John Guzman
John Guzman
John Guzman
John Guzman

John Guzman stands out for his great care and proactive approach. He’s solution-oriented and
gives us confidence throughout the process.

Chambers Brazil — International Firms 2025

Biography

John's award-winning practice focuses on representing issuers and investment banks in debt and equity offerings, including initial public offerings, follow-ons, Rule 144A and Regulation S offerings and private placements. He regularly advises issuers and dealer managers in concurrent and stand-alone liability management exercises, and he has experience representing shareholders, companies and financial institutions in acquisitions, equity investments and sales transactions. His extensive experience spans general securities and corporate matters, including governance and compliance matters.

John worked for a year in White & Case's New York office before relocating to São Paulo in 2008. He is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English and works closely with companies looking to raise capital in Brazil and in other countries in Latin America, including Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Chile and Mexico.

Experience

Embraer's US$1 billion notes offering and concurrent tender offers
Representation of a consortium of leading banks, as underwriters, on Embraer Netherlands Finance B.V.'s US$1 billion aggregate principal amount of its 5.400% notes due 2038. The Firm also advised Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, as dealer manager, on the concurrent intermediated capped tender offer targeting Embraer's 6.950% senior unsecured guaranteed notes due 2028 and 7.000% senior unsecured guaranteed notes due 2030. The notes were unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by Embraer, a global aerospace company headquartered in Brazil that operates in the commercial aviation, executive aviation, defense & security and related service and support segments.

Vale Overseas Limited`s US$750 million offering
Representation of the initial purchasers, on Vale Overseas Limited's inaugural US$750 million aggregate principal amount of subordinated dated fixed to reset notes due 2056.

BR Partners on level II ADR program and Nasdaq listing
Representation of BRBI BR Partners S.A. (BR Partners) on the establishment of its level II American Depository Receipt (ADR) program and the direct listing of its American Depositary Shares (ADS) on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Founded in 2009, BR Partners is a leading boutique financial advisory firm in Brazil that provides investment banking, capital markets, treasury sales & structuring and wealth management advisory services, among others.

Aura Minerals Inc.'s US initial public offering
Representation of the underwritters on Aura Minerals Inc.'s US$196.4 million initial public offering of 8,100,510 common shares, at a price per share of US$24.25. The common shares began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol "AUGO" on July 16, 2025. This was the first initial public offering of a Brazilian company listed in the US since December 2021. Aura Minerals is a company focused on the development and operation of gold and base metal projects in the Americas.

Sabesp's blue senior notes offering
Representation of the initial purchasers, on Sabesp's US$500 million 5.625% blue senior notes offering due 2030. The notes were issued by Sabesp Lux S.à r.l., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo (Sabesp), the largest sanitation company in Brazil, and were guaranteed by Sabesp. The net proceeds from this notes issuance will be used for eligible blue projects. This was Sabesp's first notes issuance in the international capital markets since December 2010.

AEGEA multiple landmark transactions
Representation of Aegea Saneamento e Participações S.A., one of the largest privately owned water and sewage service providers in Brazil, and its wholly owned subsidiary AEGEA Finance S.à r.l., in several international capital markets transactions, including its recent:

  • Offering of US$750 million aggregate principal amount of blue senior notes due 2036, with net proceeds used to repay certain outstanding indebtedness—including through a concurrent capped tender offer for its senior notes due 2029—and to fund expenditures and investments in eligible blue projects under Aegea's sustainable financing framework; and
  • Offering of US$500 million aggregate principal amount of sustainable and sustainability-linked senior notes due 2031, with net proceeds used to make investments in one or more eligible green and social projects under Aegea`s sustainable financing framework.

Eletrobras's US$750 million notes issuance
Representation of the joint bookrunners, on the issuance of US$750 million 6.500% notes due 2035 by Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. – Eletrobras. This transaction is the first to be conducted under Brazil's Law 14,801/24, enacted in early 2024, which introduces incentivized bonds as a financing mechanism for infrastructure projects and offers tax incentives designed to attract foreign investment in Brazil's infrastructure sector.

Termocandelaria Power on US$425 million notes offering
Representation of Termocandelaria Power, S.A., an electric power generation company that owns and operates a large portfolio of thermal power plants in Colombia, in a Rule 144A and Regulation S offering of US$425 million aggregate principal amount of its 7.750% notes due 2031, and a concurrent any-and-all tender offer and exit consent solicitation targeting its 7.875% notes due 2029. The proceeds of the offering were used to fund the concurrent any-and-all tender offer and for general corporate purposes.

Sabesp's equity offering and privatization
Representation of a syndicate of international underwriters and placement agents on the R$14.8 billion (US$2.7 billion) equity offering of Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo – SABESP, one of the world's largest water and sewage providers, making it the largest privatization in Brazil and the largest equity offering in Latin America "to-date since June 2022, and the third-largest public offering globally to-date this year." The fully secondary follow-on offering, which closed on July 22, 2024, comprised a registered offering of shares in Brazil, an SEC-registered international offering of American Depositary Shares and an international placement of shares outside Brazil.

Eletrobras's secondary offering of R$2.2 billion stake in CTEEP
Representation of Companhia de Transmissão de Energia Elétrica Paulista (CTEEP), as issuer, on Brazilian electricity company Eletrobras's secondary offering of R$2.2 billion (US$403 million) worth of shares it owns in CTEEP. Upon closing of the transaction, Eletrobras offered 93 million preferred shares of CTEEP at R$23.50 per share. Prior to the sale, Eletrobras owned a 35.700% stake in CTEEP, and through the secondary offering, Eletrobras has cut this stake to 21.600%.

Águas do Rio financing
Representation of AEGEA, and its subsidiaries Águas do Rio 1 and 4, on a R$1.5 billion (circa US$300 million) financing with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Invest) and Proparco. This project involved multiple sources of funds with an aggregate principal amount of R$25.5 billion (circa US$5.1 billion), making it the largest cycle of investment in Brazil's sanitation sector to date, and is expected to contribute to and promote seven UN Sustainable Development Goals. This transaction was named "Latin America Water Deal of the Year" by IJGlobal, "Water / Sanitation Financing of the Year" and "Infrastructure Financing of the Year" by LatinFinance, and "Water & Utilities Deal of the Year" by Global Banking & Markets Latin America Awards.

Brava Energia's notes issuance
Representation of the initial purchasers on the issuance of US$500 million 9.750% senior secured notes due 2031 by Brava Energia (formerly 3R Petroleum). The notes were issued by 3R Lux, a wholly owned subsidiary of 3R Petroleum Óleo e Gás S.A., one of the largest publicly listed independent oil and gas producers in Latin America in terms of production volume and focused on the redevelopment of mature oil and gas fields. The net proceeds of the notes were applied to permanently and entirely repay a term loan facility that financed part of the acquisition of the assets of the Potiguar cluster from Petrobras. The notes were issued in reliance on Rule 144A and Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

XP Inc.'s US$500 million notes issuance and concurrent any-and-all tender offer
Representation of the initial purchasers in a Rule 144A and Regulation S offering by XP Inc. of US$500 million aggregate principal amount of its 6.750% senior unsecured notes due 2029, and a concurrent any-and-all tender offer targeting the outstanding XP Inc.'s 3.250% senior unsecured notes due 2026. The notes were unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by XP Investimentos S.A., a leading technology-driven financial services platform and a trusted provider of low-fee financial products and services in Brazil. The proceeds were used to fund the concurrent any-and-all tender offer and general corporate purposes.

Privatization of Eletrobras
Representation of the international underwriters and placement agents in the public offering by Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. – Eletrobras and BNDES of 697,476,856 common shares, including 9,783,100 American Depositary Shares evidenced by American Depositary Receipts, at a price of R$42.00, in a US$6.9 billion transaction. This is the second-largest equity offering ever by a Brazilian issuer. This transaction was recognized as "Deal of the Year" by The Legal 500 Brazil Awards and "Capital Markets Deal of the Year" by Latin Lawyer.

Nubank dual-nation IPO
Representation of the underwriters on Nubank's US$2.6 billion dual initial public offering in New York and São Paulo. At the offer price, Nubank had a market capitalization of approximately US$42 billion, making it the most valuable listed financial institution in Latin America, the largest IPO by a Brazilian company since 2017 and the largest IPO by a Latin American company in 2021. This transaction was recognized as "Deal of the Year" by The Legal 500 Brazil Awards, "Equity Deal of the Year" by IFLR Americas Awards and "Capital Markets Deal of the Year" by Latin Lawyer.

New York
JD
New York University School of Law
BS
University of Texas at Austin
English
Spanish
Portuguese

Highly Ranked, Chambers Latin America, International Firms, Capital Markets, 2026

Leading Partner, The Legal 500 Latin America, International Firms, Capital Markets, 2026

Band 1, Chambers Brazil, International Firms, Capital Markets, 2025

Service areas