CMS Carey & Allende

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Jorge Allende

Jorge is a senior partner and head of the Mining and Energy & Climate Change teams and co-head of Infrastructure & Projects team for CMS Carey & Allende. He also is very active within the Corporate/M&A practice group. He advises several national and multinational companies in the mining, engineering and construction, energy and natural resources industries. He also has extensive experience in project finance and M&A transactions, particularly in the areas mentioned. Previously, as member of the board of large companies and knowing the private-sector needs from the inside, he has advised clients in connection with numerous large-scale mining projects in Chile since 1990, including the negotiation of multimillion-dollar EPC and EPCM contracts, acquisition of large mining concessions, foreign investment contracts and project finance deals. Key clients: Inversiones Alxar (Empresas Copec’s mining assets company), Worley Chile S.A. (former Jacobs Chile), Elecnor (Spain), Nol-Tec Chile, Enagás (Spain), AECOM.

Jorge Allende Destuet

Jorge is partner and the co-head of the Corporate/M&A team. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, capital market operations, startups, and private equity. He counsels international clients on matters of finance, hospitality, and natural resources. He is also well recognized for his active practice in the capital markets arena and he has regularly participated in cross-border business combination operations, advising both local clients in their expansion endeavours in Latin America, as well as for foreign clients in their businesses in Chile, and in other regions of Latin America. Key clients: Sun Dreams S.A., The Blackstone Group L.P., Enagás S.A., Centerbridge Partners, AquaChile S.A, KKR.

Marissa Baldazzi

Marissa is a senior associate part of the Public Law & Regulatory Group at CMS Carey & Allende. She specialises in advising national and international companies on their interactions with various State Administration bodies, as well as in public and constitutional litigation. Her practice focuses on regulatory compliance, risk management, and the design and implementation of regulatory improvement strategies. She also assists clients with legislative monitoring and participation in the development of new laws. Marissa has broad experience in securing administrative permits and authorisations, representing clients before regulatory and supervisory authorities, and analysing complex legal frameworks that impact the operation of different industries. Her work also includes challenging administrative acts and pursuing the corresponding judicial remedies. She is recognised for her expertise in resolving regulatory disputes and supporting clients in administrative proceedings and preventive strategies before entities such as the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, regulatory agencies and superintendencies, the Constitutional Court, various Ministries and Regional Secretariats, and other public bodies. Her experience spans sectors including pharmaceuticals, urban development, aviation, public procurement, healthcare, energy, mining, navigation, aquaculture, media, public works, and fisheries. In addition, Marissa advises on the implementation of internal compliance and data protection policies, helping companies navigate digital transformation and the adoption of emerging technologies. She integrates regulatory insight with a practical and strategic approach to achieve effective and sustainable solutions.

Tomás Bown

omás is a partner and co-head of the Dispute Resolution Group of CMS Carey & Allende. His practice focuses on the resolution of complex civil and commercial lawsuits, shareholder disputes, insolvency and corporate reorganisation proceedings, and construction and mining sector lawsuits, among others. He also advises on cases before the Arbitration and Mediation Centre of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce (CAM Santiago), and ad-hoc, national and international courts.

Rodrigo Campero

Rodrigo is partner and leads Dispute Resolution and Compliance practice groups for CMS Carey & Allende. His practice focuses primarily on civil, criminal, and commercial litigation. He also advises on the design of compliance programs, mainly so as to avoid non-compliance and to minimize legal repercussions, should they occur. Key clients: Agrícola Pacífico Sur, Nol-Tec Ingeniería Limitada, Werco Trade AG, American Tower, Virbac-Centrovet, Derco Chile and Sun Dreams.

Ernesto Eckholt

Ernesto is a partner and head of the Venture Capital Group and part of the Corporate/M&A Group at CMS Carey & Allende. He has an outstanding track record in prestigious firms and a vast experience in high-impact strategic transactions in Venture Capital and M&A. He has led the structuring of financing rounds for startups, negotiating complex deals and advising investment funds. He continuously advises a diversified portfolio of technology startups in high innovation sectors such as SaaS, AgriTech, FinTech and Crypto. He is an Advisor at Stanford Venture Studio, a program created by Stanford University's business school, and at the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University, contributing to the development of ventures with global impact. He has led numerous large transactions in Venture Capital, M&A and project finance, building a reputation for his ability to manage strategic and complex deals. Throughout his career, he has worked in several renowned firms, advising companies in sectors such as technology, energy, retail and salmon farming. In addition, he has been part of international Venture Capital initiatives through programs in the United States and Mexico.

Ignacio Errazquin

Ignacio is head of Technology, Media & Communication (TMC) Group at CMS Carey & Allende. He focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, telecom, project finance with an emphasis on mining and non-conventional renewable energy projects, private equity and the structuring of joint ventures for businesses in different sectors. He also advises on antitrust matters in connection with merger control procedures. During the first half of 2018, Ignacio worked on the Corporate/M&A team at CMS Francis Lefebvre in Paris, France, where he participated in multiple cross-border transactions within Europe and with the US. He also advises French companies on their establishment as well as their business development in Chile.

Julio Frías

Julio is a partner and leads the Labor & Pensions team at CMS Carey & Allende. He has more than ten years of experience, in which he has focused on labor litigation, collective bargaining, and dispute resolution. In addition, Julio has advised national and international companies in Chile on o including prevention of damages and strategic labour law advice to both local and international clients on a daily basis. He provides comprehensive advice to companies in various economic sectors, providing support in the hiring of personnel, the definition of special labor conditions, the structuring of compensation packages, occupational safety, the management of terminations and representation in labor litigation. The team he leads collaborates closely with the corporate and tax areas, actively participating in due diligence processes related to mergers and acquisitions.

Pabla Gainza

Pabla is partner and leads the Real Estate & Construction practice area. She has been active in the sector for over two decades, she is a go-to practitioner for urban planning and zoning matters, development of pipelines, electric lines and other easement matters, as well as expropriation processes and regularisation of industrial plants and other real estate assets. Pabla was a part of the team that developed a Methodology for Integrated Projects for Santiago’s Inner Circle, for the World Bank’s PNUD program. She has also provided urban legal consulting for the Metropolitan SEREMI MINVU (Regional Secretariat for Urban Development Ministry of Chile), for the modification and creation of the Santiago Metropolitan Regulation Plan, on matters related to Patrimony and Public Areas. She is highly involved in the practice of contentious administrative cases, before the various State public entities, such as the Comptroller General of the Republic, SEREMI MINVU, Health Ministry Regional Secretariat’s Office, Urban Development Division, Public Works Directorate, etc. Key clients: Antofagasta Minerals (Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia (FCAB)), Banco Santander Chile S.A., Aki KB Minibogedas SpA., Banchile Inversiones S.A., Nevasa S.A. Administradora de Fondos, Unilever Chile S.A., Estée Lauder S.A. (Cela Cosméticos S.A.)

Diego Garcia

Diego is the partner that leads the Tax group for CMS Carey & Allende. He focuses on tax planning and restructuring for local and foreign companies. He also provides consulting services regarding fiscal and municipal taxes for companies, high net-worth individuals and families. Diego works in close coordination with other areas of our firm, providing his experience and vision on tax matters, as an essential part of added value that we provide for our clients.

Sofía Haupt

Sofía is a senior associate and has been part of the Corporate/M&A Group at CMS Carey & Allende since 2018. Her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, private equity and contracts. Sofía's experience includes advising local and foreign clients on national and cross-border legal matters, as well as multi-jurisdictional transactions. Prior to joining CMS Chile, Sofía worked at Allen & Overy LLP (2018) and DLA Piper UK LLP (2017-2018), both in Germany.

Manuel Ponce

Manuel is a member of the Mining sector group for CMS Carey & Allende. His practice focuses on mining and water rights, especially in subsoil protection processes for several projects that CMS Carey & Allende advises on, through opposition suits to measurement, expiration, nullity of mining rights and the exercise of other actions contained in the Mining Code. He is in charge of the establishing mining property through exploration and exploitation concessions.

Matias Ramírez

Matías is Director part of the Tax Group at CMS Carey & Allende. His practice focuses on the representation, as well as the administrative and judicial defence of domestic and multinational companies before the Internal Revenue Service of Chile (SII, acronym for Servicio de Impuestos Internos), and other public and international agencies, to ensure tax compliance. He also focuses on tax litigation, dispute resolution, consulting, as well as drafting opinion letters and research memos. He provides tax compliance services to national and multinational companies regarding direct and indirect taxation, in addition to matters related to taxation, such as transfer pricing audit processes, derivatives, the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR), Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), etc.

Adolfo Romero

Adolfo is a senior associate in the Corporate/M&A team at CMS Carey & Allende. His practice focuses on cross-border M&A and private equity, with an emphasis on energy, infrastructure and technology. He acts for international sponsors, infrastructure funds and strategic investors on acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures in Chile and across Latin America. He runs transactions from due diligence and structuring through SPA negotiation, R&W insurance and closing, and regularly coordinates multi-jurisdictional deals across the CMS network. Recent work includes advising: Global Infrastructure Partners (BlackRock), AIP and MGX on the Chilean aspects of their acquisition of Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie Asset Management; Visma on three consecutive SaaS acquisitions across Chile, Peru, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, including Talana; the sellers on the sale of Los Guindos Generación to Generadora Metropolitana and a Trafigura affiliate; The Heritage Group on the Chilean aspects of its cross-border acquisition of FORTA; and KKR on its USD 1 billion fiber-optic network acquisition in Chile and on subsequent transactions in the country. In 2024–2025 he was an international visiting attorney in the Corporate Transactions team at CMS in London, focusing on energy and infrastructure M&A. Adolfo is admitted in Chile and New York. He co-authored the Chile chapter of the Chambers Global Practice Guide: Energy & Infrastructure M&A 2025 and contributes to the Inter-American Dialogue’s Latin America Energy Advisor and LexLatin. Key clients: KKR, GE Vernova, Visma, Schörghuber Group (SHKG).

Ramón Valdivieso

Ramón is co-head of the Corporate/M&A practice area and leads the Technology, Media & Communications team. His practice focuses on corporate; capital markets & finance; M&A and private equity transactions, both in Chile as well as in other Latin American countries, where he has played a major part in the international expansion of various Chilean companies. In capital markets, Ramón advises issuing companies and investment banks in the issuance, registration, and placement of securities, assisting companies that enter into this market on all essential matters, ensuring transparency and timeliness in the information to the market, and continual improvement of corporate governance, securing future access to the market as a source of financing. In this regard, Ramón has lead various public tender offers (OPA), including non-solicited takeover bids. Ramón is a well-known expert in sectors related to telecommunications and information technologies. Key clients: Sonda S.A, Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), Bupa S.A., Salfacorp S.A., Karün, American Tower Corp., Besalco S.A., KKR Investment Fund.

Enrique Vergara

Enrique is partner and head of Banking & Finance Group at CMS Carey & Allende since 2015. His practice focuses on financing, reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and corporate law. He has advised local and foreign clients on banking and financial matters, especially in syndicated loans, project finance for the infrastructure and energy sector, debt restructurings, credit transfers, and in the issuance and placement of corporate bonds that are publicly listed and offered on the market.

Nicolás Vial

Nicolás is a partner part of the Corporate/M&A Group at CMS Carey & Allende. He advises international investors, private equity funds, and companies on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and complex transactions, both domestic and cross-border. He has extensive experience in investment structuring, acquisition and divestment processes, and shareholders’ agreements, and regularly participates in complex negotiations representing both buyers and sellers across a wide range of industries. He has advised local and foreign clients on their entry into and expansion within Chile, including the design and implementation of investment structures and the development of projects in the country. Previously, he served as Legal Manager for the Chilean operations of Cermaq, one of the world’s leading aquaculture companies and part of Mitsubishi Corporation. In this role, he led transactions, strategic negotiations, and complex corporate processes, bringing a practical and business-oriented perspective that he now integrates into his legal practice. Recent work includes advising: Chile Visma on the acquisition of Talana, a comprehensive human resources platform with operations in Chile and Peru. Visma on the acquisition of Rindegastos, a Santiago-based company offering smart expense management solutions for businesses, with operations in Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. Participation in the team that advised Cermaq Chile on the sale of strategic assets for USD 45 million, which included processing plants, fish farms, and freshwater farming centers, to various companies in the sector. Participation in the team that advised Ripley Corp on its investment and partnership agreement with Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool, which included a public tender offer for 100% of Ripley’s shares, amounting to USD 1.22 billion. Participation in the team that advised Automotores Gildemeister on the restructuring of USD 700 million in bonds through an agreement with the majority of its creditors. Participation in the team that advised GNL Quintero, a liquefied natural gas regasification terminal, on the amendment of its syndicated financing for USD 1.1 billion. Participation in the team that advised the shareholders of Solar Chile SpA, a solar project development company, on the sale of the company to First Solar Development. Participation in the team that advised SunPower Corporation on the due diligence process for the acquisition of solar energy projects in northern Chile. United States Participation in the team that advised J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley on New York law matters related to the initial purchase of international bonds issued by Banistmo for USD 500 million, pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S. Participation in the team that advised Barclays, Credit Suisse, and UBS on New York law matters related to the initial purchase of high-yield international bonds issued by Alpha Holding for USD 300 million, pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S.