Demarest Advogados in São Paulo has helped Japanese manufacturer IHI transfer a stake in shipmaker Estaleiro Atlântico Sul (EAS) to EAS’s remaining shareholders.
E Munhoz Advogados in São Paulo advised both EAS and its other shareholders, which are Brazilian construction companies Camargo Corrêa and Queiroz Galvão. EAS also hired Levy & Salomão Advogados in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro for antitrust advice. Pereira Neto | Macedo Advogados is thought to have advised the ship maker on tax matters, but this could not be confirmed prior to publication. Meawhile, New York-based Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and Japan’s Nishimura & Asahi LPC are thought to have represented IHI. The deal closed on 31 March with no financial details disclosed.
IHI acquired a 33 per cent stake in EAS through its Brazilian subsidiary Japan EAS in mid-2013. At the time, EAS was the only company in the country capable of constructing large-scale vessels for the offshore oil and gas sector. However, the US$93 million acquisition proved an expensive mistake. In April 2015, the Japanese company said EAS had made a loss of US$75 million over the previous fiscal year. IHI blamed the falling price of oil and a corruption investigation that centres on state-owned energy company Petrobras for pushing it into the red.
Counsel to IHI and Japan EAS Investimentos e Participações
Demarest Advogados
Partners José Diaz, Rafael Gagliard, Bruno Drago, Carlos Eduardo Orsolon and Catarina Rodrigues, and associates Eduardo Terashima, Daniel Kaufman Schaffer, Julia Schulz, Caio Pazinato, Thereza Montoro, Paulo Dantas and Fabianna Morselli in São Paulo
Counsel to Estaleiro Atlântico Sul, Camargo Corrêa and Queiroz Galvão
E Munhoz Advogados
Partners Eduardo Secchi Munhoz, João Vicente Lapa de Carvalho, João Paulo Saueia Godoy, Ana Elias Borges Gonçalves and Gabriel Saad Kik Buschinelli in São Paulo
Levy & Salomão Advogados
Partners Ana Paula Martinez and Alexandre Ditzel Faraco, and associate Rafael Szmid in São Paulo, and partner Mariana Tavares de Araujo in Rio de Janeiro
