Jorge San Martin Elizondo

Practice Areas

Tax Consulting • Mergers & Acquisitions Corporate Reorganizations • Cross-Border Transactions • International Tax Planning

Career

Jorge is a Managing Partner of SMPS Legal, a multidisciplinary and international law firm committed to adding value through the services provided, and to serving clients in different jurisdictions in a comprehensive manner.

He is both a tax lawyer and a certified public accountant. His practice is focused on tax and business planning, including mergers and acquisitions, as well as corporate reorganizations with particular focus on permanent establishments and other tax-related international matters.

As head of the tax practices, Jorge has more than 33 years of experience representing national and multinational clients in local and international tax matters regarding cross-border operations, investments, and transactions. Additionally, he regularly provides clients with tax and business planning advice, including tax advice pertaining to mergers and acquisitions, as well as any corporate reorganization with particular focus on tax-related international matters.

Jorge also provides advice involving structuring and planning of tax-efficient structures, including the tax treatment of acquisitions and investments. Likewise, Jorge also represents clients before Mexican tax authorities in a broad range of national and international tax controversies as well as in litigation. Jorge has been advising several companies from different industries, such as retail, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, information technology (IT), real estate, developers, banking, among others, and has also extensive experience in structuring Private and Public Investment Funds, Real Estate Funds and Private Equity Funds.

Professional Memberships

He is a member of the Mexico’s Public Accountants School, the Mexican Institute of Public Accountants and the National Associations of Business Lawyers. He is also a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce, in Mexico City.

Publications

- Speaker at the IBA/ABA 15th Annual US and Latin America Tax Practice Trends Conference in Miami: “Workers (and Executives) Without Borders – Traps and Opportunities for Mobile Workforce.”

- Speaker at CANCHAM: “Miscellaneous Tax Resolution for 2024: Changes and Impacts.”

- Author of Mexico: an introduction to Tax: Non-Contentious in Chambers & Partners.

- Contributor to Corporate Tax 2024: Trends & Developments in Legal500.

Clients

Jorge has advised major national and multinational corporations, including companies in the retail, pharmaceutical, IT, and manufacturing sectors. His client work includes high- profile transactions and joint ventures involving industry leaders such as Grupo Axo, KIO Networks, Sanfer Farma, among others.

Work Highlights

- Advised Grupo Axo in Joint Venture with TJX Companies, Inc. to expand operations in Mexico.

- Advised Vidrio Formas, the second largest Mexican manufacturer of generic and exclusive glass containers, in its partial acquisition by BA Glass, a Portuguese glass packaging producer ranked 4th worldwide.

- Advised KIO in the acquisition of a data center operator Zetta in Colombia.

- Advised KIO Networks on increasing its share in local software-as-a-service (SaaS) company MasNegocio, becoming its sole owner.

- Advised Grupo Axo in the acquisition of Komax Chile and its subsidiaries in Peru

and Uruguay.

- Represented Grupo Axo in the acquisition of Old Navy Mexico from GAP.

- Advised Sanfer Farma in acquiring a majority stake in Mexican pharmaceutical company Probiomed.

Industry Sector Expertise

- Retail & Consumer Goods

- Pharmaceutical & Healthcare

- Technology & Telecommunications

- Real Estate & Hospitality

- Financial Services

- Manufacturing & Industrial

Languages Spoken

Spanish and English

Education

Awards