Mr Fernando Castro > Baker McKenzie Chile > Santiago, Chile > Lawyer Profile

Baker McKenzie Chile Offices

Baker McKenzie Chile
AVENIDA ANDRÉS BELLO 2457, PISO 19
PROVIDENCIA
SANTIAGO, CÓDIGO POSTAL 7510689
Chile
Visit website 56 2 2367 7000

Mr Fernando Castro

Fernando Castro photo
+56223677032 [email protected]

Position

Local Partner in the Santiago, Chile office.

Career

Fernando Castro joined the Firm in 2000, and has since practiced in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganization, capital markets and civil and commercial law. He is a licensee in Juridical and Social Sciences and obtained his LL.M. degree from the University Of Chicago in 2008.

Practice Focus

Mr. Castro routinely works on corporate and partnership law, as well as all legal matters related to contractual law, securities law and foreign investments. He has an extensive experience on Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity transactions, Corporate Finance and multijurisdictional corporate reorganizations. His clients include domestic and foreign multinational companies.

Representative Legal Matters:

  • Advised Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), a Japanese state-owned enterprise, in the auction process and subsequent sale of its 50% stake in the Chilean water supply conglomerate Aguas Nuevas S.A., Aguas del Altiplano S.A., Aguas Araucanía S.A., Aguas Magallanes S.A. and Aguas Chañar S.A., to MG Leasing Corporation, an affiliate of Marubeni.
  • Advised Landsberg Investments, S.L., a joint venture led by Altra Inversiones (Colombian private equity fund manager), and DEG, a German Development Financial Institution, on the acquisition of a 38.8% stake in Avla S.A., a leading organization in surety bonds and trade credit  in Chile and Peru.
  • Advised US telecoms provider Motorola Solutions in the acquisition of a Chilean based support service group of companies.
  • Advised Alliance Boots with the completion of the tender offer for the purchase of 99.39% of the shares of Farmacias Ahumada S.A. (FASA), which are listed on the Santiago Stock Exchange. The completion of this transaction follows acceptance of regulatory approvals and the closing of the cash tender offer for the outstanding fully diluted share capital of FASA. Subsequently advised Alliance Boots on their second public tender offer for the shares of FASA that had not been acquired during the first tender offer and the following reorganizational process.
  • Has advised several local and multinational companies in their corporate reorganizations including Abbott, CFR, Medtronic, Shire/Takeda, Merck, Oracle, Grupo Security, and many others.
  • Advised Grupo Security in the acquisition of the “Cruz del Sur” group of companies (including a life insurance company, an assets management company, a stock broker, a loan and mortgage entity and two additional intra group services entities) for over USD 300 million, allowing the company to double its insurance business, as well as its life annuities stock and investment portfolio.
  • Advised Atlantia in the sale of a 49.99% stake to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), in a transaction valued at USD 1.15 billion.
  • Advised Viña Concha y Toro S.A. in several capital increases for over USD 100 million through the issuance of common stock and their registration with the Chilean Commission for the Financial Market (CMF).
  • Has advised Viña Concha y Toro S.A., Grupo Security S.A., Inversiones Previsión Security Limitada and other companies in the issuance, registration with the Chilean Commission for the Financial Market and placement of several multimillion dollars lines of corporate bonds.
  • Advised Grupo Security S.A. in several capital increases for over USD 200 million throughout the years, through the issuance of common stock and its registration with the Commission for the Financial Market.
  • Advised on a multimillion acquisition by Autostrade per l’Italia of a controlling stake in several companies active in the construction and exploitation of toll motorways in Chile owned by the Chilean subsidiaries of Itinere Infraestructuras.
  • Advised Autostrade in a foreign loan from banco Santander S.A. (Spain) for USD 113 million.

Related Expertise:

  • Banking & Finance
  • Capital Markets
  • Corporate Reorganizations
  • Equity & Debt Transactions
  • Financial Institutions
  • Joint Ventures & Strategic Alliances
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Private M&A

Languages

Spanish - English

Education

Education:

  • University of Chicago (LL.M.) (2008)
  • Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (LL.B.) (1998)

Lawyer Rankings

Chile > Capital markets

The five-strong capital markets team at Baker McKenzie Chile advises financial institutions, issuers and managers on tender offers, corporate debt placements and securitisations. Its expertise also extends to the regulatory aspects of Chilean securities and other capital-raising activities. The team further assists with public offerings, bond issuances, stock exchange listings, and multi-jurisdictional due diligence work. The team is co-led by capital markets specialist Fernando Castro and Jaime Munro, whose wide-ranging practice includes securitisation mandates. Promoted to partner in July 2023, Cristóbal Larrain regularly works with the firm’s New York team on project bonds across Latin America.

Chile > Corporate and M&A

(Leading partners)

Fernando Castro – Baker McKenzie Chile

Chile > Life sciences

Baker McKenzie Chile‘s eight-strong life sciences practice routinely leverages the Santiago office’s membership of the global Baker McKenzie LLP network, which facilitates access to healthcare law specialists worldwide. On the regulatory side, the team advises on the licenses required to manufacture, sell, distribute and advertise life sciences-related products. The department also handles complex product recall proceedings, product liability issues, and the antitrust and competition aspects of the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and medical device industries. The practice group additionally advises on IP, data protection, contractual matters, and compliance issues. Major clients include Colgate-Palmolive Chile, which the firm advises on corporate, labour, consumer protection, advertisement and regulatory issues, with recent mandates seeing the team assist Deutsche Pharma with the registration and defence of its trade marks in Chile. Heading up the department, Valentina Venturelli is an intellectual and industrial property specialist who has expertise in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, medical device, foodstuff and veterinary sectors; and corporate and partnership law expert Fernando Castro likewise has pharmaceutical industry experience. At associate level, Maria Elena Dörr acts for medical device companies, and pharmaceutical and cosmetics laboratories; and Martín Muller advises on corporate compliance and governance matters. Former associate Carlos Lazcano departed the firm in June 2023.

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