FERRERE advised the Canadian pension fund, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ), on the sale of 100% of the shares of the Uruguayan company Difebal S.A. to Atlántica Infraestructura Sostenible S.L.U.
The firm’s work included the Difebal due diligence process, as well as negotiation and preparation of the purchase deed.
Since 2019 Difebal has had an operating lease agreement with the electric utility Administración Nacional de Usinas y Trasmisiones Eléctricas (UTE) in connection with the Melo-Tacuarembó 500 kV Converter Station project, for design and construction of a 500 kV electric transmission line. The line runs 213 kilometers to connect the two cities in northern Uruguay, and the lease agreement, the first of its kind for a T line in Uruguay, was structured at 30 years.
Previously, in 2022, FERRERE had advised CDPQ on the acquisition of Difebal from the Italian firm Terna, in the context of a transaction that included various energy assets in Latin America.
FERRERE also advised the Inter-American Investment Corporation and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., as creditors, on the local requirements related to the change of control under the financing documents.
FERRERE’s work included negotiating and drafting local financial and security documents, as well as providing advice on country-specific legal matters to facilitate the creditors' approval of the change of control.
The FERRERE team that advised CDPQ was led by partner Manuel Lecuona and included: Isabel Hounie, María Victoria Costa, Macarena Saavedra and Lorenzo Proto. The team advising the creditors was led by partner Sebastián Ramos and associates Lucía Olloniego and Valentina de Luca.