Carlos Motta > Tauil & Chequer Advogados > São Paulo, Brazil > Lawyer Profile

Mayer Brown is a leading name in energy (including oil and gas), mining and infrastructure M&A. Much of the firm’s Latin America M&A capabilities sit in Houston where Argentina native Pablo Ferrante and Peruvian Jose Valera have decades of experience in big-ticket transactions. They work closely with the firm’s growing Mexico City office and Brazilian partner firm Tauil & Chequer Advogados; global head of oil and gas, Alexandre Chequer splits his time between the Houston and Rio de Janeiro offices and has an outstanding record in inbound and outbound Brazilian M&A. Carlos Motta  is another key figure in Sao Paulo; he was part of the team that advised Brazil-based footwear company, Alpargatas, on its $475m Series B investment in online eco-friendly footwear retailer, Rothy’s. Along with the firm’s prestigious background in conventional energy, the Latin America M&A team is increasingly active in green energy and mining deals; it advised LSC Lithium on the sale of all of the outstanding shares of Lithea Inc, the owner of the Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes lithium mining properties located in Salta, Argentina, to GFL International. Energy and mining deals in Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru are also a forte for the team, which is additionally building its presence in Guyana’s developing oil and gas sector. Mexico oil and gas M&A specialist Gabriel Salinas rejoined the Houston office as a partner from Shearman & Sterling LLP  in April 2023.

Carlos Motta leads the practice at Tauil & Chequer Advogados, which offers clients a broad range of domestic and international capabilities, powered by the firm’s association with Mayer Brown. Singled out for its ‘technical knowledge‘ and ‘familiarity with capital markets transactions‘, the team handles listings in the equity and debt capital markets in a multitude of sectors, including infrastructure, energy, financial services, and food. A recent highlight for the team included advising the Brazilian development bank BNDES as shareholder on the milestone Eletrobras IPO and privatisation. Rodolfo Constantino De Tella is a trusted adviser to companies, shareholders, financial institutions and institutional investors in equity and debt securities offerings. Banking partner Eduardo Lima, and Luis Montes, who is particularly experienced in the infrastructure sector. Bruno Cerqueira is knowledgeable of asset-backed securities within the real estate and agribusiness sectors.

Infrastructure and energy companies are at the core of Tauil & Chequer Advogados’ client base, which retains the ‘highly qualified team’ on a host of transactions, ranging from mergers to corporate restructurings and spin-offs. Boasting an extensive, cross-border M&A platform through its association with Mayer Brown, the firm is also well placed to act for boards of directors, private equity funds, investment banks and pension funds on all aspects of corporate law and M&A deals. The department is under the joint leadership of a capable trio: Carlos Motta, who assists publicly-held companies, financial advisors and multinationals with M&A, private equity and compliance matters; Victor Galante, in the Rio de Janeiro office, is a name to note for oil and gas, mining and infrastructure clients; and Alexandre Chequer, who is especially active in energy-related deals. The ‘excellent’ Daniel Gunzburger focuses on domestic and cross-border M&A involving players from the infrastructure, chemicals, and agribusiness sectors, while Bruno Salzano is noted for his knowledge of the power sector. Guilherme Tranquillini, whose ‘excellent argumentation capacity’ is rated by clients, is a seasoned public M&A practitioner. The group was boosted by the arrival of Christian Roschmann from Lefosse Advogados in April 2022; he brings a wealth of experience in cross-border M&A and private equity deals. Luciana Sodrée was raised to the partnership in Jan 2023.