Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega

Senior Partner: Ricardo M. Arango, Fernando A. Arias, Rodrigo Cardoze

Number of partners: 25

Number of other lawyers: 47

Contacts:

Banking and Finance:Estif Aparicio

Corporate Counsel and 360 Legal Solutions: Rodrigo Cardoze

Corporate Services: Fernando A. Arias

Environmental Matters: Sofía J. Cohen

Equipment and Aircraft Financing: Pilar Castillo

Estates & Private Clients: Gian Castillero

Government Contracts and Mining: Roy C. Durling

Hospitality: Fernando Arias F.

Intellectual Property: Rosa Restrepo

Labour & Immigration: Vivian Holness

Litigation & Arbitration: Fernando A. Arias and Claudio De Castro

M&A & Corporations: Ricardo M. Arango and Andrés N. Rubinoff

Real Estate: Rodrigo Cardoze

Securities Regulation: Ricardo M. Arango

Regulatory Work: Estif Aparicio

Shipping & Transportation: Jorge Loaiza

Taxation: Estif Aparicio

Firm Overview:

ARIFA has been leading Panama’s legal profession since 1914. The firm advises international financial institutions, multinationals and some of the largest domestic companies. Its practice spans 30 areas of law in 12 practice groups. ARIFA, long recognised for structuring complex and innovative M&A, capital market and financial transactions, also has a strong offshore practice. The firm’s success lies in the quality of its lawyers, many educated in top law schools in the US and Europe or trained in law firms in New York. This background allows the firm’s lawyers to bridge legal and business nuances to find the best solutions.

Main Areas of Practice:

Capital Markets & Banking:

ARIFA has the pre-eminent capital markets and banking practices in Panama. It is the market leader for innovative financial structures, particularly in cross-border transactions, and has unmatched expertise in securitisations and in domestic IPOs.

Recent Transactions:

US$2 billion multi-facility transaction for Phoenix Tower International; Banco Itaú Unibanco's acquisition of a 30% stake in Uruguayan fintechs Prex and Paigo; US$1.76 billion EnfraGen’s renewables financing; McDermott International's restructuring.

Mergers & Acquisitions:

ARIFA is one of Panama’s M&A leaders in terms of volume and number of deals. Clients trust the firm to solve complex and difficult cross-border acquisitions.

Recent Transactions:

Moody’s Corporation's acquisition of SCRiesgo; Inversiones Atlántida's acquisition of 100% of the shares of Pacific Bank; IMC Alimentação's sale of its restaurant operations at Tocumen Airport; Emergent Cold Latin America's acquisition of Galores Group; U$2.7 billion Stonepeak's acquisition of Lumen Latin American Business; Corporación Favorita's acquisition of a controlling interest in Rey Holdings, Corp.; United Airlines' complex loan and alliance structure between United Airlines, Avianca Holdings, and the two main Avianca shareholders; Cable Onda's sale to Millicom; and Assicurazioni Generali's asset sale agreement with respect to its Panamanian operations to ASSA Compañía de Seguros for US$172 million.

Projects & Government Concessions:

The firm has been involved in all major private and public infrastructure projects as well as in every major power generation and transmission project in Panama.

Recent Transactions:

The first, second and third line of the City Metro; the construction of the south terminal of Tocumen International Airport; and the Panama Bay coastal highway; the US$291.5 million financing of Costa Norte LNG, the single largest natural gas powered generation facility complex to be built in Panama; the phases I and II of the largest active wind generation project in Panama and Central America sponsored by Goldwind and UEP; and the country’s third transmission line.

Offshore Services:

ARIFA has a strong corporate services practice, with more than 50 years of experience and with an important and selective number of legal structures under its administration. ARIFA’s network of affiliated and fully integrated offices in Panama, London, Uruguay, Hong Kong, BVI and Belize render service around the world with corporate services solutions based on a business model of enhanced due diligence and platform of services designed to add value to the firm’s clients.

Real Estate:

ARIFA’s real estate team covers the spectrum of real estate activities. Its lawyers are experts in drafting joint venture, land purchase, construction and lease agreements. Their knowledge of complex hotel, casino, zoning, environmental, construction and property law regulations offers clients the confidence to proceed with their respective projects.

Shipping:

ARIFA facilitates vessel registration and financing for clients around the world through a proprietary network of affiliated offices in London, Hong Kong and Panama. The firm, regarded as a premier firm for ship financing in Panama, is the leader in Panama for platform financing, particularly in the offshore sector. ARIFA also has a growing interdisciplinary maritime litigation practice to handle its clients’ shipping-related disputes.

Dispute Resolution:

The firm has built a specialized practice on complex cross-border dispute resolution, representing foreign companies facing complex arbitration or litigation proceedings in Panama, or involved in multijurisdictional disputes.

Languages:

ARIFA lawyers are fluent in Spanish and English, but you may also find lawyers fluent in French, Portuguese, and Dutch.