Manuel José Garcés

Partner

mgarces@carey.cl +56 2 2928 2207

Partner at Carey and co-head of the Tax Group. His practice focuses on local and international tax consulting, personal and corporate tax planning, business reorganization, foreign investments and tax litigation.


REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

  • Hapag-Lloyd, a German listed company and global leader in container shipping, on the acquisition, for approx. USD1 billion, of the port terminals and inland logistics business of SAAM, a Chilean listed multinational company that provides foreign trade services. Hapag-Lloyd acquired the entire operation of the port terminals business of SAAM, which includes ten terminals in six countries in the Americas, and of the inland logistics business of SAAM.
  • Nabiax, a subsidiary of Asterion Industrial Partners, on the Chilean aspects of the sale of a portfolio of data centers in Latin America, to Actis, a British private equity fund, for USD500 million.
  • LarrainVial, representing a group of investors, on the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Farmacias Ahumada, one of the three largest pharmacy chains in Chile, from Wallgreens Boots Alliance, a transnational corporation based in UK. The transaction involved an extensive due diligence of the assets and operations of Farmacias Ahumada and the negotiation of a share purchase agreement with the company that owns Farmacias Ahumada, as well as the structuring of the investment.
  • Patria Investments on the Chilean aspects of the sale of its controlling interest (90%) of its ODATA subsidiaries in Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay). The transaction was governed by New York law and involved the coordination of different legal advisors for each of the parties, Patria and Cyrus One, as sellers, and Aligned Data Centers as buyer. Additionally, the sale was conditional on the pre-payment of the senior, VAT and bridge loans of which ODATA was a borrower, which also involved the coordination of the different advisors of the financial institutions involved.
  • Liberty Mutual Insurance, one of the largest insurance companies in the world, on the sale to HDI International (part of the Talanx Group) of Liberty Mutual’s personal and commercial business in Chile, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador. The acquisition is estimated for a total deal value of approximately USD1.48 billion. Upon closing, the Talanx Group is expected to become the third-largest insurer by premium income in property/casualty business in Latin America.
    The transaction is subject to regulatory authorizations in various jurisdictions and must comply with other usual conditions for this type of transaction.
  • Qatar Airways, as shareholder and lender, on the LATAM Airlines reorganization process under Chapter 11 rules in the Bankruptcy Court of New York, including the negotiation and execution of two debtor-in-possession (DIP) financings. The process ended with a successful emergence of LATAM Airlines from the proceeding after securities issuances and debt contracting for a total of USD13.2 billion, resulting with Qatar Airways remaining as a relevant shareholder.
  • Goldman Sachs on a senior secured notes issuance used to purchase certain receivables from the main energy generation companies in Chile originated under Law No. 21,185, which temporarily stabilized the electricity tariffs.
  • Celeo Redes and APG Energy & Infra Investments on the acquisition of 100% of Colbún Transmisión, a Colbún subsidiary and one of the largest transmission companies in Chile for approx. USD1.3 billion.
  • Patria Investments, a global alternative asset manager, along with Moneda Asset Management, a leading asset manager based in Chile, on the creation of an investment platform in Latin America, enhancing Patria's product offering by creating the number one Private investments in Public Equities (PIPE) manager in the region. The deal included a sale of shares and an international merger.
  • The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) on the acquisition of a 16.76% stake in Scotiabank Chile and other Chilean subsidiaries from the Said family, by means of a share purchase and share exchange for USD1.014 billion. As a consequence of this transaction, BNS became the owner of a 99,79% interest in Scotiabank Chile.
  • Several renewable energy companies on the obtention of VAT exemptions for the import of capital assets and the obtention of VAT refund for the tax paid during the construction period of their projects in Chile.
  • Several multinational and local companies in various industries (banking, mining, forestry, public concessions, retail, energy, etc.) on day-to-day permanent tax advice as well as particular projects.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

  • Recognized in Tax, Chambers Latin America.
  • Recognized in Tax, The Legal 500.
  • Recognized in Tax, Best Lawyers.
  • Recognized in Tax and Wealth Management, Leaders League.
  • Recognized in Tax, Top Ranked Legal.

ACTIVITIES AND MEMBERSHIPS

  • Professor of the Tax Law Master Program, Universidad Diego Portales (2013-2018).

PUBLICATIONS

  • Co-author of the article "Chile's Approach to the Taxation of the Digital Economy", IBA (2019).
  • Co-author of the article "VAT Relief in Operational Projects in Chile", Practical Latin American Tax Strategies, Thomson Reuters (2013).
  • Co-author of the article "Equity or Debt? Funding Foreign Investment in Chile", International Tax Review (2012).

RELATED AREAS

  • Tax Law

EDUCATION

  • Law, Universidad Católica de Chile.
  • Exchange student, New York University (2006).
  • Degree in Tax Law with a minor in Litigation, Universidad Diego Portales (2010).
  • LL.M. in International Taxation, University of Florida (2011).

ADMISSIONS

  • Chile (2010).

LANGUAGES

  • Spanish.
  • English.