Clifford Chance enhance project and infrastructure capabilities in Latin America

One of the most respected legal advisers for project finance matters in Latin America, Bacchiocchi’s arrival bolsters Clifford Chance’s market-leading projects and infrastructure practice and enables the Firm to provide even greater support to clients in the region.

At Clifford Chance, Bacchiocchi will be based in the New York office while continuing to spend a significant amount of time on the ground in Latin America. He comes to the Firm from the Chicago office of DLA Piper.

“The continued development of our presence across the Americas – both in the US and Latin America — remains an important point of emphasis for Clifford Chance,” said Americas Regional Managing Partner Evan Cohen. “Gianluca’s recruitment fits perfectly with what we’re trying to accomplish — he is an outstanding lawyer who further solidifies and broadens a practice in which we are already a recognized leader. The experience and creativity he brings will be invaluable to our clients as we continue to expand our regional footprint.”

Bacchiocchi focuses his practice on representing sponsors, issuers and underwriters in cross-border capital markets transactions with Latin America, including project bond financings, public and private issuances of asset-backed securities, private issuances of future-flow backed securities and high-yield debt issuances. He also assists sponsors, borrowers and lenders with project and infrastructure financings, public-private partnership transactions, general secured and unsecured lending arrangements and international debt restructurings. He is recognized as a leading practitioner in the Latin America finance, projects and capital markets sections of Chambers and Legal 500, with the former noting that he is “considered a pioneer in the area of project bonds.” He is also fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.

Americas Banking and Finance Practice Area Leader Tom Schulte noted: “In addition to having been involved in many of the landmark transactions in the region, including the recent development and financing of the US$ 5.4 billion Metro Linea 2 in Peru, Gianluca has also been at the forefront of the growing trend towards financing energy and infrastructure projects through the capital markets in Spanish Latin America. Some lawyers work on the biggest deals, others on the most innovative. Gianluca is among the few who can honestly say they do both.”

“Access to capital markets, whether for greenfield or take-out financings, is now in every client’s playbook,” added Fabricio Longhin, co-head of the Firm’s Spanish Latin America group. “Gianluca is widely acknowledged as a leader in that field and we are delighted to welcome him into our Latin American team.”

The addition of Bacchiocchi brings to 73 the number of Clifford Chance partners in the Americas. His is the third major partner hire made by the firm in the region over past few months, following on the high-profile arrivals of structured finance partners Bob Gross and Will Cejudo in December.

“Having worked with and been impressed by many of the Firm’s lawyers, I am extremely excited about the move to Clifford Chance,” said Bacchiocchi. “The Firm’s exceptional regional platform, expansive global network and culture of collaboration present new and exciting opportunities for me, and for my clients.”

Clifford Chance has been working in Latin America for many years and is consistently recognized as one of the region’s preeminent law firms. The Firm’s lawyers understand the region’s distinct business, legal and regulatory landscapes and provide expertise that cuts across the full range of capital markets, banking, corporate, project finance, structured finance and litigation practices. They pride themselves on their ability to develop innovative solutions that align with the unique characteristics of the Latin American market and the changing needs of clients, with recent highlights including the financing of the US$1 billion Chaglla hydroelectric project in Peru, Ecuador’s US$2 billion sovereign bond offering, the Reventazon hydroelectric project “B bond”, and Banco do Brasil’s US$5.7 billion IPO of BB Seguridade – 2013’s largest globally.