Santiago’s practice focuses on domestic and cross-border transactions, including financing, corporate governance, mergers, acquisitions, and financial restructurings.

He has expertise in the structuring and financing of infrastructure and energy projects, government procurement, public-private partnerships, corporate matters related to such projects, including joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, as well as reorganizations and workouts in infrastructure, energy and aviation sectors.

He has advised financial institutions, governmental entities, national and multinational companies and private equity funds in project structuring, bidding, acquisition, financing, restructurings, negotiation and disputes under material agreements, including PPAs, offtake, EPC and O&M contracts, covering natural resources, transportation, toll roads, renewable and conventional energy, social and cultural infrastructure.

As a member of the firm’s Aviation Practice Group, he has mainly represented banks and institutional lessors in the leasing and secured financing of private and commercial aircraft, including SLB, JOLCO transactions and PDP financings, as well as creditors in the restructuring of airlines, including the largest ad hoc group of bondholders in the Aeromexico Chapter 11.

Within the scope of its expertise, Santiago collaborates with the Sustainability and ESG Transition Working Group of the firm.

Recent work highlights:

• CMB Financial Leasing in the PDP financing of 4 A320Neo and 3 A321NX aircraft, to be sold to an Irish vehicle of CMBFL and leased to Volaris for USD$730,000,000.
• Desarrolladora y Operadora de Infraestructura de Oaxaca, a subsidiary of Constructora y Edificadora GIA+A, onthe total voluntary redemption of the bonds identified with the ticker symbols “DOIXCB 15” and “DOIXCB 15U”. The aforementioned in the context of refinancing its federal prison project in Oaxaca, for a total amount ofMXN$3,969 million.
• One of the largest infrastructure asset managers in the bid to acquire an interest in an entity that owns Sempra’s LNG business and Ienova’s infrastructure platform and their renewables portfolio.
• A multinational company in the bid to acquire Atlas Renewable Energy from Actis.
• An ad hoc group of creditors under a USD$710 million loan facility, in connection with the restructuring of a 526-MW gas-fired combined cycle power generation project in Texas that sells electricity and capacity to the Mexican market and CFE, and the related Chapter 11.
• Macquarie Asset Management in the acquisition by a Macquarie-led group of Reden Solar from InfraVia Capital Partners and Eurazeo for €2.5 billion, for a 762MW solar power plant operational portfolio and a 15 GW development pipeline, including three operational projects in Mexico.
• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in two facilities, including letters of credit, to subsidiaries of OPDEnergy to finance the development of two solar plants in Aguascalientes (29.67 MW) and Coahuila (82.5 MW), Mexico, with CFE Suministrador as energy offtaker, and in a subsequent change of control to Riverstone.
• Bancomext in the financing to Vega Solar 6, a subsidiary of Atlas Renewable Energy, for the development of the Guajiro Solar Project (126.5 MW) in Hidalgo, Mexico, with CFE Suministrador as offtaker.
• Citibank, Citibanamex and institutional “accredited investors” in the financing through secured notes, a term loan and letters of credit for USD$347 million to an affiliate of BlackRock, for the upgrade and expansion of port logistics and coal transportation facilities at the Lázaro Cárdenas Port for the supply of the CFE Petacalco power plant.
• Pemex in the unwinding of its joint venture with IEnova in Gasoductos de Chihuahua for USD$1,325 billion.
• Suez Medio Ambiente México and Suez International in the negotiations with the winning consortium for the award of a 37 year PPP agreement by the State Water Commission of Baja California, for the design, construction, operation and maintenance or the largest desalination plant in Latin America, located in Rosarito, México, including EPC and O&M contracts.
• Banco Santander (México), and the syndicate of lenders (Banobras and Inbursa) on the preparation and negotiation of a senior loan facility and a VAT facility to finance AT-AT, a subsidiary of OHL México, in connection with its investment in a toll road that will run from Atizapán to Atlacomulco in the State of Mexico.
• Several banks and financial institutions on cross-border financings secured with assets located in Mexico.
• The largest ad hoc group of bondholders of Aerovías de México in the Chapter 11 proceedings of Grupo Aeroméxico and subsidiaries, including the DIP financing and exit debt and equity financing.
• Banks and institutional lessors on leases and secured financings of private aircraft.
• The lenders and investors (SMBC, Nomura, Babcock & Brown, Natixis, NTT Finance Corporation and Development Bank of Japan) in the JOLCO financings of Aeromexico’s 787-9 Dreamliners, each for approximately USD$110 million.
• SMBC Aviation Capital in PDP and sale and lease back financings of 12 A320Neo to VivaAerobus.