Germán Ricardo Macías
Biography
Overview
Germán Macías' current practice focuses on structuring complex mergers and acquisitions in regulated industries and antitrust cases, whether involving claims of price-fixing, monopolization or pre-merger control notices.
Prior to joining the Firm in 2017, Mr. Macías served as an investigator for the Investigation Authority of Mexico's main competition authority (Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica) (COFECE). During his tenure at the Investigation Authority, he worked on several investigations launched by COFECE and was responsible for gathering evidence (using the various means in COFECE's toolkit: dawn raids, testimonies, requests for information, inspections) and drafting lawsuits brought by the Investigation Authority.
Before that, Mr. Macías worked at a prestigious administrative and commercial litigation boutique law firm, where he successfully represented an international construction and real estate company in its bankruptcy process with the first-ever restructuring in Mexico of a debt-to-equity conversion.
His experience dealing with complex cases in regulated industries enables him to provide outstanding, comprehensive and assertive legal advice that fully considers the commercial and legal reality of our clients.
Experience
Most recent representative transactions include:
- Kansas City Southern—Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, 2021 Provided advice to Kansas City Southern (KSU) to obtain merger control clearance from both COFECE and IFT to close its sale to Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP). The transaction will create the first USMC-wide integrated railway network.
- Konfío—Sr. Pago, 2021 Provide advice to Konfío (a Mexican fintech company dedicated to providing leases to small and middle enterprises, as well as management software) in obtaining an unconditional clearance from COFECE to acquire Sr. Pago (a card payment processor), which helped Konfío to obtain the status of the fourth Mexican Unicorn.
- Sempra Energy—IEnova, 2021 Provided advice to Sempra Energy – a major US-based energy and infrastructure company and the controlling entity of IEnova, one of the largest Mexico-based private energy companies – to obtain unconditional authorization from COFECE in connection with its ~US$3.37 billion sale of a 20 percent stake in Sempra Global (now Sempra Infrastructure Partners or SIP) to KKR, a global investment firm.
- Faurecia—Hella, 2021 Provided advice to Faurecia S.E. (Faurecia), one of the world's largest automotive equipment suppliers, to obtain a time-sensitive unconditional clearance from COFECE in connection with its acquisition of a 60 percent stake in HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA (HELLA). The combination of Faurecia and HELLA will form the seventh-largest automotive technology supplier in the world.
- Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company—LDC, 2021 Provided advice to ADQ in connection with its acquisition of an indirect 45 percent stake in Louis Dreyfus Company, one of the world's most important merchants and processors of agricultural goods. We represented both parties to secure clearance from COFECE to undertake the transaction in March 2021. The deal later closed in September 2021.
- Newmont—Maverix, 2021 Provide advice to Newmont Corporation on its sale of a portfolio of gold royalties located in Canada, Mexico, the US and Guatemala to Maverix Metals, a gold royalty and streaming company.
- China Communications Construction Company—Mota-Engil, 2021 Provided advice to China Communications Construction Company on a merger control proceeding in connection with its acquisition of an investment stake in Mota-Engil. We also acted as counsel for the target in this transaction.
- Saudi Aramco—SABIC, 2020 Provided advice to Saudi Aramco on matters related to its potential delay in closing its acquisition of a 70 percent stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, for a total purchase price of US$69.1 billion.
- Consubanco—BAFAMSA, 2020 Provided advice to Consubanco in obtaining the first pre-transaction authorization issued by COFECE following the special expedited procedure under the Credit Institution Law (Ley de Instituciones de Créditos) to acquire a loan portfolio of Banco Ahorro Famsa, which was subject to a liquidation process before the Mexican Bank Savings Protection Institute (Instituto para la Protección al Ahorro Bancario).
- Findep—Fisofo, 2019 Provided advice to FINDEP in connection with the sale of its subsidiary Fisofo to Consubanco.
- Grupo Financiero Banorte—Grupo Financiero Interacciones, 2018 Provided advice to Grupo Financiero Banorte on the pre-transaction notice before COFECE of its merger with Grupo Financiero Interacciones, which is the most relevant transaction in the Mexican banking sector since 2001.
- BlackRock—Mutual Funds, 2018 Provided advice to BlackRock on the pre-transaction notice before COFECE of its acquisition of the Mutual Funds of Grupo Financiero Citibanamex. This transaction allowed a new economic agent to enter the Mexican mutual fund regulated sector.
- CFE—Fibra E, 2018 Represented CFE in its FIBRA E issuance, whose bonds were issued though the Mexican Stock Exchange and distributed globally pursuant 144/Reg S.
Confusion over the precautionary detention constitutionality. (El arraigo y el galimatías de su constitucionalidad),” Derecho en Acción, CIDE, 2016.
First place at the National Contest of Constitutional Law, organized by the Mexican Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB) in 2017.
