John Vetterli

Partner, New York

Biography

“The ‘excellent’ John Vetterli comes highly recommended for his ability to navigate complex capital markets transactions.” Clients have also noted: “John is incredibly responsive and a very good executor.”
Chambers Latin America – International Firms 2024

Overview

John leads the Firm’s Global Capital Markets Practice. He represents issuers, underwriters and other market participants in the full range of debt and equity capital markets transactions, including public offerings, 144A and Regulation S offerings, private placements and liability management deals. He also counsels foreign and domestic issuers on corporate advisory and compliance issues, including those related to SEC and US exchange regulations, governance and disclosure matters. John is also active in structured finance and private equity transactions. He is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English.

John is ranked as a Leading Lawyer by The Legal 500 Latin America: International Firms, Capital Markets and Chambers Latin America: Capital Markets. He is also ranked as a Foreign Expert for Latin America Capital Markets: Debt & Equity by Chambers Global. John was also named BTI M&A Client Service All-Star 2021 for M&A.
 

Bars and Courts
New York
Education
JD
University of Southern California
Gould School of Law
BA
Brigham Young University
Languages
English
Portuguese
Spanish

Experience

AlphaCredit US$800 million financial and operational restructuring
Representation of AlphaCredit in its financial and operational restructuring, including preparation of a chapter 11 filing and negotiations with various funded debt creditors; most notably, an ad hoc group of unsecured noteholders. As part of the chapter 11, White & Case advised the debtors in the successful sale of their Colombian loan portfolio assets.

RLAM refinery acquisition financing
Representation of Goldman Sachs, as placement agent, and certain purchasers in connection with a US$500 million structured notes offering. The proceeds of the notes were used as part of Mubadala Capital Group's US$1.8 billion acquisition of the Landulpho Alves Refinery (RLAM) from Petrobras.

Enel's voluntary partial public tender offer 
Representation of BTG Pactual as agent to Enel S.p.A. in connection with the voluntary partial public tender offer for the acquisition of shares of Enel Américas S.A.'s common stock.

Multiple financings by Pesquera Exalmar 
Representation of Pesquera Exalmar S.A.A., a leading Peruvian agriculture company, in connection with multiple transactions, including its tender offer to purchase for cash any and all of its 8.00% Senior Notes due 2025 and related consent solicitation and credit facility.

Multiple financings by Cydsa 
Representation of Cydsa, S.A.B. de C.V., a Mexico-based holding company with products ranging from edible salt to specialty chemicals, in various transactions including offerings of its 6.250% senior notes due 2027, pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S, and related tender offers and credit facilities.

Financiera Independencia exchange offer 
Representation of Financiera Independencia, S.A.B. de C.V., SOFOM, E.N.R. (Findep), a leading consumer lender in Mexico and the United States, in connection with multiple debt and equity capital markets offerings as well as its offer to exchange any and all of its outstanding 8.000% Senior Notes due 2024 for its newly issued 10.000% Senior Step-Up Notes due 2028.

Multiple offerings by JBS
Representation of JBS USA Lux S.A., JBS USA Food Company, and JBS USA Finance, Inc., in connection with multiple capital markets offerings with an aggregate value of US$4.5 billion.

StoneCo US$1.4 billion US IPO and US$790 million follow-on offering
Representation of global coordinators and joint bookrunners on the US$1.4 billion SEC-registered initial public offering on NASDAQ by StoneCo Ltd (NYSE: STNE), a leading provider of financial technology solutions for the retail sector in Brazil, as well as the subsequent US$790 million follow-on offering.

Multiple offerings by Banorte
Representation of Banco Mercantil del Norte (Banorte) as issuer in connection with its offering of US$600 million 6.750% Perpetual 5-Year Callable Subordinated Non-Preferred Non-Cumulative Tier 1 Capital Notes, US$500 million 7.500% Perpetual 10-Year Callable Subordinated Non-Preferred Non-Cumulative Tier 1 Capital Notes, US$500 million 5.875% perpetual 5-year callable subordinated non-preferred non-cumulative Tier 1 capital notes, and US$550 million 6.625% perpetual 10-year callable subordinated non-preferred non-cumulative Tier 1 capital notes. John has also advised Banorte on multiple liability management transactions.

Multiple offerings by AVANGRID
Representation of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading US sustainable energy company, as issuer, in connection with multiple capital markets offerings, including private placements of common stock to Iberdrola, S.A. and Qatar Investment Authority, as well as offerings of SEC-registered Green Bonds (including the "North American Green/SRI Bond Deal of the Year" according to GlobalCapital). Earlier, John advised AVANGRID in its SEC-registered offering of common stock through the US$2.8 billion merger with UIL Holdings Corporation.

Gambling.com IPO
Representation of Gambling.com Group Limited (NASDAQ: GAMB), an award-winning performance marketing company and leading provider of digital marketing services active exclusively in the online gambling industry, in its SEC-registered initial public offering and NASDAQ listing.

Himalaya Shipping IPO
Representation of DNB Markets, Inc. as the sole global coordinator, joint bookrunner and representative of the underwriters on the US$44.8 million initial public offering of 7,720,000 common shares by Himalaya Shipping Ltd, an independent dry bulk carrier company incorporated in Bermuda, with two vessels currently in operation and ten Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels under construction at New Times Shipyard in China. Following the IPO, the company's common shares are dual-listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext Expand in Norway under the ticker "HSHP". This transaction was named the IPO Deal of the Year in 2023 by Marine Money Deal of the Year Awards.

Açu Petróleo US$600 million issuance
Representation of the arrangers in connection with the issuance of US$600 million 7.500% Series 2022-1 senior secured notes due 2035 by Açu Petróleo, the owner of the largest and only privately owned oil export terminal in Brazil. This transaction was named "Refinance Deal of the Year - Oil & Gas," by IJGlobal.

Smart Luz and Rio Smart Lighting BRL925 million notes
Representation of the sponsors in connection with the financing by Smart RJ Concessionária de Iluminação Pública SPE S.A. (Smart Luz) and Rio Smart Lighting S.à r.l. via the issuance of BRL 925 million (US$165.5 million) 12.250% senior secured notes due 2032. The proceeds of the offering were used for the modernization and maintenance of Rio de Janeiro's public lighting system, including the installation of smart city technologies. This transaction was recognized as "Infrastructure Financing of the Year" by LatinFinance, "Latin America PPP Deal of the Year" by Proximo Awards and "Latin America Social Infrastructure Deal of the Year" by IJGlobal.

Multiple offerings by Scotiabank Chile
Representation of Scotiabank Chile, one of the leading commercial banking groups in Chile, as issuer in connection with multiple offerings under the bank's US$3 billion medium-term note program, including transactions denominated in JPY, AUD, CHF and USD.

LimakPort US$370 million secured notes
Representation of the initial purchasers in connection with the offering by Limak İskenderun Uluslararası Liman İşletmeciliği A.Ş. (LimakPort) of US$370 million 9.50% senior secured notes due 2036. LimakPort, which is part of the Limak Group, holds a concession from the Turkish government to operate LimakPort İskenderun, an international, multipurpose conventional and container port located on the Mediterranean Sea, which serves as one of the principal import and export gateways to the industrialized cities of central and southeastern Turkey.

CELSE gas-fired power generation project
Representation of Goldman Sachs in the US$780 million financing for the design, construction and operation of CELSE's 1,516 MW thermoelectric power plant and related liquefied natural gas receiving and gas transportation infrastructure in Brazil. The transaction was named "Best Bond," "Best Infrastructure Financing – Brazil" and "Financing Innovation of the Year" by LatinFinance, "Project Finance Deal of the Year" by IFLR Americas Awards, "Latin American Power Deal of the Year" by IJGlobal, "Americas LatAm Power Deal of the Year" by Project Finance International and "Latin America Project Finance Deal of the Year" by Bonds & Loans.

Caixa Econômica Federal's US$1.9 billion global offering of Petrobras shares
Representation of the global coordinators and joint bookrunners in connection with Caixa Econômica Federal's public offering of its 3.24% stake in Petrobras, one of the world's largest integrated oil and gas companies, for approximately US$1.9 billion.

Rutas 2 and 7 Finance Limited (Paraguay)
Representation of the sponsors in the largest private investment in the history of Paraguay to date and Paraguay's first public-private partnership, Rutas 2 and 7 Finance Limited's US$458 million zero coupon bond, to finance the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the 2 and 7 Road Project in Paraguay. This transaction was named "Infrastructure Financing of the Year" by LatinFinance and "Latin America PPP Deal of the Year" by Proximo Awards.

Awards and Recognition

Leading Lawyer, Capital Markets, The Legal 500 Latin America, 2024

Highly ranked, Capital Markets, Chambers Latin America, 2024

Foreign Expert for Latin America, Capital Markets: Debt & Equity in USA, Chambers Global 2024

Leading Lawyer, Capital Markets: Global Offerings The Legal 500 US, 2023