Gunter Schwandt

(The following information was supplied by the firm)

Partner

Gunter specializes in capital markets, mergers & acquisitions, structured finance, secured transactions, cross-border lending and fintech. Gunter is an expert in highly complex public issuances and securitizations and has developed in-depth expertise in CKDs (development capital certificates) and FIBRAs (the Mexican equivalent of a U.S. REIT), advising sponsors and underwriters alike.

To date he has advised the sponsors in the structuring and launch of a total of seven CKD funds placed in the Mexican Stock Market, focused on the real estate industry and the energy and infrastructure sectors, as well as on four FIBRA transactions, focused on the retail and hotel industries.

On the corporate M&A side, Gunter advised MetLife in the sale of its Mexican pension fund business to Principal Financial Group and Pemex in the sale of its 50% stake in Gasoductos de Chihuahua to IEnova for USD$ 1.325 billion.

Gunter also advised Grupo Salinas in its joint venture with Televisa in Iusacell, the later unwinding of such joint venture and the ultimate sale of Iusacell to AT&T for USD$2.5 billion, which constituted a major milestone for the Mexican telecoms sector as it signified the entry of one of the major global telecoms operators into in the Mexican market.

Gunter spent a year working at international law firm Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago, having received his LL.M. (with honors) from the Northwestern University School of Law and a Certificate in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management. He graduated as an attorney (with honors) from the Universidad Iberoamericana.

Recent work highlights

A selection of recent transactions and projects on which Gunter advised, include:

• Advised Swedish company Sinch AB, a global leader in cloud communications for mobile customer engagement, on Mexican aspects of the acquisition of Brazilian company Wavy, a leading business-messaging provider in Latin America, for a total cash consideration of USD$125 million.
• Advised Fibra Storage (BMV: STORAGE 18), the largest self-storage company in Mexico, on the follow-on placement of trust certificates (CBFIs) totaling MXN$287 million.
• Advised Kyocera Corporation on the Mexican legal aspects regarding the acquisition of Fastener Topco Inc. (SouthernCarlson) and its subsidiaries, a wholesale distributor of fastening and packaging materials, equipment, and construction tools and supplies in the United States and Mexico from Kelso & Company.
• Advised the investors to the public offering of structured notes or CKDs placed in the Mexican market with an initial issuance amount of MXN$800 million plus additional commitments, through a capital call mechanism, for a total committed issuance amount of MXN$4 billion (approximately USD$216 million) issued by Be Grand as manager and co investor.
• Advised Artha Capital on the successful launch of a third class of certificate (Series C) for its fourth public fund (ARTH4CK 18) for an aggregate amount of MXN$2,000 million in Mexico.
• Advised Carza as issuer in the structuring and placement of its first CKD fund focused on residential real estate for an aggregate amount of MXN$2,470 million subject to a capital call structure.
• Represented CKD IM Infraestructura México, as sponsor, in the creation, registration and approval by the Mexican securities regulator of the first multi-Fibra E registration programme for a total issuance amount of MXN$50,000 million. This unprecedented matter was commended in the Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyers rankings in 2017 under the category Accessing New Markets and Capital.
• Advised MetLife in its sale of its Mexican pension fund business to Principal Financial Group.
• Advised Pemex in the unwinding of its joint venture with IEnova in Gasoductos de Chihuahua.
• Advised the underwriters on Fibra Nova’s initial public offering through the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores for a total amount of MXN$1,220 million.
• Advised Grupo Salinas in the sale of Iusacell to AT&T, pursuant to which AT&T acquired 100% of Iusacell for USD$2.5 billion after having advised Grupo Salinas in the unwinding of its joint venture with Grupo Televisa in Iusacell.