About

Number of years practice:

24

Principal practice areas:

Corporate Finance

Bar admissions:

New York and California

Languages spoken:

English, Spanish (fluent)

Notable cases over the past 12 months for William Candelaria include advising the hotel operator Grupo Posadas in an asset sale tender offer for its 2022 Notes, which was completed in March 2019. He also advised Posadas on the sale of certain hotels and other assets, and compliance with the terms of its 2022 Notes. Candelaria advised Bancomext on Inter Factor Agreements with international bank counterparties. Alongside this, he completed an out-of-court restructuring for Arendel, of nearly all of their debt through an exchange offer and consent solicitation. He has also advised Morgan Stanley’s New York commodities trading desk on certain Mexican ISDAs and other agreements.

What differentiates your Mexico-facing practice from those of your US competitors and peers?

I have been working on US-Mexico matters for over 25 years and have a deep understanding of the issues that arise in a variety of corporate finance contexts. I have advised lenders and borrowers, underwriters and corporate issuers. On the lending side, I have focused on advising Mexican government development banks Bancomext and Banobras in addition to representing commercial bank syndicates. On the corporate side, I advise a number of Mexican corporates, including Arendal and Grupo Posadas.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of advising Mexico-based clients from an office in the United States? What changes in the commercial and/or legal market do you anticipate in the 12 months ahead in Mexico?

The Mexican economy is showing the effects of the global slow-down as well as the repercussions of the federal government’s cancellation of the Mexico City airport project. As a result, the peso has weakened and the capital markets have not been as receptive to Mexican issuers. I anticipate that there will be significant liability management transactions and debt restructuring as Mexican corporates face greater costs for servicing US dollar denominated debt.

What is your perception of in-house counsel’s priorities in terms of client service when working with US-based law firms?

Companies are placing constraints on legal budgets, especially during the current downturn in Mexico, and I believe that in-house counsel’s priority is to obtain the best provider at the lowest cost or fixed fee.

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