Ruenes, Marcela

Marcela Ruenes

Counsel

marcela.ruenes@lw.com
    Ruenes, Marcela

    Marcela Ruenes

    Counsel

    marcela.ruenes@lw.com

    Profile

    Marcela Ruenes is counsel in the New York office and a member of the Finance Department, as well as the Banking and Latin America Practices. Ms. Ruenes advises a full range of lead arrangers, lenders, and borrowers. Her practice focuses on complex cross-border transactions including leveraged financings, acquisition financings, asset-based lending, and investment grade loans, as well as debt restructurings including debtor-in-possession and exit financings.

    Ms. Ruenes represents investment and commercial banks, direct lenders, borrowers, and private equity firms in a range of domestic and cross-border finance transactions, including:

    • Leveraged financings and acquisition financings
    • Unitranche financings
    • Special situations lending
    • Investment grade loans

    Ms. Ruenes draws on a keen understanding of the needs and objectives of parties on all sides of a financing to provide clients a sophisticated sense of market practice.

    Prior to joining Latham, Ms. Ruenes worked as an associate in the Mexico City office of a leading Mexican law firm. 

    Pro Bono and Diversity Leadership

    Ms. Ruenes maintains an active pro bono practice with a particular focus on immigration and asylum matters, including representing victims of domestic violence in obtaining protection under VAWA.

    She formerly served on the firm's Diversity Leadership Committee and previously served as Global Leader of Latham’s Hispanic/Latin American Lawyers Group, and as a member of the Recruiting Committee.

    Ms. Ruenes remains active with Columbia Law School, including speaking on panels discussing both commercial and diversity related topics.

    Experience

    A sampling of Ms. Ruenes’ representative work includes advising:

    Investment Banks

    On large syndicated financings, including:

    • Citi
    • Credit Suisse
    • Jefferies Finance
    • JPMorgan Chase Bank
    • UBS

    Direct Lenders

    On single lender and club financings, including:

    • HPS Investment Partners
    • The Carlyle Group
    • Fortress Investment Group

    Financings in Latin America

    Representing both lenders and borrowers with cross-border transactions, including:

    • The joint global coordinators, lead arrangers, and bookrunners in connection with the US$2.3 billion five-year credit facilities provided to Mexico’s TC Energía Mexicana, S. de R.L. de C.V. (TCEM), a subsidiary of TC Energy Corporation, the first private-sector company to construct and operate natural gas pipelines in Mexico
    • The joint global coordinators, lead arrangers, and bookrunners in connection with the US$1.56 billion five-year term loan credit facility refinancing of shareholder loans provided to Mexico’s Infraestructura Marina del Golfo (IMG), the owner and operator of the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan natural gas pipeline
    • Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in the acquisition of Atlas Renewable Energy (Atlas), from Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure. Atlas is the second largest independent renewables developer in Latin America with 14 fully contracted solar assets that produce 2.3GW of installed capacity across Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay
    • Grupo Altex, a leading food and agro-industrial company in Mexico, in its US$105.0 million notes financing
    • Citibank, N.A., as administrative agent, and its affiliates on the restructuring of Avianca’s revolving credit facility and letters of credit as part of the company’s re-profiling of its debt and lease obligations in Avianca’s initial step to its turnaround plan
    • Global Infrastructure Partners in El Aguila Energy SpA’s debt restructuring involving its subsidiary, Guacolda Energía S.A., a Chilean power generation company based in Huasco, Chile, including the restructuring of its shareholder arrangements and eventual exit
    • Compania Operadora de Inversiones Mercantiles, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican investing company, on its real estate trust’s US$115 million term loan facility in connection with the refinancing of its debt used in the development of commercial real estate properties, including Antara
    • Crédit Agricole and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in a US$350 million senior secured asset-based financing relating to the construction, ownership, and leasing of certain vessels and fluvial equipment in Colombia (winner of the Syndicated Loan Deal of the Year 2015 by LatinFinance)
    • Credit Suisse, in connection with a multiple-tranche MXN$8.69 billion syndicated financing for Grupo Gondi, a Mexico City-based paper packaging company
    • Linzor Capital in the financing for its acquisition of GE Capital’s equipment lending and leasing platform in Mexico

    Qualifications

    Bar Qualification

    • Mexico (Abogado)
    • New York

    Education

    • LL.M., Columbia Law School, 2013
    • Licenciado en Derecho (J.D., Law), Universidad Iberoamericana, 2009

    Languages Spoken

    • English
    • Spanish

    Practices

    Recognition

    Read More

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