Verónica Franco

Corporate and Commercial, M&A, Competition Law, International Capital Markets, Project Finance and Foreign Investment.

Veronica Franco is a partner at the Paraguay office in Asunción and specializes in complex corporate and financial transactions. She also leads the competition practice of FERRERE with vast experience in merger control proceedings submitted before the competition authority in Paraguay.

In the corporate and financial area, she has been principally involved in matters related to mergers and acquisitions, foreign investment and the launching of new products, project finance, joint ventures, commercial and distribution agreements, bilateral and syndicated loans, as well as securities issuance in the local and international capital markets. Verónica advised financial institutions such as Citibank N.A., Bank of America, JP Morgan y Credit Suisse as well as corporations such as Andritz, Syngenta, Saint Gobain, and Darling Ingredients.

In the competition area, Veronica has represented major economic groups in merger control proceedings before the competition. Veronica also regularly advises clients on matters related to anticompetitive practices and abuse of dominant position in a wide range of markets.

Veronica is admitted to practice law in Paraguay and in the State of New York. Between 2015 and 2017 she was an international lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where she had substantial exposure to high-profile cross-border corporate and financial transactions across Latin America.

- International Bar Association (IBA)

- Paraguayan Bar Association

- New York State Bar Association (NYSBA)

She recently participated in the following deals:

- Camil Alimentos S.A. on the acquisition of control over Villa Oliva Rice S.A., one of Paraguay’s main rice producers, in a multi-layered transaction that also included approximately 18,000 hectares of rice plantations and industrial facilities. The deal involved complex corporate, tax, financing, and regulatory aspects and was followed by a comprehensive corporate reorganization aligned with Camil’s regional expansion strategy.

- Advised JBS S.A. on the acquisition, through its subsidiary Seara Alimentos Ltda., of a 90% equity interest in Granjeros Campo 9 S.A., one of Paraguay’s leading poultry producers. The transaction represented one of the most significant recent investments in Paraguay’s poultry sector and involved complex corporate, tax, regulatory, and merger control aspects.

- Interfisa Banco S.A.E.C.A. on the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Río Seguros S.A. The transaction marked Interfisa Banco’s entry into the insurance sector and introduced a new competitive player in the Paraguayan market.

Columbia Law School

LL.M.

2015

National University of Asunción (Paraguay)

Attorney