M&A in Spain– Special Report

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Real Estate sector leads Spanish transactional market, although 17.07% falls until December 

Spain registered until December 622 operations, related to real estate sector, represents a drop of 17.07% compared to the same period of 2018 

July was the month with the highest number of operations in the Spanish real estate market 

Real estate market in the country registers a 57.38% decrease in capital mobilized until December 2019 

Featured Deal:
TPG Capital closes the acquisition of 75% of Témpore Properties from Sareb 

Spain’s real estate sector has registered until December 2019 a total of 622 mergers and acquisitions, between announced and closed, for an aggregate amount of EUR 13,568m, according to Transactional Track Record data (www.TTRecord.com).

Despite a decrease of 17.07% in the number of operations and 57.38% in the amount thereof with respect to the twelve months of 2018, operations in the real estate sector lead the Spanish transactional market, above from the technology sector, with 334 operations; financial and insurance, with 176 transactions; and consulting, auditing and engineering, with 138 businesses carried out.

In monthly terms, in December 2019, a total of 51 operations in the Spanish real estate sector have been accounted for with an aggregate amount of EUR 1,336.33m and, in accordance with the evaluation corresponding to the twelve months of 2019 in the Spanish transactional market, July has been the busiest month in the sector, with 79 operations and with EUR 2,030.57m of capital mobilized.

 Transactions in the real estate transactional market from December 2018 to December 2019. Source: Transactional Track Record 

Cross-Border Deals

With regard to Cross-Border transactions in the real estate market, so far this year, Spanish companies have chosen Portugal as the main destinations for their investments with 16 operations. In terms of amount, the United States is the country in which Spanish companies have made a larger disbursement, with a total amount of EUR 1,306.23m.

The United States (54), United Kingdom (42) and France (23) are the countries of origin of the largest number of investments made in Spain throughout the year in real estate. By amount, he leads the United States, with an aggregate amount of EUR 2,987.40m.

Top M&A Deal

One of the most outstanding M&A operations of the year in Spain in real estate has been related to Tempore Holdings in August 2019.

The Luxembourg company, owned by TPG Real Estate Partners III, a fund that is also controlled by the US private equity firm TPG Capital, has closed the acquisition of 75% of the Spanish SOCIMI Témpore Properties a Sareb (Asset Management Company from Bank Restructuring) for a value of EUR 247.32m.

Venture Capital

In the course of the year, 9 Venture Capital operations have been registered in the Spanish real estate sector, of which eight transactions have a disclosed value that together record a capital mobilized for EUR 53m.

Registered operations include those related to the Spanish startup ProntoPiso, which has received EUR 14m of venture debt financing led by Inveready Capital, Sabadell Venture Capital and other private investors. In addition, the startup Housell stands out, which has closed a round of financing of EUR 12m signed by Cerberus Capital Management and the Aviv Group.

Private Equity

Up to December 2019, 12 Private Equity operations have been registered in the real estate sector, of which 11 have a disclosed value that together record a mobilized capital of EUR 2,081m.

Of the registered operations, Oaktree Capital Management stands out, which has agreed to acquire 100% of the Spanish SDIN Residencial from Banco Sabadell for an amount of EUR 882m. The list also includes Tropic Real Estate Holding, which has acquired an additional 18.43% in the Spanish Testa Residencial from Banco Santander for EUR 349.40m.

Entrevista con Mikel Echavarren, CEO de Colliers International Spain

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Entrevista con Mikel Echavarren, CEO de Colliers International Spain.   

Mikel Echavarren es CEO de Colliers International Spain. Fue Presidente y Consejero Delegado de irea desde su fundación en 2002 hasta marzo de 2018, momento en el que irea se integra en Colliers International. Anteriormente fue socio de Arthur Andersen responsable de la división de Real Estate Corporate Finance en España y Portugal.

 

TTR – Desde el ámbito de actuación de Colliers International, ¿cómo definiría la actividad transaccional en los cuatro primeros meses del año?
El arranque del año 2018 mantiene la intensidad de la inversión en todos los segmentos del mercado inmobiliario, con una preponderancia significativa de las operaciones corporativas en el sector hotelero e inmobiliario y la puesta en el mercado de carteras de deuda hipotecaria y REO´s.

Los fondos de inversión core incrementan su presencia en nuestro mercado, sustituyendo a inversores oportunistas y aprovechando la rotación de los portfolios de activos de las Socimis.

La preparación de operaciones corporativas en este primer trimestre augura una intensa actividad en fusiones y adquisiciones de sociedades inmobiliarias y hoteleras en el segundo semestre del año 2018.

TTR – El sector inmobiliario históricamente ha sido el más destacado del mercado transaccional español. ¿A qué cree que se debe esta circunstancia? ¿Cuáles son las características principales que definen al sector en España?
El mercado inmobiliario español es uno de los más avanzados de Europa en cuanto a la oferta y seguridad de su mercado hipotecario. Este factor ha facilitado que la actividad de promoción residencial y de la inversión que se deriva de este segmento, siempre hayan sido muy pujantes.

Adicionalmente, España es un país que cuenta con un porcentaje de la actividad de promoción residencial muy elevado, en torno a un 20-30%, relacionado con la compra de vivienda por parte de extranjeros no residentes, derivada de la extraordinaria potencia de nuestro mercado turístico y la eliminación en los últimos 15 años de la competencia de los destinos ubicados en el norte de África.

En cuanto a la inversión de los fondos institucionales, el mercado de oficinas y de centros y parques comerciales se ha desarrollado ampliamente en los últimos años, cumpliendo los estándares de calidad y de transparencia europeos, lo que ha permitido a dichos inversores actuar en nuestro mercado de una forma eficiente y transparente.

Del mismo modo, la inversión en la adquisición de hoteles ubicados en España es una consecuencia lógica de la consolidación y desarrollo de uno de los principales destinos turísticos del mundo, el primero en términos de eficiencia de su gestión.

Todos estos factores, unidos al desarrollo extraordinario de las infraestructuras de transporte y servicios de nuestro país, han sido los motores del crecimiento de la inversión en inmobiliario.
TTR – En los últimos años, incluyendo a 2018, hemos podido ver un notable y creciente interés de fondos internacionales en el ladrillo español. ¿Diría usted que esta circunstancia favorece o perjudica al sector inmobiliario en España? ¿Podría esta proliferación de fondos internacionales estar reduciendo las oportunidades de los players locales?

La actividad de los fondos internacionales ha sido fundamental para la recuperación del mercado inmobiliario español.

En una primera etapa, desde 2013 a 2015, contribuyeron a facilitar liquidez al mercado y a establecer referencias creíbles sobre precios transaccionables, desde una perspectiva de aprovechamiento de las oportunidades de un mercado potente pero ilíquido.

Desde entonces los fondos internacionales han evolucionado hacia todos los nichos del mercado inmobiliario, desde los activos comerciales a la inversión en suelo residencial, y lo han hecho en muchos casos a través de alianzas con operadores y promotores locales.

En la actualidad están entrando otros fondos con estrategias diferentes y con costes de capital significativamente inferiores.

La conclusión de estos movimientos es, en mi opinión, que los fondos han venido para quedarse y que seguirán siendo protagonistas de la inversión en nuestro mercado inmobiliario por mucho tiempo. Ese protagonismo, convive con la actividad inversora de players locales, que con menores exigencias de rentabilidad y con capacidades crecientes de capital, compiten con fuerza en muchos segmentos del mercado.

 

TTR – Dentro del sector inmobiliario, ¿Qué segmentos de mercado considera usted que cuentan con un mayor potencial en la actualidad?

Claramente, el sector de promoción residencial y dentro de éste la inversión en carteras de suelo en desarrollo y su gestión hasta transformarlo en suelo finalista.

La promoción residencial, sobre todo en mercados secundarios que todavía no se han recuperado de forma significativa, seguirá ofreciendo rentabilidades anuales superiores al 10% y unos múltiplos atractivos por la financiación de los costes de construcción y desarrollo.

 

TTR – ¿Cuáles son las herramientas de financiación más habituales para la adquisición de activos inmobiliarios?

La financiación hipotecaria es la protagonista de las operaciones de inversión, con más participación de banca extranjera en activos comerciales y con un dominio absoluto de la banca comercial española en la financiación a la promoción residencial.

Adicionalmente, existen alternativas de financiación para los tramos de inversión no cubiertos por la banca comercial otorgadas por fondos de inversión internacionales.

Colliers International Spain, por ejemplo, es el Loan Manager de un fondo de financiación alternativa de Marathon Asset Management destinado a financiar la adquisición de suelo residencial y dirigido a promotores especializados en residencial.

La financiación corporativa o la emisión de bonos está restringida a las empresas con grandes balances, muchas de ellas cotizadas en bolsa.

 

TTR – Otra demostración del auge del sector inmobiliario es sin duda la cantidad de SOCIMIs que han comenzado a cotizar en el Mercado Alternativo Bursátil en los últimos dos años. ¿Qué ventajas aporta este mercado a las SOCIMIs?

El MAB es una alternativa para el cumplimiento de los requisitos de liquidez y de composición accionarial de las SOCIMIs, sobre todo para aquellas de tamaño medio o pequeñas o para quienes sólo aspiran a cumplir los requisitos que facilitan una fiscalidad óptima.

A futuro, creemos que muchas de ellas entrarán en el juego de fusiones y adquisiciones con el objetivo de alcanzar una mayor dimensión que posibilite su mayor liquidez en el mercado y ofrecerse como alternativa a la inversión el ahorro familiar, con un menor coste de capital.

Interview with Mikel Echavarren, CEO at Colliers International Spain

 

TTR – How would you at Colliers International describe the level of deal activity over the first four months of the year?

So far 2018 has continued to see strong levels of investment across all segments of the real estate market. There has been a marked preference for corporate deals in the hotel and real estate sector, whilst mortgage loan and REO portfolios have also started to come onto the market.

The Spanish market is seeing an ever-growing number of core investment funds, that have taken the place of opportunistic investors and are capitalising on Socimi property portfolio rotations.

The preparation of corporate deals in Q1 2018, suggests that we will see considerable M&A activity among real estate and hotel companies in H2 2018.

 

TTR – The real estate sector has traditionally always been the biggest transaction market in Spain. Why do you think this is? What are the defining characteristics of the sector in Spain?
In terms of supply and the level of mortgage security, the Spanish real estate market is one of the most advanced in Europe. This factor has meant that residential development and investment, have always played a defining role.

Spain also has a very high percentage of residential development activity (circa 20-30%), which is primarily thanks to the purchase of homes by non-resident foreigners, as a result of Spain’s highly attractive tourist market and the fact that over the past 15 years competition from destinations in Northern Africa has virtually disappeared.

In terms of investment by institutional funds, the office and shopping centre and retail park markets have expanded significantly in recent years, meeting European standards of quality and transparency, which has allowed these players to invest in Spain efficiently and transparently.

Investment in hotels located in Spain is also a logical result of the consolidation and development of one of the world’s primary tourist destinations, and the leading destination in terms of efficient management.

All this, together with the extraordinary development of Spain’s transport and services infrastructure, have driven real estate investment growth.

 

TTR – In recent years, including 2018 to date, we have seen international funds show a considerable and growing interest in Spanish real estate. Would you say that this favours or jeopardises the Spanish property sector? Could this increasing number of international funds be reducing the number of opportunities open to local players?

International funds were key for the recovery of Spain’s real estate market.

Between 2013 and 2015, these funds identified an opening which would allow them to take advantage of the opportunities in a strong, but illiquid market. They therefore not only injected much-needed capital into the market, but also helped to establish credible transaction price references.

Since then international funds have explored all real estate market niches, from retail properties to investing in residential-use land, in many cases investing via joint ventures with local operator and developers.

Funds with different strategies and significantly lower capital costs are now entering the market.

In my view, the conclusion we can draw from the activity of recent years is that funds are here to stay and will remain key players in our real estate market for some time to come. However, they will share the limelight with local players who, with less-demanding yield requirements and growing capital strength, pose stiff competition for international funds in many market segments.

 

TTR – What do you see as the highest-potential market segments in the real estate sector at the moment?

Without doubt, the residential development sector and, within this, investment in portfolios comprising land in the planning process and its management through to obtaining serviced development land status.

Residential development, especially in secondary markets that still have a long way to go before recovering pre-crisis levels, will continue offering annual yields in excess of 10% and attractive terms and conditions for financing construction and development costs.

 

TTR – What are the most common forms of financing used to acquire real estate assets?

The lion’s share of investment transactions are completed using mortgage financing, with international banks tending to focus on retail assets and Spanish commercial banks dominating the residential development financing market.

International investment funds offer financing alternatives for investment tranches that are not covered by commercial banks.

Colliers International Spain, for example, is the Loan Manager of an alternative financing fund belonging to Marathon Asset Management aimed at financing the acquisition of residential land and directed at specialist residential developers.

Corporate financing and bond issues are restricted to companies with big balance sheets, mainly listed companies.

 

TTR – Another sign of the real estate sector’s strength is without doubt the amount of SOCIMIs that have listed on the Spanish Stock Exchange (MAB) over the past two years. What advantages do SOCIMIs bring to the market?

The MAB is an alternative option for SOCIMIs to meet their liquidity and shareholder requirements, especially for SMEs or companies looking to achieve an optimised fiscal structure.

Going forwards, we believe that many of them will be subject to Mergers & Acquisitions, with companies looking to optimise their structure in order to increase their liquidity in the market and offer an alternative to the traditional investment option, with a lower capital cost.

Brazilian textiles and apparel in vogue

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TTR Deal Tracker
www.TTRecord.com

LATIN AMERICA

TTR Deal Tracker is a monthly email update identifying M&A trends in Latin America and compiling YTD rankings of leading financial and legal advisors

BRAZIL: Fashion and textile industry consolidation accelerates

The number of transactions in Brazil’s fashion and textiles industry grew by 167% to the close of August 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, according to TTR data (www.TTRecord.com).
The uptick in deal flow in the space was led predominantly by Brazilian firms, with just two cross-border deals in the sector YTD compared to one for the same eight months last year.

COLOMBIA: Real estate dealmaking picks up steam

Transaction volume in Colombia’s real estate segment jumped 75% in the first eight months of 2016 over the same period last year, according to TTR data (www.TTRecord.com).
Foreign buyers have demonstrated increased appetite for real estate assets, leading three transactions YTD compared to just one for the same eight months in 2015.

Rankings / League Tables

Latin America Ranking – 2016*

Financial Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)

Banco Itaú BBA maintains a comfortable lead in TTR’s Latin America financial advisory ranking by deal volume and aggregate value at the close of August, with 27 advisory mandates under its belt worth a combined USD 15.6bn, the same number of transactions it advised on in the first eight months of 2015 when it also led the top 10. Its aggregate deal value is up 8% from USD 14.5bn a year ago, meanwhile. Banco Bradesco BBI climbed from sixth place a year ago to take second, its deal volume growing 250% from six to 21, the aggregate value of those transactions up 37% from USD 9.1bn to USD 12.5bn. BTG Pactual fell from second at the close of August 2015 to third a year later, its deal volume down 25% from 16 to 12, the aggregate value of its deals down 39% from USD 9.5bn to USD 5.8bn. Citigroup, in fourth with 11 deals under its belt YTD, was not among the top 10 financial advisors in the region a year ago. Banco Santander slipped from third place at the close of August 2015 to fifth, despite increasing deal volume by 38% from eight to 11 transactions and growing aggregate deal value 43% from USD 5.3bn to USD 7.5bn. BAML climbed from ninth a year ago to sixth, increasing deal count from four to 10, the combined value of its deals jumping from USD 777m to USD 12.2bn. BNP Paribas, in seventh, was not among the top 10 a year ago, nor was Morgan Stanley, in eighth. BBVA fell from fifth a year ago to ninth, despite maintaining the same deal volume and virtually the same aggregate value between the two eight-month periods. Vinci Partners brings up the rear in tenth, also with seven mandates YTD, after not appearing on the chart a year ago.

Baker & McKenzie leads TTR’s Latin America legal advisory ranking at the close of August with 17 mandates worth a combined USD 2.5bn, representing a 23% decline in deal volume and an 81% increase in aggregate value relative to its 22 transactions together worth USD 1.4bn at the close of August 2015, when it also led the chart. Jones Day follows in second, as it did a year ago, its deal volume down from 17, its aggregate deal value down 89% from USD 2.5bn. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton ranks third with 10 deals, followed by Linklaters in fourth with nine, neither having appeared among the top 10 for the first eight months of 2015. Clifford Chance, in fifth, and White & Case, in sixth, have also advised on nine transactions in the region YTD, the former falling from fourth in the chart a year ago when it’d advised on five deals worth USD 8.3bn, the latter down from fifth at the close of August 2015, when it’d also advised on five transactions, in its case worth USD 983m. Hogan Lovells, in seventh with six deals YTD, was absent from the chart a year ago and is tied by volume with Shearman & Sterling, which fell one position from seventh, despite having added one deal to its count of a year ago and increasing the aggregate value of its transactions by 65% from USD 724m. Chadbourne & Parke, in ninth with four deals YTD, was not among the top 10 a year ago. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom brings up the rear with three deals together worth USD 2.7bn, down from five a year ago together worth USD 866m.

Brazil Ranking* – 2016
Financial Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)


Banco Itaú BBA leads TTR’s Brazil financial advisory ranking at the close of August with 22 deal mandates YTD worth a combined USD 11.6bn, down by a single transaction from its 23 deals worth USD 14bn a year ago when it also led the chart. Banco Bradesco BBI rose from third to second place, up 250% by volume and 37% by aggregate value from its six transactions worth USD 9.1bn at the close of August 2015. Banco BTG Pactual fell from second to third despite having added one transaction to its count of a year ago. The aggregate value of BTG Pactual’s deals is down 45% from USD 8.4bn, meanwhile. BAML, in fourth, was not among the top 10 banks advising on M&A in Brazil in the first eight months of 2015, nor was Vinci Partners, in fifth, Banco Santander, in sixth, or Rothschild in seventh place. BR Partners ranks eighth, falling one position from seventh a year ago, despite having added one transaction to its deal count and increasing the combined value of its deals by 625% from USD 176m. Morgan Stanley, in ninth, and BNP Paribas, in tenth, were both absent from the top 10 ranking at the close of August 2015.

Legal Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)


Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados leads TTR’s Brazil legal advisory ranking for the first eight months of 2016 with 34 transactions worth a combined USD 14.7bn, representing a 48% increase in deal volume and a 65% spike in the combined value of its deals compared to a year ago, when it ranked fourth with 23 deals together worth USD 8.9bn. Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados holds firm to its second place ranking of a year ago, its deal count up from 25 to 32, the combined value of its deals down 86% from USD 12.5bn to USD 1.8bn. Pinheiro Neto Advogados fell from first a year ago to third in the chart while maintaining the same deal volume. The firm’s deals are together worth 3% less than a year ago when the combined value of its transactions totaled USD 9.5bn. TozziniFreire Advogados climbed from eighth a year ago to take fourth place, its deal volume up 94% from 16 to 31, the aggregate value of its deals up 122% from USD 798m to USD 1.8bn. Souza, Cescon, Barrieu & Flesch Advogados holds onto the same fifth place ranking it held a year ago, notwithstanding a 26% increase in deal volume from 23 to 29 and a 16% decline in its aggregate deal value from USD 4bn to USD 3.4bn. Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão fell three places in the chart to take sixth, its deal volume down from 23 to 18, its aggregate value down 38% from USD 9.1bn to USD 5.7bn. Stocche, Forbes, Padis, Filizzola, Clapis, Passaro, Meyer e Refinetti Sociedade de Advogados ranks seventh after not appearing among Brazil’s top 10 M&A firms a year ago. Veirano Advogados fell two positions in the ranking to take eighth as it lost two transactions relative to its deal count a year ago and increased aggregate deal value 1,300% from USD 408m to USD 5.7bn. Demarest Advogados held onto its ninth place ranking of a year ago while adding one deal to its count and increasing the combined value of its deals nearly 3,000% from USD 79m to USD 2.4bn. Lefosse Advogados brings up the rear in tenth place after not placing on the top 10 chart at the close of August 2015.

Mexico Ranking* – 2016

Financial Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)

BBVA leads TTR’s Mexico financial advisory ranking at the close of August, advising on five transactions YTD, the same deal volume of a year ago when it also led the chart, the aggregate value of its deals virtually unchanged between the two eight-month periods. Citigroup jumped five places to take second, adding three transactions to its count of a year ago and upping aggregate deal value 269% from its sole transaction worth USD 1.2bn to four worth USD 4.5bn combined. Deutsche Bank ranks third after not placing among the top 10 to the close of August 2015. JPMorgan, in fourth, was also absent from the top 10 chart a year ago, as was Morgan Stanley, in fifth, and Lazard, in sixth. RIóN M&A ranks seventh with two transactions YTD of undisclosed value, down from three a year ago. Goldman Sachs, in eighth, PC Capital, in ninth, and UBS, in tenth, were all absent from the top 10 at the close of August 2015.

Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez leads TTR’s Mexico legal advisory ranking for the first eight months of 2016 with 18 mandates together worth USD 3.3bn, the same deal volume it had for the corresponding period in 2015 when it also led the chart. The aggregate value of its deals fell 66% from USD 9.5bn a year ago, meanwhile. Galicia Abogados held on to its deal count of 10 of a year ago, climbing one place in the chart to take second, its aggregate deal value up 24% from USD 2.8bn to USD 3.4bn. Ritch, Mueller, Heather y Nicolau ranks third with five deals YTD after not placing among the top 10 legal advisors in Mexico in the first eight months of 2015. White & Case México added one transaction to its count of a year ago, climbing six places to take fourth, notwithstanding a 28% decline in aggregate value from USD 983m to USD 704m. Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes, also with five M&A mandates YTD, fell three places in the chart to take fifth, the combined value of its deals down 80% from USD 3.5bn at the close of August 2015. Jones Day México lost two deals relative to its count of a year ago and fell two places in the chart to take sixth, its aggregate deal value down 90% from USD 2.2bn. Santamarina y Steta Abogados, in seventh, and Von Wobeser y Sierra, in eighth, were both absent from the top 10 a year ago. Basham Ringe y Correa fell two places in the chart to take ninth, its deal count down by two, its aggregate deal value down 93% from USD 1.4bn at the close of August 2015. Robles Miaja Abogados brings up the rear in tenth with its two transactions after not placing among the top 10 M&A firms advising in Mexico in the first eight months of 2015.

* TTR Rankings are generated with transactions announced or closed in 2016 year-to-date. The ranking includes sales and acquisitions of shares and of assets, creation of joint ventures, and Private Equity/Venture Capital investments. The legal advisor rankings for Brazil and Mexico take into consideration advisory services regarding domestic laws. All rankings only include deals where a company of the respective country was the target of the transaction. In the case of LATAM, it would be a Latin American country. The LATAM ranking does not specify the origin of the advisory law, so the filter only considers firms from the UK/US.

In case of a draw, the adopted criteria will be the following: if the draw is due to number of transactions, the total deal value prevails; if it is due to deal value, the number of transactions prevail. When a draw of both number of transactions and deal value occurs, the same position will be retained and the deals will be arranged alphabetically.

VCs boost funding for tech startups

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LATIN AMERICA

TTR Deal Tracker is a monthly alert that identifies M&A trends and provides YTD rankings of the leading financial and legal advisors in Latin America.

BRAZIL: VCs boost funding for tech startups

Venture capital funds boosted their investments in Brazilian technology startups as 2016 got under way, with an 80% increase in the number of such transactions YTD compared to January 2015, according to TTR data. The total sum directed at technology companies has grown by more than 1,000%, meanwhile, with USD 64m invested so far this year compared to USD 5m in January 2015.

MEXICO: Real Estate asset deals on the rise

The number of transactions in Mexico’s real estate sector jumped from one in January 2015 to four YTD, a 300% increase, according to TTR data. Three quarters of the country’s real estate transactions this year have been asset trades.

Rankings / League Tables

Latin America Ranking – 2016

Financial Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)

Banco Itaú BBA leads TTR’s Latin America financial advisory ranking for January 2016 with three transactions YTD together worth USD 724m, representing a 50% decline in deal volume and a 230% increase in aggregate value compared to its six mandates worth USD 219m for the same month in 2015, when it also led the pack. BBVA is off to a great start with two deals under its belt worth USD 3.92bn combined after not placing among the top 10 financial advisors regionally in January 2015. Banco BTG Pactual holds firm to its third place ranking of January 2015 with two deals in both periods, worth USD 171m in aggregate then compared to 506m in the first month of 2016, a 196% jump. Ártica Investimentos follows in fourth, also with two deals, in its case both worth an undisclosed consideration. Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Lazard follow, in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, none of the four having ranked among the top 10 in January 2015. BR Partners, in ninth, advised on one deal in January this year, as it did in the same month a year prior when it ranked seventh. Cobaltum Partners brings up the rear, also with one deal under its belt YTD, after not placing among the top 10 for any month in 2015.

Legal Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)

Baker & McKenzie leads TTR’s Latin America legal advisory ranking for January 2016 with two deals together worth USD 24m, up in volume from one advisory mandate in the same month a year prior, then worth USD 98m. Jones Day is close behind, also with two deals, in its case both of an undisclosed consideration. Of the other firms in the chart, only Gunderson Dettmer and Hogan Lovells were among the top 10 in January 2015 when they occupied the same sixth and seventh place positions, respectively.

Brazil Ranking – 2016

Financial Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)


Banco BTG Pactual leads TTR’s Brazil financial advisory ranking for January 2016, up from third place in the corresponding month of 2015, with two transactions thus far this year together worth USD 506m compared to two a year ago worth USD 171m. Banco Itaú BBA is tied for first, having advised the counterparty on the same two transactions in January. Itaú led the chart with six deals in January 2015 worth USD 219m combined. BR Partners climbed one position in the ranking relative to January 2015, advising on one deal in both periods, this year of an undisclosed value, last year worth USD 75m. Ártica Investimentos also advised on one deal in January of an undisclosed consideration to tie for third place, after not appearing among the top 10 in the ranking at the close of January 2015.

Legal Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)


Souza Cescon Advogados leads TTR’s legal advisory ranking for January 2016 with two deals together worth USD 196m. The firm ranked second for the corresponding period in 2015, when it’d advised on four transactions together worth USD 158m. Pinheiro Neto Advogados ranks second, also with two advisory mandates in January, up from sixth in January 2015 when it’d advised on three deals together worth USD 16m. Lobo & de Rizzo Advogados ranks third, also with two deals under its belt YTD worth USD 5m combined, after not appearing among the top 10 in January 2015. Koury Lopes Advogados ranks fourth, up from ninth a year ago, advising on two transactions in both periods of undisclosed values. TozziniFreire Advogados, in fifth, was not among the top 10 a year ago, nor was Duarte Garcia, Caselli Guimarães e Terra Advogados, ranked sixth. Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados ranks seventh, with one deal YTD worth USD 310m, down from its leading position in January 2015 when it’d advised on six deals together worth USD 243m. PMKA Advogados, in eighth, was not among the top 10 for the corresponding period in  2015, nor was Ulhôa Canto, Rezende e Guerra, in ninth. Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão, in tenth, lost one deal relative to its performance in the first month of 2015, while the USD 196m value of its sole transaction YTD compares favorably with its two deals valued at USD 8m in aggregate a year ago.

Mexico Ranking – 2016

Financial Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)

The four firms in TTR’s Mexico financial advisory ranking for January 2016 all advised on the same transaction and are thus tied neck and neck. None of the four ranked among the top firms for the corresponding period in 2015 when Barclays Bank led the chart.

Legal Advisory – Year to Date (YTD)

Galicia Abogados shares the lead with Santamarina y Steta Abogados in TTR’s Mexico legal advisory ranking for January 2016, both having advised counterparties of the same transaction. Galicia ranked third in the chart a year ago when it’d also advised on one transaction, then worth USD 2.5bn. Neither Baker & McKenzie nor Echanove y Asociados, ranked third and fourth, respectively, were among the top 10 for the corresponding period a year ago.