Career
Francisco is a partner at Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enriquez, S.C. and head of the Firm’s Monterrey Office. He specializes in real estate and mergers and acquisitions transactions.
Mr. Montalvo represents large multi-national companies and important domestic conglomerates in the acquisition and development of tourism, industrial and residential developments, as well as in the acquisition and divestiture of companies and assets located in Monterrey, Mexico and the Northern region of Mexico. He has been the legal advisor to Nucor in all its real estate and corporate endeavors in Mexico, including the acquisition of approximately 130 hectares of land located in Silao, Guanajuato, comprised of more than 25 parcels for the establishment of a steel galvanizing plant. He also provided counsel to Prudential Real Estate Investors Latin America in the formation of Terrafina Fibra (REIT) and Terrafina’s first acquisition, consisting of a portfolio of more than 70 industrial properties from Kimco and American Industries for approximately US$370 Million. Mr. Montalvo has also been involved in diverse acquisitions of industrial portfolios of the CKD’s formed by Walton Street Capital and FINSA for approximately US$900 million. In connection with retail properties, Mr. Montalvo acted as counsel to Macquarie Mexican REIT in the acquisition of a 50% interest in a portfolio of nine retail properties from Kimco Realty Corporation (Kimco).
Mr. Montalvo has also acted as counsel in several acquisitions of companies such as Adhesivos y Productos Especiales (acquired by Bostik), Reactivos y Equipos (Hach Companies) and ServiBonos (Sodexo Mexico). Mr. Montalvo also acts as Counsel to WeWork Companies in the leasing of different facilities to establish their presence in Mexico. He also advises on the formation of condominium regimes for industrial, residential and commercial real estate projects and has been actively involved in reorganizations of land, in the disincorporation of ejidal parcels, including redesigning/swapping ownership rights over parcels of land to achieve a more efficient distribution of the plots of land among partners or former partners, and advising on the implications such reorganizations have from a legal standpoint vis a vis authorities; he has also been involved lately in the real estate aspects of the formation of FIBRAs (Mexican REITs).
Mr. Montalvo has been listed as a Notable Practitioner in Band 1 by Chambers and Partners Latin America since 2013 and until today in the practice area of Real Estate, he has also been recognized in that same practice by The Legal 500 and consistently recognized by Latin Lawyer.
Mr. Montalvo is a member of the International Bar Association. He obtained his law degree (JD) from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in September 1995 and obtained his LL.M degree from The University of Texas at Austin in August, 1998. Mr. Montalvo is the co-author of the article, Real Estate 2014 – Mexico, Latin Lawyer Reference 2014 ed. He is fluent in Spanish and English.
