John is a corporate, securities and finance lawyer with a diverse practice.  John works with companies at all stages of development, both public and private, as well as private equity funds and banks.  His experience includes acquisitions and dispositions of assets, joint ventures, financing (including start-up and venture financing), restructuring and reorganizations, private securities offerings, real estate, general business transactions and corporate governance.

Fluent in Spanish and proficient in Portuguese, John regularly works on deals outside of the United States, and has participated in matters involving Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Germany, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Spain and Venezuela. 

John is the founder and author of Mexico Law Blog, which reports on significant legal and business developments affecting U.S. investors in Mexico and Mexican and other foreign investors in the United States.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Acquisitions

• Represented a publicly-traded Mexican cookware manufacturer in its $23.4 million acquisition of 99.39% of the shares of a privately-held Mexican company that owns the largest aluminum smelter and rolling mill in Mexico.
• Represented a publicly-traded U.S. pawnshop operator in its $14 million acquisition of all of the assets of a Mexican pawnshop chain from a U.S. holding company and its Mexican subsidiaries.
• Represented a publicly-traded U.S. oil and gas company in its $2.5 million sale of pipelines, real estate and related assets used for the transport of natural gas from Texas to Mexico.
• Represented the largest privately-held medical products manufacturer in the U.S. in its acquisition of all of the assets of a privately-held Mexican medical distribution company.
• Represented a Mexican private equity fund in its $3.5 million investment in a Texas limited liability company in possession of various intellectual property assets related to electricity efficiency.
• Represented a U.S. private equity fund in its acquisition of 100% of the limited partnership interests of a Texas real estate holding company.
• Member of legal team that represented a publicly-traded Mexican PVC resin producer in its $600 million acquisition of 100% of the shares of a privately-held Panamanian PVC pipe manufacturing company and its affiliates, including companies in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
• Represented a U.S. private equity group in its investment in and development of Costa Rican resort properties.
• Represented various individual investors and businesses in the acquisition of residential and commercial real estate in the U.S. and Mexico.

Joint Ventures

• Represented a U.S. real estate development company in a joint venture with a private equity fund for the acquisition and development of Mexican real estate.
• Represented a German automobile equipment manufacturer a joint venture with a U.S. company for the development, licensing, manufacture and distribution of automobile equipment throughout the Americas.
• Represented a U.S. investor group in various joint venture investments in Mexico.

Financing

• Represented a publicly-traded U.S. medical device manufacturer in a $3.5 million loan to a Costa Rican company to finance the construction of a sterilization facility in a Costa Rican Free Trade Zone, secured by shares of the Costa Rican company and assets located in the U.S. and Costa Rica.
• Member of a legal team that represented two international banks in the negotiation and documentation of $75 million working capital credit facility agreement to fund the construction and operation of a Peruvian liquefied natural gas terminal and pipeline.
• Member of legal team that represented a major U.S. bank in the negotiation and documentation of a $50 million credit facility for a publicly-traded Mexican fixed-line telephony services provider.
• Represented a U.S. bank in the documentation of an amendment to a $25 million credit facility for a Mexican commercial vehicle lessor, secured by assets in the U.S. and Mexico, including vehicle leases, accounts receivable and other assets of the borrower held in a Mexican payment trust.
• Member of a legal team that represented a consortium of international microfinance lenders in the restructuring of loans made to a Nicaraguan bank.
• Represented a U.S. bank in the documentation of numerous secured and unsecured loans to Mexican individuals and business.

Securities

• Represented a U.S. start-up technology company in several rounds of private placement offerings of common and preferred stock totaling $10 million.
• Represented a U.S. private equity fund in the private placement of $25 million of securities, the proceeds of which were used to make a capital contribution to the fund's Brazilian subsidiary engaged in the development of a biodiesel manufacturing facility.
• Represented a Texas limited liability company in the private placement of securities to fund an investment in a Mexican coastal real estate project.

Licensing and Distribution

• Represented a start-up technology company in the negotiation and documentation of numerous licensing and distribution agreements.
• Represented a Mexican private equity fund in the negotiation and documentation of a licensing agreement for expansion of the fund's sports-related trademark portfolio in the U.S.
• Represented a U.S. subsidiary of publicly-traded French conglomerate in the negotiation and documentation of an international distribution agreement for the sale of plastic industrial products in Mexico.
• Represented a U.S. manufacturer of steel security and detention products in the preparation of international distribution agreements for use in Asia, Latin America and Europe.
• Member of legal team that counseled a Mexican inventor in the negotiation and documentation of licensing and product supply agreements with a publicly traded U.S.-based multinational corporation.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Admitted to practice, Texas 2004
Austin Bar Association
Austin Young Lawyers Association

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Voluntary Legal Services of Central Texas
Meals on Wheels

EDUCATION