Portugal > Capital markets > Law firm and leading lawyer rankings

Linklaters frequently co-operates with its international offices to act on cross-border transactions. In one example, it advised Fosun on investing in the share capital of Millennium BCP through a private placement and an ongoing rights issue to reach a final participation of up to approximately 23.9%. António Soares ‘instils comfort and confidence’ in clients, and managing associate Vera Ferreira de Lima is ‘very helpful’. Managing associate Joana Vilhena left for an inhouse position at Explorer Investments in July 2017.

Portuguese powerhouse Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados advised Millennium BCP on a €175m investment by Fosun in a qualified shareholding in the bank’s share capital. Other highlights include assisting Energias de Portugal (EDP) with the public tender offer for shares of EDP Renováveis. Carlos Osório de Castro and Eduardo Paulino are recommended. Luísa Soares da Silva left to become a member of Novo Banco’s board of directors.

Uría Menéndez - Proença de Carvalho advised Cimpor on its delisting from the Lisbon Stock Exchange. In another highlight, it assisted Commerzbank with the structuring, issuance and admission to trading on EasyNext Lisbon of several types of structured securities. The group includes a number of well-known figures in the field, notably Carlos Costa Andrade and Jorge de Brito Pereira. Counsel Ana Sá Couto provides ‘professional and high-quality advice’; senior associate Miguel Stokes is another name to watch.

VdA Vieira de Almeida is a debt capital markets heavyweight and is ‘always available for client requests’. It advised a syndicate of banks, including Banco Português de Investimento, Caixa Banco de Investimento, Novo Banco and Banco BPI, as arrangers on the Portuguese state’s approximately €4.5bn bond issuances. The group includes the ‘confident’ Hugo Moredo Santos, Pedro Cassiano Santos, Paula Gomes Freire and José Pedro Fazenda Martins.

Well known for its bonds expertise, CMS advised Portuguese fund Revitalizar Norte on convertible bond issuances. In other work, it acted for Barclays Capital and CaixaBI as arrangers on the update of an EMTN programme for REN and REN Finance. Francisco Xavier de Almeida and managing associate Margarida Vila Franca are the names to note.

Lawyers at Campos Ferreira, Sá Carneiro & Associados are ‘available, knowledgeable and have a deep legal expertise’. While best known for its equity capital markets expertise, the group covers a broad range of capital markets matters. António Rocha Alves acted on several bonds issuances. Rita Oliveira Pinto, previously a counsel at the firm, left to join the Portuguese Securities Market Commission.

On the equity side, Cuatrecasas’ team advised CaixaBank on the takeover bid for Banco BPI. In an example of its debt capital markets expertise, it acted for Brazilian airline Azul, as subscriber, on TAP’s €120m convertible bonds issuance. Managing partner Maria João Ricou is a well-respected figure in the area; Manuel Requicha Ferreira has a ‘breadth of knowledge’.

At Garrigues Portugal, Diogo Leónidas Rocha and Marta Graça Rodrigues handle a broad range of capital markets matters. The duo advised Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan and Mediobanca on the tender offer and consent solicitation concerning €8.3bn-worth of notes issued by Novo Banco and Novo Banco Finance for the acquisition of notes held by retail and institutional investors. The group also acted on corporate governance matters for clients such as Haitong Bank and IT company Novabase. Senior associate Vasco Rodrigues joined from CMS in August 2016.

PLMJ offers ‘accurate and sharp’ advice, for example when assisting the largest group of bondholders impacted by the Bank of Portugal’s retransferral of a total of €2bn notes from Novo Banco to BES. Other highlights include advising Santoro Finance, the second largest shareholder of Banco BPI, on CaixaBank’s takeover bid for Banco BPI’s entire share capital and voting rights. André Figueiredo is ‘succinct and super responsive’. Gonçalo dos Reis Martins, formerly a managing associate at SRS Advogados, joined the firm as a partner in February 2017.

SRS Advogados stands out for its securitisation expertise, recently handling a number of securitisations and restructurings in an otherwise quiet market. The team also advised Trocadero Capital Partners as arranger and subscriber on SeaOwl’s bond issuance. William Smithson, the ‘excellent’ Alexandra Valente and Gustavo Ordonhas Oliveira are recommended.

Cardigos acts for a broad range of issuers, underwriters and selling and controlling shareholders. Particularly active in derivative transactions, it assisted Banco Popular with the review of ISDA Master Agreements. Practice head Pedro Cardigos is highly rated for litigation.

Gómez-Acebo & Pombo’s client portfolio includes numerous international hedge funds. Mafalda Barreto advised a private investment firm on the acquisition of several issuances of commercial paper. Miguel Castro Pereira is ‘knowledgeable and easy to work with’.

Macedo Vitorino & Associados’ group ‘helps implement legal solutions even better than anticipated, adding real value’. The group advised the initial purchasers, including Barclays Bank and BNP Paribas, on a tap issue of €200m-worth of secured notes by Horizon Holdings III. The ‘very professional’ António de Macedo Vitorino offers clients ‘personal attention’.

Raposo Bernardo provides ‘a fresh and sophisticated approach’ to capital markets work. Practice head Nelson Raposo Bernardo led advice to Goldman Sachs on securitised debt portfolios, and assisted BNP Paribas with the asset-backed securitisation of approximately 70 aircraft.

Sérvulo & Associados stands out for its experience in advising regulatory authorities. The group is advising BES on regulatory matters following the application of the resolution measure. Paulo Câmara is ‘easy-going and very knowledgeable’, and is recommended along with Manuel Magalhães.