Tag Archive for: Ignacio Furfaro
RC Law Acted as International Counsel to Hispanogroup on the Acquisition of ENI Ecuador.
RC Law acted as international counsel to Hispanogroup, an Ecuadorian oil & gas conglomerate, and its subsidiary Vepamil Lubricantes, in connection with the acquisition of ENI Ecuador S.A., the local subsidiary of Italian state-owned company, Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI). The transaction which required Ecuadorian antitrust approval was led by partner Xavier Ruiz with the assistance of counsel Ignacio Furfaro. Rafael Balda of Ecuadorian law firm Apolo acted as lead Ecuadorian counsel. Atlantico Capital Partners acted as financial advisors to the client.
Press Release Atlantico Capital
Atlantico Capital Partners, LLC has advised Ecuadorian industrial conglomerate, Hispanogroup S.A. and its subsidiary Vepamil S.A. in its acquisition of the Eni Ecuador Group
Headquartered in Guayaquil, Hispanogroup is an industrial conglomerate with interests in fuel and lubricants distribution, used fuel recollection and recycling, and maritime shipping. Through Vepamil, Hispanogroup is one of the largest private players in Ecuador in the sale, distribution, and commercialization of fuels, including gasoline, diesel, gas, and other petroleum derivatives to industrial clients and fisheries.
Eni Ecuador, headquartered in Quito, is a vertically integrated group of companies engaged in the distribution of Liquified Petroleum Gas ( “LPG”) in Ecuador, and the second largest player within the industry. Among its activities, Eni Ecuador bottles and distributes LPG to residential and industrial markets, in addition to producing cylinders, valves, and regulators. Eni Ecuador is wholly owned by Eni international BV, and comprised by 3 subsidiaries: Esain S.A., Tecnoesa S.A. and Esacontrol S.A., owned by the listed Italian conglomerate Eni SpA (“Eni”). Eni operates as an integrated energy company worldwide, engaging in exploration, development, extracting, manufacturing, and marketing crude oil and natural gas, oil-based fuels, chemical products, and gas-fired power, as well as energy products from renewable sources.
The acquisition of Eni Ecuador is a horizontal integration for Hispanogroup and a perfect strategic fit that allows it to efficiently expand its fuel distribution business and gain operating scale by entering the residential market while capturing a meaningful market share. The acquired business generates peer-leading operating margins that benefit from midstream infrastructure ownership in bottling plants, a distribution fleet, and access to over 1,000 distributors.
Atlantico acted as financial advisor to Hispanogroup.
Source: https://atlanticocap.com/atlantico-capital-advised-hispanogroup/
RC Law Counseled Falabella in the Acquisition of Equity Interests in Simetrik
RC Law acted as counsel for Falabella Ventures in connection with the acquisition of an equity interest in Simetrik’s $55 million funding round led by Goldman Sachs. Falabella Ventures is the venture capital arm of Falabella, a major multinational company known for its retail, real estate, financial services, and home improvement sectors. Senior Associate Ignacio C. Furfaro led the transaction and was supported by an RC Law team based in its Miami office.
Press Release: Reuters
LatAm’s Simetrik raises $55 million in Goldman Sachs-led funding round
Feb 21 (Reuters) – Colombian-founded Simetrik, a startup offering business-to-business services to streamline complex financial tasks, raised $55 million in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs (GS.N), which two executives said will be mainly used to boost activity beyond the region.
Simetrik’s financial and accounting services are aimed at companies that make more than $150 million in sales every year and currently handles close to $150 billion in transactions annually, the startup’s Chief Executive Alejandro Casas and Chief Operating Officer Santiago Gomez told Reuters in a video interview.
The company operates in over 35 countries, but 80% of its workforce is located in Latin America.
Simetrik has smaller-scale operations in Asia and Africa due to the global reach of such clients as U.S.-listed dLocal (DLO.O), and it is now seeking to expand further.
“One of the reasons Goldman Sachs invested in us is due to our global reach. We already have clients with operations in Asia, Africa and Europe, and we are implementing an aggressive expansion as we have already proven our model works everywhere,” Simetrik’s Casas said.
Falabella Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst and MercadoLibre fund are among the other investors in Simetrik’s Series B round. The company declined to say what total value was implied by the latest fundraising round.
Mexican bottler and retailer Femsa (FEMSAUBD.MX), Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco (ITUB4.SA), and Argentina’s MercadoLibre (MELI.O) are among the startup’s clients.
Source: LatAm’s Simetrik raises $55 million in Goldman Sachs-led funding round | Reuters
RC Law Advised Smart Rooms in Adding USA Hotels to its Portfolio
RC Law has acted as counsel for Smart Rooms Company in the addition of three new hotels in Miami Beach, Florida, to their management portfolio in the United States. The incorporation to these new hotels marks a significant expansion for Smart Rooms Company in the dynamic hospitality market of Miami Beach. Senior Associate Ignacio C. Furfaro led the transaction and was supported by an RC Law team based in its Miami office.
Press Release Cinco Dias:
Smart Rooms redobla su apuesta por EE UU y abre tres hoteles en Miami
Prevé incorporar 900 habitaciones en Europa y América para duplicar el tamaño de la compañía en dos años
Smart Rooms, la operadora de alojamiento creada por Oriol Serra y el family office Sogaman hace doce años, arranca 2024 dispuesta a consolidarse como una gestora internacional de alojamientos. En una entrevista con Cinco Días, Serra confirma que la firma ya está operando tres nuevos hoteles en Miami (Aqua Hotel, Crest Hotel & Suites y Casa Hotel Boutique), con lo que cuenta con los mismos activos (cuatro) en EE UU y en España (tres en Barcelona y uno en Palma de Mallorca). “Teníamos ya un hotel de 134 habitaciones, que ha funcionado muy bien, y otros propietarios nos han cedido la gestión de otros tres hoteles, con 34, 69 y 46 habitaciones, respectivamente. Tanto en número de activos como en aportación de negocio pasa a ser tan importante EE UU como España”, asegura. Los hoteles en Barcelona y funcionan con la marca Yurbban y el resto con marcas independientes.
La incorporación de esos tres activos va a disparar la cuenta de resultados de la compañía. “La facturación ya creció un 16% en 2023 hasta los 26,5 millones y para este año hemos presupuestado 38 millones, lo que supondría otro 45% más, por la aportación de los nuevos hoteles”, asegura Serra. A ello se sumará también la contribución del resto de la cartera, compuesta por nueve edificios de apartamentos turísticos, un hostel de 106 habitaciones con la marca Spotty en Bogotá (Colombia) y cuatro residencias de estudiantes, tres de ellas en Bogotá (Colombia) y una en Lima (Perú) con la marca The Spot.
“En total contamos con 20 establecimientos y 1.400 habitaciones, sumando operativos y en pipeline, en gestión y estamos analizando entre 800 y 900 habitaciones para incorporarlas en los dos próximos años y duplicar el tamaño de la compañía en ese período de tiempo”, señala Serra, que anticipa que están estudiando hasta seis proyectos más en Miami y ya están construyendo desde mediados de 2023 una torre de 196 habitaciones en Perú que será un coliving también de la marca Spot. “No estamos centrados en ningún tamaño en concreto. Nuestros activos varían de las cuatro habitaciones en la playa de la Barceloneta a las 421 habitaciones de Bogotá”. El fundador resalta con orgullo que la compañía ya ha superado los 300 trabajadores en plantilla (310) y avanza que en las próximas semanas se hará pública la incorporación de un directivo de primer nivel del sector turístico al proyecto.