Mr. Gutierrez is a dual-qualified attorney admitted to the practice of law in New York State and Chile. His practice focuses on M&A, private equity and venture capital financing, and cross-border commercial and finance transactions.

As an associate in the corporate practice group at Paul Hastings LLP (New York), he represented some of the largest companies and financial institutions in the world in M&A and capital markets transactions, ranging from public and private M&A to IPOs, follow-on offerings, PIPEs, investment-grade & high-yield offerings and liability management transactions. As part of his Latin American practice at Paul Hastings, he assisted companies and financial institutions with various complex transactions M&A and capital markets transactions across the region.

In his practice in Chile, he has developed a cross-border practice in which he leverages its international experience representing Chileans companies doing businesses abroad, and foreign companies looking for investment opportunities in Chile. His dedication to his clients has led Mr. Gutierrez to take on corporate roles alongside, for example, serving as directors in the board of some of his clients and advising management on US corporate governance matters.

 

EDUCATION

J.D., Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2002.

LL.M., University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, 2006.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

Fulbright Scholar.

Grotius Research Fellow (University of Michigan Law School).

Named “2015 Rising Legal Star in Latin America” by Latinvex.

 

LANGUAGES

English, Spanish.

 

REPRESENTATIVE TRANSACTIONS

M&A / Private Equity Transactions / Venture Capital

• Represented PataFoods, Inc. (d/b/a Amara Organic Foods), a leading startup in the organic baby food industry in the United States and Canada, in the sale of Series A preferred stock to Eat Well Group, a Canadian investment company specialized in the plant-based industry. Upon buying a majority stake (51%) in PataFoods, Eat Well Group acquired an option for an additional 29% of the company’s capital stock at a US$100,000,000 valuation.
• Represented Poliwogg Holdings, Inc., a financial services firm specialized in the healthcare industry, in successive rounds of financing (common stock, Series A preferred stock, and Series B preferred Stock).
• Represented Benchmark Animal Health Group Limited, an English company leader in aquaculture health, in the sale of its veterinary division, FVG Limited, and its Chilean subsidiary, Fish Vet Group Chile SpA, to Pharmaq AS, global leader in vaccines and innovation for aquaculture and part of Zoetis. The representation included the formation of Benchmark Animal Health Chile, a new business unit tasked with carrying out other veterinary-related businesses in the Chilean market.
• Represented the controlling shareholders of The Greenland Education Company in the sale of a private school (The Greenland School), along with the set of assets and properties associated with the operation of said school, to Cognita Chile Limitada, a subsidiary of Cognita, a British private group that owns and operates private schools in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, India and Chile.
• Advised Benchmark Holdings plc, an English company leader in aquaculture health, genetics and advance nutrition, on its plan to set up and operate a wholly owned salmon breeding operation in Chile, including the acquisition of a salmon breeding facility (the Ensenada Center).
• Represented Benchmark Holdings plc, an English company leader in aquaculture health, genetics and advance nutrition, in the purchase of a stake in, and the formation of joint venture with, Empresas AquaChile S.A., a leading Chilean company in the production and marketing of Atlantic salmon, sea trout and tilapia.

Securities Offerings

• Represented Piper Jaffray and Credit Suisse as joint bookrunners on the initial public offering (Nasdaq) of Materialize NV, a leading Belgian provider additive manufacturing software and sophisticated 3D printing services.
• Represented Piper Jaffray and Citigroup as joint bookrunners on the initial public offering (Nasdaq) of Voxeljet AG, a leading German provider of high-speed, large-format 3D printers to industrial and commercial customers.
• Represented BofA Merrill Lynch, BBVA, Santander, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley as joint bookrunners in connection with the SEC-registered secondary offering by Aeroinvest, S.A. de C.V. of shares and ADSs of Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V. (OMA), Mexican company that holds concessions to operate, maintain and develop 13 airports in Mexico.
• Represented Credit Suisse, UBS, Citigroup, and BTG Pactual as joint bookrunners in connection with the follow-up secondary public offering in Mexico by CaixaBank S.A. of shares of Grupo Financiero Inbursa, S.A.B. de C.V., one of the leading financial services holding companies in Mexico, with a concurrent international offering under Rule 144A and Regulation S.
• Advised Grupo Lala, Mexico’s largest dairy company and one of the leading dairy companies in Latin America, in connection with its initial public offering in Mexico of shares of common stock with a concurrent international offering under Rule 144A and Regulation S (largest IPO in Mexico in 2013).
• Represented Citigroup and BofA Merrill Lynch as joint bookrunners in connection with successive follow-on public offerings by Sun Communities, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT), of common stock.

 

Debt Offerings / Finance /Liability Management

• Represented one of the leading private universities in Chile in a refinancing through a syndicated senior secured credit facility.
• Represented Benchmark Holdings plc, an English company leader in the aquaculture health, genetics and advance nutrition, in the refinancing of the group’s credit facility with a super senior revolving credit facility and the issuance of a senior secured bond.
• Represented Citigroup and Credit Suisse as joint bookrunners in connection with the reopening and international offering of Senior Secured Notes due 2020 by the Mexican telecommunications company Axtel, S.A.B. de C.V., under Rule 144A and Regulation S.
• Represented Citigroup and Credit Suisse as solicitation agents in connection with the consent solicitation conducted by the Mexican telecommunications company Axtel, S.A.B. de C.V. of the existing holders of Senior Secured Notes due 2020 to allow a new issuance and additional secured debt to be secured by the same collateral securing the existing Notes.
• Represented Credit Suisse, BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup as joint bookrunners in connection with the international offering of 4.125% Senior Notes due 2024 by Banco Inbursa, S.A., a leading Mexican commercial bank, under Rule 144A and Regulation S. This was Banco Inbursa’s first ever international debt offering.
• Advised Oaktree Capital Management and its real estate opportunities funds and distressed debt funds in connection with Oaktree’s first ever securitization of non-performing loans and other real estate. The single class, rated Baa3/BBB- by Moodys and Fitch, was backed by approximately 700 loans and 78 properties.
• Represented UBS and BMO as joint bookrunners in connection with the private placement in Canada of 13% Senior Secured Notes due 2017 by Barrett Xplore Inc., one of Canada’s largest broadband Internet access service provider, with a concurrent international offering under Rule 144A and Regulation S.

Represented Doral Financial Corporation, a Puerto Rican bank, in connection with the consent solicitation and subsequent SEC-registered debt exchange of the existing holders of Senior Secured Notes due 2025 and 2030.