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Gabriel J. Mesa

Partner

New York +1 212 841 1228

  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Gabriel Mesa is a partner in the firm’s New York office and a member of the Corporate Practice Group. He advises companies on corporate transactions, including joint ventures, private mergers and acquisitions, financings and restructurings in Latin America and other emerging markets as well as in the United States. His work spans venture capital and private equity investments, strategic acquisitions, privatizations and oil and gas ventures.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters
    • Counsel to Linzor Capital Partners, the Latin American private equity fund, and its affiliates in the 2018 acquisition of a controlling interest in SCALA Latin America, a provider of online higher education services in Latin America under the name 'UTEL', from affiliates of Pearson Education, the UK education company, and GEG Controladora, a family-owned Mexican company.
    • Counsel to One Equity Partners in connection with the acquisition of a minority interest in Grupo Phoenix, a consumer goods packaging company with operations in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico and the United States.
    • Advised Grupo P.I. Mabe, the leading producer of hygienic products in Mexico, on its sale to Ontex Group NV, a publicly listed company based in Belgium.
    • Counsel to Linzor Capital Partners, the Latin American private equity fund, in the merger of the retail operations of its portfolio company Moda en Distribución, S.A.P.I. de C.V., into Devlyn Holdings, S. de R.L. de C.V., to create Mexico’s largest eyewear retailer.
    • Counsel to Grupo Financiero Banorte, the Mexican financial group, and its affiliate Afore XXI Banorte in the $1.6 billion acquisition of Afore Bancomer from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), the Spanish bank, to create Mexico’s largest pension fund.  This matter was awarded LatinFinance’s 2013 “Domestic M&A Deal of the Year.”

    • Counsel to Grupo Sura, the Colombian financial group, and its affiliate AFP Integra S.A. in the $516 million acquisition of 50% of AFP Horizonte S.A., the Peruvian pension fund, from BBVA. This matter received two M&A Atlas Awards: "Cross Border Deal of the Year (Large Markets)" and "South America Deal of the Year (Large Markets)."
    • Counsel to a major European commercial bank in connection with a series of multi-billion dollar acquisitions and divestitures of financial services companies in Latin America over a five year period, including transactions in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina.
    • Counsel to a Colombian pipeline company and its parent in connection with a significant minority investment by a U.S. private equity firm.
    • Counsel to a US private equity firm in connection with the acquisition of a controlling interest in a Latin American pharmaceuticals business.
    • Counsel to a US private equity firm in connection with the restructuring of its 50/50 joint venture with a strategic partner in a Texas utility and the acquisition of a 100% interest in the utility.
    • Counsel to a private equity firm in the successful establishment of a joint venture in Colombia to acquire and sell a portfolio of non-performing loans.
    • Counsel to a leading multinational reinsurer in connection with the unwinding of a joint venture in Brazil.
    • Counsel to a Colombian utility and its controlling shareholder in the unwinding of a project financing and in the sale of a controlling stake in the project to two private equity firms.
    • Counsel to a group of private equity shareholders in the sale of a Mexican packaging company to another private equity buyer.
    • Counsel to a private equity firm in connection with the restructuring of its equity interest in a pan-Latin American distributor of computer products.
    • Counsel to a European energy company in connection with the acquisition of a power plant in Panama, and in the contemporaneous sale of a gas distribution company in Peru.
    • Counsel to the management of a Mexican paper products company in connection with the acquisition of a controlling interest by a private equity firm.
    • Counsel to the controlling shareholders of a Mexican paper products company in connection with the sale of a minority interest to a European strategic partner, and in a follow-on transaction involving the sale of a controlling interest to such partner.
    • Counsel to a Latin American national oil company in connection with major oil and gas joint ventures and bidding rounds.
    • Assistance to numerous purchasers in conducting due diligence on companies in the oil and gas business and their assets.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • Columbia Law School, J.D., 1993
        • Columbia Law Review, Book Reviews Editor
        • Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
    • Yale University, B.A., 1989
    Bar Admissions
    • New York
    Judicial Clerkship
    • Hon. Charles P. Sifton, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, 1993 - 1994
    Languages
    • Spanish
    Accolades
    • Latino Leaders Magazine, “Top Latino Lawyers” (2022)
    • Latinvex, Latin America’s Top 100 Lawyers (2014-2023)
    • Chambers Global, Corporate/M&A (2017-2021)
    • Chambers Latin America, Corporate/M&A (2017-2019)
    • Legal 500 "Private Practice Powerlist," US-Mexico (2019) 
    • Legal 500 Latin America, Corporate and M&A (2012-2015)
    • Selected by Chambers Global as a leading lawyer for Latin America in 2008.

    Areas of Expertise

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