Latin America

We assist Latin America clients who wish to use offshore structures to accomplish their commercial objectives, whether they are inward-facing, outward-facing or domestic in nature. Harneys has been active in Latin America for decades but with the opening of our Uruguay office in 2010 and the appointment of a permanent representative in Brazil in 2011 we are in a strong position to serve our growing client base throughout the region.
 
Our Latin America practice group comprises partners and senior associates from all of the firm’s major practice areas. Together these lawyers provide unrivalled legal and commercial expertise related to BVI, Cayman, Anguilla and Cyprus law, as well as an understanding of the business environment within which our clients operate. Our Uruguay office, the hub of our Latin America practice, is staffed entirely with native Spanish and Portuguese speaking lawyers.
 
Our areas of expertise include the setting up of investment funds, trusts and foundations, the structuring of project financing transactions, joint ventures and listings in international capital markets.

Recent experience

Harneys has wide ranging experience advising Latin American interests in transactions ranging from fund set up to debt financing. Our client list includes names such as Maple Energy, Vale, General Electric and Banco de Credito del Peru.

• Advising SAB Miller plc and its subsidiary Bavaria S.A. on Bavaria S.A.'s listing of US$1.325 billion in corporate bond securities on the Cayman Islands Stock Exchanage in March 2011. The listing was the first of its kind by a Latin American company.
• Acting as BVI counsel for Maple Energy plc in its US$140M debt financing for and a further equity investment into development of an ethanol project on the northern coast of Peru.
• Advising Brazil-based international mining company Vale on a US$1 billion offering of notes by its wholly-owned Cayman Islands subsidiary.
• Providing Banco de Credito del Peru with group restructuring advice in the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands; and regulatory, compliance and fund set-up advice in the Cayman Islands.
• Providing Brazil’s Banco Safra, Petrix, and FRAM Capital with Cayman advice related to new investment funds.
• Advising a major Latin American oil producer on BVI law aspects of a cross-border joint venture valued at over US$3 billion.
• Providing BVI advice to Estrella, a private oilfields service company with operations in 4 Latin American countries, on a range of corporate matters.
• Advising Aura Minerals on BVI aspects of the acquisition of gold mines in Honduras and Brazil.
• Advising WestLB and Nedbank on a US$37.5 million loan to the Quadra Mining group in connection with the refinancing of the existing project finance facility for the Franke copper mining project in Chile.
  

Contact Marco Martins or Horacio Woycik for more on Latin America.