Francisco Ugarte > Carey > Santiago, Chile > Lawyer Profile

The sizeable banking and finance team at legal giant Carey has enviable experience in advising creditors, investors and borrowers on high-stakes banking and finance deals. ‘A recognised law firm that stands out for its seriousness, commitment and focus on results’, its track record ranges from secured and unsecured syndicated loans, to derivatives, liability management issues, project finance, and structured product-related transactions.  It also acts for several major commercial banks, development finance institutions and multilateral institutions on their day-to-day banking and finance matters. Recent highlights include advising Banco de Chile, Banco Itaú Chile, JP Morgan and Citibank on a $635m financing granted to the Chilean subsidiary of Peruvian group Gloria Foods to fund the acquisition of Chilean dairy company Soprole. Among the department’s various experienced practitioners, Diego Peralta focuses on the structuring of financial products, as well as financings for a variety of businesses; Francisco Ugarte‘s wide-ranging practice includes cross-border banking and corporate finance deals; Felipe Moro predominantly advises on high-end lending deals, project financing, structured products, and derivative transactions; Fernando Noriega is a banking law, loan and project finance specialist; and Alejandra Daroch is an adviser to banks, financial institutions and debtors on major financings and developments. At associate level, experienced intermediate Loreto Ribera focuses on local and foreign project financing, corporate law, banking law and foreign investment.

Legal powerhouse Carey fields a ‘very serious and committed’ insolvency, bankruptcy and restructuring group that is consistently involved in high-stakes insolvency proceedings in Chile. The team’s specialisms include advising both creditors and debtors on liquidations, reorganisation agreements and restructurings, as well as assistance during negotiations. The firm’s full-service offering allows the practice to leverage the experience of litigators for insolvency proceedings, along with that of the firm’s corporate lawyers in M&A and financial distress-related operations. The team has also been especially active in relation to the economic aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in the construction and real estate sectors. The group’s principal advisers are complex insolvency specialist Ricardo Reveco, whose recent experience includes leading advice to Mainstream Renewable Power (Mainstream), Cóndor Energía and Huemul Energía on the debt restructuring of Mainstream’s Chilean affiliates; Roberto Villaseca and Salvador Valdés‘ whose track records include advising on the restructuring of liabilities; Francisco Ugarte, an adviser to both debtors and creditors on restructuring and insolvency matters; financial distress transaction expert Cristián Figueroa; and Alejandra Daroch, who maintains a broad insolvency, bankruptcy and restructuring practice. Focused on civil and commercial litigation, intermediate associate Francisco Torm also acts in restructuring and insolvency proceedings.

Carey‘s ‘M&A team has extensive experience and knowledge’. The enormous 66-member group (including 14 partners) is widely lauded for its structuring of high-stakes M&A transactions for multinationals and funds. The full-service corporate and transactional practice also advises foreign companies when investing in Chile for the first time, along with domestic and Latin American companies expanding their businesses throughout Chile and the region. The group’s M&A coverage encompasses takeovers through public offerings, minority share purchases, the acquisition of companies and asset packages in various jurisdictions, private equity deals, and insolvency and reorganisation scenarios. The practice contains several experienced partners, including: firm chair and renowned M&A and corporate law expert Jorge Carey; managing partner Jaime Carey T who advises on both foreign investment transactions and tax; corporate law, M&A and foreign investment specialist; Pablo Iacobelli; Salvador Valdés, whose ‘leadership and experience are unmatched’; and highly-regarded M&A practitioner Francisco Ugarte. The extensive partner-level group further includes Marcos Ríos, Guillermo Acuña, Cristián Eyzaguirre, Jorge Ugarte, Francisco Guzmán, Cristián Figueroa, Patricia Silberman, Alejandra Daroch and Jaime Carey Jr, all of whom play pivotal roles within the M&A team. In the firm’s senior associate ranks, Josefina Marshall is experienced in M&A, foreign investment, international trade, and corporate and commercial law.

Carey‘s 44-strong capital markets team advises public and private companies, financial institutions, private equity and investment funds, investors and emerging companies on securities offerings – including cross-border IPOs, capital increases, debt issuances and securitisations. Clients also turn to the group for assistance with regulatory compliance and corporate governance issues; and the team additionally advises issuers, management and boards of directors on their interactions with Chile’s securities regulator (Comisión para el Mercado Financiero). The department is co-led by several partners: Diego Peralta, who focuses on the structuring of financial products; Salvador Valdés, an adviser to corporate clients on the issuance of local bonds; Francisco Ugarte, who advises on international tender offers, debt issuances, derivatives, and the public and private offering of securities; and Felipe Moro, who assists with US private placements and Rule 144A/Reg S transactions. Also co-heading the group are Cristián Eyzaguirre, whose experience includes high-value capital increases; Jorge Ugarte, who is particularly active in debt capital markets liability management deals; Cristián Figueroa, an adviser on issuing securities; Patricia Silberman, whose track record covers the issuance and placement of senior secured notes; Fernando Noriega, a specialist in domestic and international securities offerings; and Alejandra Daroch, who advises on corporate and securitised bonds, derivatives, and public and private securities. At associate level, key support comes from seniors Ignacio Alfaro, Gustavo Marambio and Angélica De la Carrera (who returned to the firm in April 2023 after a year as an international visiting associate at Latham & Watkins in New York); all three have broad capital markets expertise as part of broader corporate and transactional practices.