Carlos Pinto is a partner at PPO Abogados and leads the corporate law and finance teams.
Within the corporate sphere, he advises clients from a wide range of industries in connection with investments and divestments in Bolivia, restructurings with a local and cross-border component, mergers and acquisitions, and complex commercial transactions. In recent years, Carlos has advised clients in corporate and commercial transactions totaling billions of dollars, having a direct impact on Bolivia’s economy.
In parallel, he frequently advises international and multilateral banks on complex project and structured finance transactions, as well as corporate financing, including syndicated loans, secured financing and capital market transactions in Bolivia and abroad. Similarly, he often advises investment banks, credit rating agencies and insurers and reinsurers in connection to regulatory and administrative law matters.
His professional practice is recognized by the foremost international legal rankings, including Chambers & Partners, Legal500, IFLR1000 and Latin Lawyer, all of which discuss his leading practice in corporate law and banking and finance.
Prior to founding PPO Abogados in 2020, Carlos was a partner at Ferrere Abogados for 10 years, where he led its corporate and finance teams in Bolivia. In 2010, he worked as international lawyer at Mayer Brown LLP in Brazil and in 2009 he joined McLeod Dixon LLP (Norton Rose LLP) in Caracas, Venezuela. He also served as legal consultant to Lockheed Martin Corporation in Washington DC.
Carlos obtained his law degree from the Universidad Católica Boliviana in La Paz, Bolivia, and an LLM in International and Comparative Law from The George Washington University Law School in Washington DC. He also obtained a post-graduate degree from Fordham University in Law Firm Management.
His most recent transactional experience includes:
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Advised Asai Capital Ltd. in acquisition of Alicorp’s Bolivian subsidiary, Industrias de Aceite S.A., for $220 million.
- Advised San Cristobal Mining in acquisition of Sumitomo Corporation’s Bolivian subsidiary, Empresa Minera San Cristobal, for $450 million.
- Advised Inchcape on Bolivian leg of multijurisdictional acquisition of Derco for £2.3 billion.
- Advised Ag-Mining Investments in acquisition of Coeur Mining’s Bolivian subsidiary, Empresa Minera Manquiri, for $50 million.
- Advised Shell in Bolivian leg of multijurisdictional merger of British Gas (BG) for $70 billion.
- Advised Dow Agrosciences on the Bolivian leg of its merger with Dupont and its later rebranding to Corteva.
- Advised Compañía de Cervecerías Unidas (CCU) in acquisition of a 17% interest in Bebidas Bolivianas S.A. (BBO).
- Advised Intercorp on Bolivian leg of cross-border acquisition of Quicorp’s regional operations for $583 million.
- Advised Frigorifico Concepción, Paraguay´s largest meat-processing plant, acquire Frigorífico Chiquitano for $7 million.
- Advised I squared Capital in acquisition of Inkia assets in the power sector for $1.6 billion.
- Advised Phoenix Tower International (PTI) on acquisition of telecom infrastructure from Nuevatel S.A. for $100 millon.
- Advised Owens-Illinois Inc., the world’s largest producer of glass containers, on its multijurisdictional acquisition Vitro SAB for $2.15 billion.
- Advised Bolivian subsidiary of Bayer AG on sale of business unit to Panasonic Healthcare Holdings for €909 million.
- Advised Argu Investment in sale of shares in Grupo Alianza Seguros to Fidelidade for a confidential amount.
Finance
- Advised Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) in connection with a loan to Fondo Financiero para la Cuenta de la Plata (FONPLATA) for $30 million.
- Advised JP Morgan, MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui, Bank of Nova Scotia and Scotiabank extend a $400 million facility to Alicorp for the acquisition of Bolivian assets.
- Advised French Development Agency (AFD) on $100 million facility to the Bolivian State.
- Advised Barclays Bank plc on $25 million unsecured loan facility to Bolivian telecomm provider.
- Advised JPMorgan Chase in continuing $32 million credit agreement with local supplier of technology in the oil and gas industry.
- Advised Credit Suisse and KfW Bank on $500 million loan to the Bolivian government for the development of a train project.
- Advised Frigorífico Concepción on first ever bond issuance under 144A/Reg S $100 million.
- Advised JP Morgan Chace in connection to Grupo La Fuente´s tentative $120 million bond issuance under 144A/Reg S.
- Advised European Development Bank on $90 facility to the Bolivian State.
- Advised Phoenix Tower International in obtaining a $100 million secured loan for the acquisition of telecom infrastructure from Nuevatel.
- Advised Inter-American Development Bank on first-ever unsubordinated loan to Bolivian financial institution for $20 million.
- Advised International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Proparco on $50 million secured loan to local cooperative.
- Advised Banco Santander (Brazil) and other international financial institutions on local party’s adhesion to $1.5 billion multijurisdictional unsecured global capital credit facility.
Recognition
- IFLR 1000 – M&A, Finance, Project Development (Market Leader)
- LACCA – Corporate and M&A (Approved)
- Chambers & Partners – Banking & Finance (Band 1)
- Chambers & Partners – Corporate & Commercial (Band 2)
- Chambers & Partners – Energy & Natural Resources (Band 3)
- Legal 500 – Banking & Finance (Leading Individual)
- Legal 500 – Corporate and M&A (Leading Individual)
Membership
- International Bar Association (IBA)
- Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de La Paz – ICALP
- Ministerio de Justicia del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia
Highlights Cases
