Flor Bustamante Pizarro & Hurtado

Managing Partner: Mario Flor

Senior Partners: Roque Bustamante, Jorge Pizarro, Agustín Hurtado, Andrés Ycaza, José Cisneros, Miguel Pizarro, Verónica Ruales, Juan Carlos Peñafiel, Gilberto Gutiérrez, Alfonso Becerra, Juan Pablo Serrano, Alejandro Perez, Mauricio Bustamante, Juan Andrés Gortaire and María Cristina Serrano.

Number of partners: 16

Number of other lawyers: 25

Firm Overview:

With offices in Quito and Cuenca — Ecuador, Flor Bustamante Pizarro & Hurtado (hereinafter ‘FBPH’) is a full service firm formed by very well-reputed professionals with large experience in local and cross-border transactions, following international standards as main rule of practice. FBPH was created by the principles of transparency, ethics, solidarity and specialisation and has become a major player in the Ecuadorian legal market, with clear and straight emphasis on the development of its professionals and on a merits structure. The firm is formed by 35 lawyers — 12 partners and 23 associates — with vast experience in their professional fields. Many of FBPH’s lawyers have international studies and have completed internships in US and Europe. In addition, the firm maintains a system of cooperation with other law firms throughout the region and in US and Europe, which is particularly important for handling cross-border transactions.

Energy & Natural Resources:

Energy and Natural Resources is among the firm’s foremost strengths with more than 25 years of experience in the industry and with vast knowledge in matters related to corporate, commercial, financial, labor, tax, competition, administrative and regulatory matters of the energy sector, specially in the renewables industry. Flor Bustamante Pizarro & Hurtado partners have participated on all major bidding processes in upstream, midstream and downstream in Ecuador, including the biggest midstream project constructed and owned by a private company in Ecuador, the heavy crude pipeline “OCP” that cross the Andes from the Amazon Basin to the Pacific Ocean, for which we also negotiated an Investment Contract. We have also acted on behalf of LPGprivate distribution companies as well as the largest gasoline distributors in Ecuador, PRIMAX.

We are also very involved in oil and gas exploration and production and mining, being the law firm in Ecuador with more experienced partners in the Natural Resources arena.Our interaction with the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources is continuous and we have always maintained good relations with all our counterparts.

Banking and Finance:

The firm’s financial and banking law department has positioned itself as one of the most respected and award-winning in the country. FBPH has advised on the structuring and financing of projects for more than 1.5 billion granted to Ecuadorian private companies, in syndicated transactions with various private and public financial institutions. FBPH has also advised on restructuring processes under the Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) scheme. FBPH’s recent matters include leading advice to the Lenders on the loan agreement and structuring of a security package in the financing of the Posorja port and Interagua the company responsible for water supply and sewage in Guayaquil Ecuador; acting as local counsel to China Development Bank on a financing transaction to state entity Banco de Desarrollo del Ecuador; and -again as local counsel- advising Corporación Interamericana para el Financiamiento de Infraestructura (CIFI) on the financing of a hydroelectric project.

Corporate/Commercial:

One of FBPH's principal areas is Corporate/Commercial with solid experience of almost 20 years. FBPH has participated in various of the M&A major transactions involving multinationals and also has provided legal advice to local industries in different aspects of their business.

Labour & Employment:

Flor Bustamante Pizarro & Hurtado is an acknowledged actor in this sphere. The team is actively involved, and with excellent results, in the defense of our clients’ interests in administrative matters and in front of Ecuadorian courts.

Dispute Resolution:

Highly regarded dispute resolution department with a strong track record representing corporate clients in Ecuador. Boasts a strong bench of arbitration experts experienced in advising on high-value cross-border mandates, with a focus on matters related to the energy and natural resources, infrastructure, banking and finance, and investor-state arbitration.

Competition/Antirust:

Dynamic antitrust practice well known for its particular expertise in contentious proceedings for matters relating to collusion, cartel investigations and abuse of dominant position. Frequently advises clients in the regulated industries field, in particularly pharmaceutical, food industry and construction.

Tax:

Strong team with extensive knowledge tax focusing in energy and natural resources industry, retail industry as well as telecommunications.

Languages:

English, French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish.