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

Biography

John co-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.

Experience

JBS IPO
JBS, a premier global food company, on its SEC registration process and related New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing.

IIDEA private placement
The purchasers in connection with the private placement by Industrializadora Integral del Agave, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (IIDEA) of US$70 million in aggregate principal amount of its agr. IIDEA, a leading producer and distributor of organic products derived from the agave plant, will use the net proceeds from the private placement to repay existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes. Jefferies acted as the placement agent for the private placement.

Alicorp issuance and sale
BBVA Securities Inc., BofA Securities, Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and  J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (the "Initial Purchasers") in connection with the issuance and sale by Alicorp S.A.A., ("Alicorp"), of  S/ 1,530,000,000 (approximately US$ 420,000,000) in aggregate principal amount of 7.400% Senior Notes due 2032 and the Company’s offer to purchase for cash any and all of its existing 4.357% Senior Guaranteed Notes due 2027. Alicorp is a leading Latin American producer, distributor and marketer of branded consumer products under the consumer goods, aquafeed and B2B (business to business) branded products business segments. Alicorp intends to list the Notes on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Scotiabank Perú notes offering
Scotiabank Perú, a leading banking institution in Peru, on a US$400,000,000 million offering of 6.100% Subordinated Notes Due 2025. The Notes qualify as Tier 2 regulatory capital for Scotiabank  Perú. Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. acted as the sole global coordinator and as a joint bookrunner with Goldman Sachs in the offering.

AlphaCredit US$800 million financial and operational restructuring
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
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 Petróleo Brasileiro.

Financiera Independencia exchange offer
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
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.The 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
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
AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), a leading U.S. 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
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.

Açu Petróleo US$600 million issuance
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
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 BRL925 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 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
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
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 multi-purpose 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 south-eastern Turkey.

CELSE gas-fired power generation project
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, "Latin America Project Finance Deal of the Year" by Bonds & Loans.

Caixa Econômica Federal's US$1.9 billion global offering of Petrobras shares
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)
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.

New York
JD
University of Southern California
Gould School of Law
BA
Brigham Young University
English
Portuguese
Spanish

Top Dealmaker, Capital Markets, 2025 Lawdragon Leading Dealmakers in America

Leading Lawyer, Capital Markets: Global Offerings, The Legal 500 USA, 2025

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

Service areas