Gunter A. Schwandt G.

Gunter is partner at Nader, Hayaux & Goebel and specializes in capital markets, mergers & acquisitions, fintech, structured finance, secured transactions and cross-border lending. Gunter is an expert in highly complex public issuances and securitizations and has developed in-depth expertise in CKDs (development capital certificates) and FIBRAs (the Mexican equivalent of a U.S. REIT), advising sponsors and underwriters alike.

To date he has advised the sponsors in the structuring and launch of a total of seven CKD funds placed in the Mexican Stock Market, focused on the real estate industry and the energy and infrastructure sectors, as well as on four FIBRA transactions, focused on the retail and hotel industries.

On the corporate M&A side, Gunter advised MetLife in the sale of its Mexican pension fund business to Principal Financial Group, and Pemex in the sale of its 50% stake in Gasoductos de Chihuahua to IEnova for USD$1.325 billion.
Gunter also advised Grupo Salinas in its joint venture with Televisa in Iusacell, the later unwinding of such joint venture and the ultimate sale of Iusacell to AT&T for USD$2.5 billion, which constituted a major milestone for the Mexican telecoms sector as it signified the entry of one of the major global telecoms operators into in the Mexican market. He also advised Grupo Werthein as to Mexican legal matters in its purchase of certain LatAm assets of AT&T.

He has written various chapters and articles for legal books and magazines, including: The International Capital Markets Review, 8th Edition, 2018; Technology M&A, Lexology Getting the deal through 2nd Edition; Fintech Lexology Getting the deal through, 2021 and Mexico Fintech Comparative Guide, Legal 500, 2021.
He currently sits as independent member of the board of directors of Mercado Pago, MercadoLibre’s licensed fintech entity in Mexico.

Gunter spent a year working at international law firm Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago. He received his LL.M. (with honors) from the Northwestern University School of Law and a Certificate in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management. He graduated as an attorney (with honors) from the Universidad Iberoamericana.

A selection of recent transactions and projects on which Gunter advised, include:

• Advised Fibra Storage to establish its first capital markets debt program for MXN$3,000 million and the first and second issuances of notes issued as green bonds thereunder.
• Advised Lightrock in its USD$40 million Series E impact investment in Konfio Limited.
• Advised Afore Azteca in its acquisition of CERPIs issued by Thor Urbana for MXN$3,600 million.
• Advised MercadoLibre on Mexican legal matters in connection with its inaugural debt offering of USD$400 million 2.375% notes due 2026 and USD$700 million 3.125% notes due 2031.
• Advised Total Play Telecomunicaciones, provider of triple play services in Mexico, in the placement of USD$575 million in aggregate principal amount of 7.500% senior notes due 2025 in the international markets.
• Advised CIBanco in the acquisition of Deutsche Bank Mexico’s trustee and common representation business in Mexico.
• Advised eToro as Mexican counsel on the regulatory implications of operating their online multi-asset trading platform of financial products and services to Mexican residents, as well as its marketing and publicity activities.
• Advised Evercore Mexico in the sale of its trustee and common representation business in Mexico to CIBanco.
• Advised Swedish company Sinch AB, a global leader in cloud communications for mobile customer engagement, on Mexican aspects of the acquisition of Brazilian company Wavy, a leading business-messaging provider in Latin America, for a total cash consideration of USD$125 million.
• Advised Fibra Storage, the largest self-storage company in Mexico, on the follow-on placement of trust certificates totaling MXN$287 million.
• Advised Kyocera Corporation on the Mexican legal aspects regarding the acquisition of Fastener Topco Inc. (SouthernCarlson) and its subsidiaries, a wholesale distributor of fastening and packaging materials, equipment, and construction tools and supplies in the United States and Mexico from Kelso & Company.
• Advised Carza as issuer in the structuring and placement of its first CKD fund focused on residential real estate for an aggregate amount of MXN$2,470 million subject to a capital call structure.
• Advised MetLife in the sale of its Mexican pension fund business to Principal Financial Group.
• Advised Pemex on the unwinding of its joint venture with IEnova in Gasoductos de Chihuahua.
• Advised the underwriters on Fibra Nova’s initial public offering through the Mexican Stock Exchange for a total amount of MXN$1,220 million.
• Advised Grupo Salinas on the sale of Iusacell to AT&T, pursuant to which AT&T acquired 100% of Iusacell for USD$2.5 billion after having advised Grupo Salinas in the unwinding of its joint venture with Grupo Televisa in Iusacell.