Francisco de Rosenzweig

Partner, Mexico City

Biography

“Francisco de Rosenzweig is a partner with deep knowledge of the sector and the applicable legislation, as well as the procedures followed by the federal regulatory authorities,” says a client.
Chambers & Partners, Latin America, Energy 2023

Overview

Francisco de Rosenzweig is the Executive Partner at White & Case México City office and Head of the Mexico Office's Energy, Infrastructure, Project and Asset Finance Group.

He advises domestic and international clients on major corporate and financing transactions. His practice has a particular focus on project- and asset-based financing, enabling the successful development, funding and completion of large-scale projects and deals.

Francisco has extensive experience advising clients on projects in the energy, infrastructure and transportation fields. He has a particular focus on regulatory and transactional matters, project and asset-based financing, which allows him to provide clients innovative and unique insights that provide investors with an invaluable understanding of the regulatory and corporate decision-making processes, enabling the successful development, funding and completion of large-scale projects and deals. His skills have been in particularly high demand in the last few years, in connection with the implementation of energy and infrastructure reforms. The companies advised by Francisco represent a substantial part of the private energy corporations in Mexico, as well as the most important energy-related associations such as ASOLMEX, AMEXHI and AMEE, among others.

Francisco also has extensive experience on project finance. He frequently represents project sponsors and developers as equity investors, in major infrastructure, natural resource, industrial and energy projects from initial investment to exit. As part of his practice, Francisco de Rosenzweig has provided legal counseling to both developers and lenders in the design, implementation, collateralization and development of a number of energy and infrastructure projects, as well as cross-border transactions: these projects include power—private developers and IPPs—and oil & gas, midstream and downstream activities.

He advises clients regarding corporate M&A transactions, public biddings and bankruptcy proceedings. Francisco also has broad experience in coordinating litigation proceedings.

Francisco de Rosenzweig is regarded as one of the leading authorities on international trade in Mexico. He served as the deputy minister of foreign trade at the Ministry of the Economy, where he led Mexico's international trade negotiations on issues, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and The Pacific Alliance Trade Initiative, and negotiated Bilateral Investment Treaties ("BITs") Mexico belongs to, among others and represented Mexico's interests before the World Trade Organization. His outstanding participation in the UMSCA negotiations received special recognition on February 2020 from the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador during the Closing Ceremony of the 36th General Ordinary Assembly of the National Agricultural Council. His participation is also reflected in the recently published book: Cuarto de junto, the crucial contribution of the private sector in the negotiations of Mexico's trade agreements.

Francisco has also served as chief of staff to the minister at the Ministry of Communications and Transportation, general counsel for public expenditure at the Ministry of Finance, executive secretary at the Inter-Ministerial Commission for Public Expenditure, Financing and Privatization; general counsel of the Energy Regulatory Commission and general director of the Electric Restructuring Unit of the Commission.

Francisco is a thought leader in the energy, infrastructure and international trade areas and highly sought after by the media for his views on the sector.

Bars and Courts
Authorized to practice law in Mexico
Education
Attorney at Law (Abogado)
Universidad Panamericana
Doctorate in Law
Universidad Panamericana
Languages
Spanish
English

Experience

At White & Case, Francisco's work included the representation of:

  • Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos (Banobras) as lender and Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos, as Trustee in the Public Trust Number 1936 "Fondo Nacional de Infraestructura" (National Infrastructure Fund – FONADIN), as guarantor, in connection with the restructuring of the project by Ferrocarriles Suburbanos for the provision of the Public Passenger Rail Transport Service in the modality of regular suburban transportation on the Cuautitlán-Buenavista line. The restructuring involved Banobras' acquisition of the participation in the existing syndicated loan by seven European banks; Banco Santander, BBVA, Caixabank, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, Instituto de Crédito Oficial and Kutxabank;
  • Comisión Federal de Electricidad ("CFE") in the draft of electricity coverage agreements under the LIE (Ley de la Industria Eléctrica) regime;
  • CFEnergía, direct affiliate of Comisión Federal de Electricidad, in among others, day-to-day corporate affairs and the negotiation and execution of natural gas and other fuel supply and transportation agreements, including Base Contracts for Sale and Purchase of Natural Gas under the North American Energy Standards Board ("NAESB") with several power plants and industrial consumers, such as ArcelorMittal Mexico;
  • Numerous natural gas self-consumptions, project-specific companies, acting as counsel in all their regulatory and corporate affairs;
  • A number of private developers in their own power generation projects, including obtaining the corresponding power permits from the CRE, and negotiation and execution of third-party contractor, procurement and construction agreements;
  • Several energy companies (approximately more than 50% of the capacity of privately owned generation plants) in various amparo lawsuits filed against the reform of the Electricity Industry Law;
  • Several leading oil & gas companies in an indirect amparo trial promoted against the recent reform of the Hydrocarbons Law;
  • Invenergy in connection with the development and sale of Parque Eólico de Fenicias to Controladora de Infraestructura Energética México a subsidiary of the Mexican conglomerate Grupo México;
  • Starwood Capital Group, an investment management firm, in the potential acquisition of a portfolio of five natural gas-powered generation power plants operating under the independent power producer modality and a natural gas transportation assets;
  • A US global renewable corporation on several matters related to the day-to-day operation of certain energy projects in Mexico in connection with renewable projects;
  • A US global corporation on several M&A transactions of energy companies; and on the regulatory aspects of the generation project, including the review and negotiation of the project-related agreements, and in connection with the energy-related permits and authorizations;
  • Aneberries, a trade association representing most of the producers and exporters of Mexican blueberries on a historic win for Mexican Blueberry Importers at the US International Trade Commission ("ITC"), which decided unanimously that imports of fresh and frozen blueberries are not a "substantial cause" of "serious injury" to US blueberry growers. The decision was a major achievement for Aneberries and is also a victory for the Mexican agricultural sector, which has seen substantial growth in its exports to the United States and faced the threat of similar attempts to restrict access to the US market across a broad array of agricultural sectors;
  • Two major state-owned development banks, as mandated lead arrangers, on the project financing of a 101 MW solar plant located in the northeastern state of Coahuila, Mexico;
  • A state-owned development bank, in the US$39 million financing of two solar projects in the States of Zacatecas and Nuevo Leon;
  • Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior and Banco Sabadell as lenders in connection with a US$55 million project financing of a 115.5 MW solar project located in the state of Durango, Mexico, including all aspects of due diligence related to the project. The sponsor of the project is EOSOL Energy de México. We also represented Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior as lender of a VAT facility for US$15 million to finance the VAT associated to the project costs;
  • The world's largest commodity trading and logistics companies as user in a petroleum products' midstream project located in Mexico. The mandate included the negotiation of the transportation, storage and dock services agreements, as well as the related general terms and conditions;
  • A major international bank, as sponsor, in all matters of due diligence for the financing of a photovoltaic electrical generation facility in Zacatecas, Mexico, for an aggregate total capacity of circa 89 MW;
  • The Mexican state-owned electric utility, in its transformation into a productive state enterprise and the incorporation of its subsidiaries and affiliates and in the negotiation of several long-term power purchase agreements with a number of private developers;
  • A global leader in alternative asset management, in the due diligence for a potential joint venture with an independent Mexican power company dedicated to generating electricity, in connection with the investment in a portfolio of renewable energy projects in Tamaulipas, Sonora and Nuevo Léon, Mexico;
  • Joint Bookrunners and Administrative Agent in the refinancing of a syndicated term loan, the proceeds of which were used to finance the construction of a natural gas-fired combined-cycle electric power plant with an aggregate installed capacity of 900 MW, located in Nuevo Leon, Mexico;
  • One of the world's largest commodity trading and logistics companies as user in a petroleum producer's midstream project, located in Mexico, including in connection with the first privately held fuel pipeline in Mexico and before the Energy Regulatory Commission on all of the regulatory aspects of a major project to transport, store and commercialize petroleum products;
  • One of the world's largest commodity trading and logistics companies in its role as the supplier in the preparation and negotiation of petroleum products supply agreements; and
  • A leading producer of fertilizers in a range of complex regulatory issues before the Mexican energy authorities.
Publications

Lexology: Getting the Deal Trough – Energy Disputes Mexico. Co-author with Ismael Reyes Retana, Fernando García, Yuriria Galicia and Daniel Franco, 2022.

Lexology: Getting the Deal Trough – Renewable, Mexico. Co-author with Daniel Franco, 2022.

The Legal 500 Country Comparative Guides, Renewable Energy 2022 (first edition); Co-author with Daniel Franco, 2022.

International Trade 2022 – Mexico | Global Practice Guides | Chambers and Partners, Co-Author With Gregory Spak and Fernando García, 2022.

Latin America Focus: Opportunities and challenges in post-COVID-19 Latin America A disruptive era portends a new wave of disputes using well-established frameworks for commercial and investment arbitration. Mexico's overview: Rafael Llano, Ismael Reyes Retana y Francisco de Rosenzweig, 2021.

The Electric Sector in Mexico: Evolution, Regulation and Trends, Porrúa, 2007.

The oil reform: the necessary step, Porrúa, 2008.

Measuring government results: Origin and evolution of accountability in Mexico and the world, Porrúa, 2010.

Author of more than 45 articles, and speaker in several national and international conferences related to the energy sector and international trade.

Awards and Recognition

Recognized individual

Energy:
Chambers & Partners, 2022
The Legal 500 2022
Best Lawyers 2022

Projects:
The Legal 500 2022
Best Lawyers 2022

Top Ranked Public Law
Chambers & Partners, 2022

Encomienda de Número de la Orden de Isabel la Católica – Kingdom of Spain, 2015

Knight Grand Officer, Order of the Dannebrog – Sovereign of Denmark, 2016