LatinFinance - January/February 2016 - 55

where we'll be concluding the execution of
mandated deals," says Lacayo. LF

INVESTMENT BANK

JPMORGAN
Blending the right amount
of local, regional and global
expertise has helped this
firm shine in LatAm debt,
equity capital markets and
M&A
Whether approaching a specific transaction
or the bank's the regional strategy, finding
the best mix is paramount to the breadth
of JPMorgan's success in several markets in
Latin America.
The bank topped Latin America &
Caribbean M&A league tables for the year
ending on September 30, according to
Dealogic, and maintained its third place
position in international debt capital
markets while taking fifth in equity capital
markets. JPMorgan was the only bank to
participate in winning transactions in M&A,
DCM and ECM besides Morgan Stanley,
which placed eighth, fourth and ninth,
respectively, in the league tables for the
awards period.
This high level of activity across several
platforms is emblematic of JPMorgan's
holistic approach to clients. "We offer the
full suite," Ignacio Benito, head of M&A
Latin America, tells LatinFinance. "Most
of what we do is M&A, but you can add the
capital markets' perspective, the ability
to lend or give a view of what would be
acceptable to lenders, assess how public
markets will react to an announcement.
You can add solutions on derivatives, you
can offer products that help more on dayto-day needs like cash management, trade,
short-term financing."
"The fact that we're offering that across
the whole region gives you an edge in the
sense of being able to deliver everything."
Telefônica Vivo's €7.45 billion ($10
billion) acquisition of GVT, which was
announced in September 2014, is an
example of how the bank uses its broad
range of products and services. JPMorgan
advised Telefônica Brasil's Spanish parent
on the subsidiary's acquisition of the

LatAm Presence: Argentina, Brazil,
Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama
and Peru
Remarkable Deals: Nemak's IPO,
Telefônica Vivo's equity follow-on, the
Dominican Republic's $2.5bn LME,
Telefônica Vivo's acquisition of GVT
and Latam Airlines' EETC offering

Brazilian telco from French giant Vivendi.
"What clinched the mandate is
the ability to go and talk to the client
intelligently about Brazil and to encompass
the different nuances about how to do the
deal," says Alejandro Guevara, co-head of
banking Latin America.
"To get to the finish line, you needed
to connect all those dots in terms of
intelligence you deliver to the client,
structuring the deal in Brazil in the right
way, and in terms of the valuation."
The bank, which represented Brazilian
Telesp in its failed bid to buy GVT in 2009,
was also a joint bookrunner on Telefônica
Brasil's 15.8 billion reais ($4.9bn) jumbo
follow-on in April that partially funded the
acquisition. Itaú led that transaction.  
"GVT was an M&A transaction with
capital-rising elements at the Telefônica
level in Spain and at the Vivo level in Brazil
as well as hedging and other cross-border
considerations. We ended up involved in
different capacities across all the different
parts of the transaction," Guevara notes
The bank's M&A activity during the
awards period is particularly notable:
JPMorgan had a 30% lead over the second
place finisher BTG Pactual in terms of deal
value, executing $37.4 million compared
to BTG's $27 million. The bank's rank in
M&A also represents a remarkable rise over
the prior year, when it didn't even make
the top 10 banks. Guevara and Benito note
that bank's focus in M&A is a reflection of
a larger trend in the region, as borrowers
encountering difficulty accessing the
funding markets during the economic
downturn look for other sources of capital.
In addition to the roughly 50 bankers
spread across in Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Peru, as
well as staff in New York, JPMorgan also

uses its global resources on a transactional
basis, Guevara says, pointing to Nemak's
$758 million initial public offering as
an example. JPMorgan was a global
coordinator on the deal, which was the
largest in Mexico since 2013, the largest in
the region for the awards period and priced
in June amidst the debt Greek debt crisis.
"We put together a team that included
local bankers, regional and global industry
specialists from our advisory teams to
work together with the client to prepare a
marketing strategy for their IPO," Guevara
says. "In creating the equity story, the
LatAm team was joined by the team
covering the auto parts sector which helped
define what investors were looking at in
the US and the overall trends that could
be piggy-backed by the Nemak IPO. It was
really a global approach for one of our key
clients in Mexico."
In addition to Nemak and Telefônica
Vivo, JPM took lead roles in other major
transactions, including Latam Airlines'
sale of a $1.02 billion enhanced equipment
trust certificate in May, and the Dominican
Republic's $2.5 billion liability management
exercise in January 2015.
Pitches for deals are anchored by
JPMorgan's consistent presence in Latin
America, where it's been active since at
least the late 19th century. "Our business
model in Latin America is a very welldefined model. We have long-term local
presence with strong client relationships
leveraging the international knowledge and
the international network that we have at
JPMorgan," Guevara says.
"Over the years, rather than going
through Latam's cycles up or downsizing,
what we have done is to set our teams to
acquire expertise in different products,
industries and countries so that we ride
economic volatility by adjusting the mix
of what they do according to our clients'
needs," Benito says, adding that the bank
reallocates staff to focus on countries or
sectors where activity is increasing by
assigning people to relevant projects or
transactions.
The bank's constancy has been fruitful
in the latest economic downturn, Guevara
notes. "We have physical presence in nine
of the largest countries in the region. This
portfolio strategy has helped us smooth the
ups and downs in the individual countries.
We believe in the potential of this region
and have a long term commitment to Latin
America." LF

January/February 2016 - L ATINFINA NCE.COM 55
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of LatinFinance - January/February 2016
