Mr Jose Valera > Mayer Brown > Houston, United States > Lawyer Profile

Mayer Brown‘s Latin America M&A practice is primarily driven by energy transactions, especially in the oil and gas segment. Through Tauil & Chequer Advogados, its associated firm in Brazil, the firm has landed a series of headline deals in oil and gas, including those linked to Petrobras’s divestment programme. It advised Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CPDQ) on its acquisition, alongside Engie, of the remaining 10% stake in Transportadora Associada de Gás (TAG) from Petrobras; with the original acquisition of the 90% stake, this involved a total investment of more than BRL34.5bn – the largest M&A transaction in Brazilian history. The Latin America team has also advised on a number of LNG-to-power and gas-to-power M&A transactions, and continues to be involved in renewable energy deals in Chile. Houston partners Pablo Ferrante and Jose Valera have a huge amount of experience in energy M&A; in Brazil, Carlos Motta is a key name in Sao Paulo as is Alexandre Chequer in Rio de Janeiro; and in Mexico City, Raúl Fernández-Briseño is the key transactional contact. Vera De Gyarfas moved in-house in July 2021.

Mayer Brown‘s Houston office has a pivotal role in the firm’s successful Latin America practice. Houston partners Pablo Ferrante and Jose Valera are established names in energy M&A, especially in the oil and gas, power and renewables sectors; this includes the M&A transactions involving offshore oil-and-gas blocks. Ferrante headed a group that advised Ecopetrol on the sale of a 50% stake in Offshore International Group to De Jong Capital. Moreover, the office is directly linked into the Brazilian oil and gas sector with global head of the firm’s oil and gas practice, Alexandre Chequer (a figure of unrivalled stature in the Brazilian hydrocarbons sector) dividing his time between Rio de Janeiro and Houston, as does senior associate Leandro Duarte Alves. However, the team is not solely wedded to the energy sector and has experience in a variety of industries; in a case in point, Valera led a team that advised Warner Media on the sale of a Chilean television channel to ViacomCBS Networks International. Additionally, Gerami Granello‘s real estate practice has a significant Latin American aspect; and at associate level, dual-qualifed (Venezuela/Texas) Federica Castro focuses on corporate matters, M&A and energy-project development. However, energy projects specialist Vera De Brito De Gyarfas moved in house as general counsel of NextDecade in July 2021.