The integration at the end of 2005 of Porto-based Osório de Castro, Verde Pinho, Vieira Peres, Lobo Xavier e Associados, widely considered the most significant player in the north of Portugal, “cemented the firm’s reputation as one of Portugal''s market leaders in the sector,” according to commentators. The team boasts experience across the spectrum of banking and finance transactions, regularly acting for major banks and advising on cutting-edge deals. For example, the firm recently handled its first Islamic financing, assisting Eurohypo’s Lisbon branch on the granting of facilities to an Islamic entity for the acquisition of real estate assets in Portugal. The department is also renowned for its expertise in capital markets, an area that was further strengthened by the merger, researchers were told. Clients sing the praises of the “experienced, knowledgeable and professional lawyers,” who are “practical and realistic in their approach” and provide a “service beyond what could be expected.” Clients/Work Highlights: The team advised Calyon, BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Deutsche Bank on financing the EUR2.9 billion acquisition of Europcar Group. It assisted an international bank syndicate led by BNP Paribas with the provision of EUR500 million credit facilities to the public entity controlling REFER, the Portuguese railway. BCP and BES instructed the firm on the granting of EUR100 million credit facilities to several entities within the Sporting Clube de Portugal group, restructuring its bank debt and providing for a rights issue. Other highlights include assisting Caixa BI in Portugal, Spain and France with financing the acquisition of wind-related assets in France by a group of Spanish companies. Goldman Sachs also instructed the firm on the acquisition of credits granted by a group of international lenders to the Meridien Group, while Banco Espírito Santo instructed the team on the complex financing of a shopping centre, with security granted on surface rights, land and a public domain concession.
This full-service firm enjoys “excellent relations with a number of the leading banks and financial institutions” and had a busy year advising on project finance deals. The team was particularly active in the construction of football stadiums and shopping centres, as well as in projects concerning wind power, gas distribution, and rail transport and sewage treatment. Highlights include advising the syndicate of banks on the EUR123 million restructuring of the project financing of José Alvalade Stadium. The team also assisted a joint venture between Spanish investors and Enernova with the development of a wind farm in the north of Portugal. Clients highlight the “team’s deep experience and ability to provide realistic advice.” Clients/Work Highlights: The firm advised a syndicate of banks consisting of Banco Comercial Português, Banco Espírito Santo and Caixa Geral de Depósitos on the EUR100 million restructuring of project finance facilities for Benfica’s stadium by introducing a commercial credits assignment structure. It also assisted a syndicate of banks with the restructuring of the project finance facilities relating to Porto’s Dragão Stadium. The team advised Caixa de Geral Depósitos on the granting of project finance facilities to Tagusgás, the concessionaire of natural gas distribution in the Tagus Valley Region, while AGS instructed the firm on the financing of the municipal sewage concession of Covilhã. Other highlights include advising the banks Banco Comercial Português, Banco Espírito Santo and CaixaBI on the substantial renegotiations of the concession agreement for the rail link over the Tagus River.
The integration at the end of 2005 of Porto-based Osório de Castro, Verde Pinho, Vieira Peres, Lobo Xavier e Associados, widely considered the most significant player in the north of Portugal, “cemented the firm’s reputation as one of Portugal's market leaders in the sector,” according to commentators. The team boasts experience across the spectrum of banking and finance transactions, regularly acting for major banks and advising on cutting-edge deals. For example, the firm recently handled its first Islamic financing, assisting Eurohypo’s Lisbon branch on the granting of facilities to an Islamic entity for the acquisition of real estate assets in Portugal. The department is also renowned for its expertise in capital markets, an area that was further strengthened by the merger, researchers were told. Highlights over the past year include advising Banco Comercial Português as originator on the EUR1.5 billion securitisation of mortgage loan receivables using an FTC structure. Clients sing the praises of the “experienced, knowledgeable and professional lawyers,” who are “practical and realistic in their approach” and provide a “service beyond what could be expected.” Clients/Work Highlights: The team advised an international syndicate of banks led by BNP Paribas on the provision of EUR500 million credit facilities to the public entity controlling the Portuguese railway, REFER. Banco Comercial Português and Banco Espírito Santo (BES) instructed the firm on the granting of EUR100 million credit facilities to several entities within the Sporting Clube de Portugal group, restructuring its bank debt and providing for a rights issue. The department advised CaixaBI on the granting of acquisition finance to a group of Spanish companies purchasing French companies and assets in the renewable energy sector, as well as a Portuguese company purchasing shares in the cargo container sector.
This full-service firm enjoys “excellent relations with a number of the leading banks and financial institutions” and had a busy year advising on project finance deals. The team was particularly active in the construction of football stadiums and shopping centres, and in projects concerning wind power, gas distribution, and rail transport and sewage treatment. Highlights include advising the syndicate of banks on the EUR123 million restructuring of the project financing of Sporting’s José Alvalade stadium. The team also assisted a joint venture between Spanish investors and Enernova with the development of a wind farm in the north of Portugal. Clients highlight the “team’s deep experience and ability to provide realistic advice.” Clients/Work Highlights: The firm advised a syndicate of banks consisting of Banco Comercial Português, Banco Espírito Santo and Caixa Geral de Depósitos on the EUR100 million restructuring of project finance facilities for Benfica’s stadium by introducing a commercial credits assignment structure. It also assisted a syndicate of banks with the restructuring of the project finance facilities relating to Porto’s Dragão Stadium. The team advised Caixa de Geral Depósitos on the granting of project finance facilities to Tagusgás, the concessionaire of natural gas distribution in the Tagus Valley Region, while AGS instructed the firm on the financing of the municipal sewage concession of Covilhã. Other highlights include advising the banks Banco Comercial Português, Banco Espírito Santo and CaixaBI on the substantial renegotiations of the concession agreement for the rail link over the Tagus River.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares Da Silva & Associados' stellar banking and finance practice owes much to expert partner Luís Branco, one of the most admired practitioners in this field. The firm's finance practice spans banking, project finance and securitisation. On the banking side, the up-and-coming Filipe Lowndes Marques led the firm's advice to Calyon, BNP Paribas, SocGen and Deutsche Bank in the €2.9bn acquisition of Europcar Group. Luís Branco led the firm's advice to Banco Espírito Santo in a complex €42m financing of a shopping centre in the north of Portugal. Filipa Arantes Pedroso and senior associate Pedro Gorjão Henriques are also highly regarded as leading experts in this field.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares Da Silva & Associados' top-drawer project finance team includes star partners Luís Branco and Filipa Arantes Pedroso. The firm acted for a syndicate of Portuguese banks in a complex €347.3m financing of a rebalancing agreement between the concessionaire for the Norte Motorway and the grantor. It also advised RBS, Caja Madrid, Caixa Geral de Depósitos and BES in the €646m refinancing and further financing of the Pego coal-fired power plant.
In December 2005, Morais Leitão joined forces with Osório de Castro Verde Pinho Vieira Peres Lobo Xavier & Associados (CPPX), Oporto’s leading law firm. With 30 lawyers, CPPX was among the best-known firms in Oporto with a speciality in corporate and capital markets advice. The firm has now been fully integrated into Morais Leitão, a development that boosts significantly the size of Morais Leitão pratice in Oporto. It will be extremely interesting to chart the firm’s progress over the coming year, especially in its dealings with corporate clients from the Oporto region. Luís Branco heads Morais Leitão’s banking department, which comprises one other partner and 12 associates. The firm has notched up a strong year in the banking sector. It was instructed twice by Banco Comercial Português on key deals – first, on the financing of Controlinveste’s acquisition of Lusomundo for €184.8 million in August 2005, and secondly, in relation to the restructuring of various corporate credit facilities granted to soccer club Sporting Clube de Portugal, worth a total of €100 million. Morais Leitão landed a role on another land mark deal when Eurohypo called upon the firm in May 2005 to advise it on a €26.5 million Islamic financing – the first ever financing effected under an Islamic-compliant structure in Portugal. Among the year’s other banking work. Branco took the helm again to advise a syndicate of international banks (led by BNP Paribas) on a €500 million financing package to Refer, the Portuguese railroad operator, in August 2005.
Luís Branco heads Morais Leitão’s project finance team, which comprises two partners and 12 associates. Fernanda Martins Matias joined the practice as an associate in January 2006, as a result of Morais Leitão’s merger with leading Oporto firm Osório de Castro Verde Pinho Vieira Peres Lobo Xavier e Associados. Morais Leitão’s reach and expertise spans a number of sectors, making the firm “a great choice for advise no matter what the project”. This reputation – gained in particular for its tendency to advise the financiers of large, complex projects – has been borne out by the firm’s standout deals of the past year, all of which featured the guiding hand of the “excellent” Branco. In the construction sector, the firm acted for Banco Comercial Português and Banco Espírito Santo on the restructuring on the €123 million project financing package granted in relation to the José Alvalade stadium (home of Sporting Lisbon, one of Portugal’s biggest football clubs), and in September 2005 advised Banco Espírito Santo on its €42 million financing of the Estação Viana shopping centre, in relation to which the firm created an innovative structure for mortgage surface rights and a public domain concession. Energy sector mandates, meanwhile, included acting for Caixa Banco de Investimento (CBI) in relation to the Tagus project, on which CBI provided € 36.2 million-worth of financing to the concessionaire for natural gas distribution in the Tagus Valley, and – in an appearance on the other side of the negotiating table – guiding Enernova (EDP’s renewable energy subsidiary) through its wind farm project, Enernova’s first foray into project finance. And in a noteworthy infrastructure matter, Morais Leitão advised the financing banks on the entire renegotiation of the Lisbon area railway concession, a three-year project that reached conclusion in June 2005 and comprised highly complex negotiations between Fertagus (the railway company) and the government.