation experience on both sides of complex corporate transactions.
Key clients
Key firm clients include Abbott, Alticor, Amway, Belcorp, Maersk, Marriott, McDonald’s, Nutrien AG, Roche and Unilever.
Facio & Cañas
Founded in 1942, Facio & Cañas is a Costa Rican full-service firm located in San José.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm advises local and international clients alike in connection with corporate structuring, M&A and project development deals. In the M&A space, the firm is active on both the acquirer and seller side.
Key clients
Key firm clients include Boston Consulting Group, Conair, GlaxoSmithKline, Nevro Corporation and Vertiv.
Lexincorp
Lexincorp is a regional Central American firm with offices in Costa RIca, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm is active in banking and finance where it advises banks on regional international lending and in real estate where it represents domestic and international companies on acquisitions and development.
Key clients
Key clients include Banco Industrial, BAC Latam and Novelteak.
Oller Abogados
Founded in 2000, Olller Abogados is a San José-based firm.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm advises clients in a variety of industries on corporate and M&A matters. The firm is also active in the project development space, where it emphasizes the representation of contractors and project companies with a focus on the sectors of aviation, energy, pharmaceuticals and technology.
Key clients
Among the firm’s key clients are Acciona Agua, Constructura Navarro y Avilés and Promed Cancer Therapies.
Sfera
Founded in 2012, Sfera Legal boasts a network of offices throughout Central America and beyond, including locations in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and a US outfit in New York. The firm features five offices in Costa Rica alone.
Focusses / specialisms
The firm is active in M&A and project development.
In M&A, the firm represents corporate clients in all roles and across all transaction types.
The project development group principally, though not exclusively, represents developers and concessionaires across several sectors.
Key clients
Key firm clients include Bambu Development, Coopeleche, Grupo Zen and Lucas Ingenieros.
