Norberto E. Quintana

+1.305.789.7473

Overview

Norberto E. Quintana is a financial transactions attorney in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., and New York City offices, and a member of the firm's Financial Services Team. Mr. Quintana represents a wide range of lenders, corporate borrowers, project sponsors and developers and private equity sponsors in cross-border and domestic financing transactions.

Mr. Quintana has worked on infrastructure, oil and gas and energy cross-border project financings. Five of his Latin American infrastructure project financings received "Deal of the Year" designation for the years of their respective financial closings. Mr. Quintana also advises private equity and venture capital funds in subscription line, other partnership and SPV financings and portfolio company financings.

Mr. Quintana has advised lenders, borrowers and equity holders in complex debt restructurings. He has a substantial background in corporate, leveraged, project and structured financings in the bank loan and capital markets. In addition, he regularly advises clients on U.S. secondary loan trading matters.

In Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers 2018 guide, Mr. Quintana was recognized for Latin America Investment. One client appraisal called him "cutting-edge, efficient and client-focused, with great commercial sense. He really has his finger on the pulse in various Latin American jurisdictions."

Not yet admitted to District of Columbia Bar; admitted to Florida and New York Bars only and practicing under supervision of lawyers licensed to practice in the District of Columbia.

Representative Experience

Represented Buenavista Renewables, a Texas-based renewable energy developer, in a cross-border $30 million refinancing of a solar park project located in Chihuahua, Mexico
Advised Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), Colombia's infrastructure development bank, as credit enhancement provider in connection with financing for the Costera Cartagena-Barranquilla project, part of Colombia's fourth-generation (4G) road infrastructure plan. The final structure, arranged by Goldman Sachs & Co., comprised five tranches of secured debt worth a total of $1.45 billion, including two series of international project bonds.
Represented Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), Colombia's infrastructure development bank, as liquidity facility lender in the financing for the construction, rehabilitation, improvement, operation and maintenance of the Perimetral Oriental de Bogota project, a perimeter road corridor in Eastern Cundinamarca that is part of Colombia's 4G road infrastructure plan. (The debt financing package includes a $156 million senior credit facility, a senior credit facility worth 870 billion Colombian pesos and a credit enhancement senior subordinated liquidity facility worth 45 billion Colombian pesos.)
Advised Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), Colombia's infrastructure development bank, as credit enhancement provider in connection with the $850 million hybrid toll road project financing for Pacífico Tres, a concession of Colombia's 4G toll road project. This was the first 4G financing to close, the first credit enhancement transaction for FDN and one of the first international project bonds in Colombia. The final structure, arranged by Goldman Sachs & Co., includes seven tranches of senior secured debt. LatinFinance named this deal "Best Road Financing" and "Best Infrastructure Financing" for the Andes Region in 2016 and recognized Holland & Knight for its work.
Advised Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional (FDN), Colombia's infrastructure development bank, in connection with the Conexión Norte project financing, part of Colombia's 4G road infrastructure plan. Autopistas del Nordeste, the concessionaire of the project, received financing in the form of two tranches, including a $250 million credit line from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Korea Development Bank, Banco de Crédito del Perú and Instituto de Crédito Oficial. FDN, Banco Davivienda and Bancolombia provided $520 billion Colombian pesos in the second tranche, with FDN providing an additional liquidity facility worth 80 billion Colombian pesos. The Conexión Norte project involves the new construction of 58 kilometers (about 36 miles) and improvement of 82 kilometers of road between the municipalities of Remedios, Zaragoza and Caucasia in Colombia's Department of Antioquia.
Advised Línea Amarilla S.A.C. on a $885 million hybrid toll road project financing, comprising a commercial loan and debt capital market tranches (Latin America Project Finance Deal of the Year)
Represented Morgan Stanley, as initial purchaser, in a $162 million project financing in the capital markets for the construction and operation of Autopistas del Nordeste, a toll road in the Dominican Republic, partially guaranteed by the Multilateral Investment Guaranty Agency (MIGA)
Represented Morgan Stanley, as initial purchaser, in a $213 million project financing in the capital markets for the construction and operation of the IIRSA Norte toll road, the first project to close in Peru backed by government payment certificates known as CRPAOs (Latin America Project Finance Deal of the Year)
Represented sponsor in connection with project financing provided by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and North American Development Bank (NADB) for a photovoltaic (PV) project in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico
Represented Morgan Stanley, as lead arranger and administrative agent, in a $225 million, second-lien credit facility financing the construction of offshore oil rigs.
Represented an Argentinean fertilizer company in the restructuring of its $230 million project-related debt.
Advised lenders through the completion phase of a heavy crude oil extraction project in Venezuela.
Represented the lead arranger in a syndicated loan transaction to partially finance Actividades de Construccion y Servicios' (ACS) equity investment in I-595 Express LLC, the concessionaire from the Florida Department of Transportation on the I-595 Express Corridor Improvements Project in Broward County, Florida
Represented the administrative agent and the initial lenders in a loan transaction to partially finance JGC Corporation’s equity investment in an Eagle Ford Shale oil project
Represented a letter of credit provider in connection with a carbon emission reduction credit purchase transaction under the World Bank Umbrella Carbon Facility.
Advised a Central American utility company in connection with the negotiation of the terms for the financing of a thermoelectric project
Advising sponsor in connection with a power transmission greenfield project in Peru
Advising lender in connection with a 4G infrastructure project in Colombia

Represented Stoneway Group/Araucaria Energy, an energy sponsor operating in Argentina, as issuer in connection with its $500 million Rule 144A/Regulation S project bond offering. The deal, one of the first greenfield power generation project bonds issued out of Argentina in more than 25 years, was underwritten by Jefferies and Seaport Global. In addition to the project bond itself, the transaction also included a related $115 million loan transaction from Siemens Finance to finance equity in the structure (Siemens is the EPC contractor on the four projects being financed), as well as an additional equity investment by energy developer SoEnergy.
Represented the joint lead arrangers and the administrative agent of a $340 million unsecured revolving credit facility for Compañía de Petróleos de Chile (COPEC), a market leader in the distribution of fuels and lubricants
Represented the arranger in a $250 million financing of an acquisition by Organización Terpel S.A. of the gas distribution business of Repsol YPF in Chile
Represented a U.S.-based private equity sponsor in connection with the financing of the acquisition of a Texas gas midstream company
Represented YPF S.A. in connection with pre-export financing facilities
Represented San Antonio Internacional, an oil field services provider with operations throughout the Americas, in connection with the restructuring of several credit facilities

Advised JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association as administrative agent and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as arranger of the financing in connection with Cencosud S.A.’s $2.5 billion acquisition of the Colombian operations of Carrefour S.A.
Represented joint lead arrangers and administrative agents in several facilities for Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B. de C.V., including the $2.3 billion in financing for the acquisition of Weston Foods (2009), more than $3.5 billion in refinancing facilities (2011) and a 65 million euro-denominated facility (2011)
Represented the administrative agent and the joint lead arrangers of a $400 million syndicated term loan facility for Banistmo S.A.
Represented Itau Unibanco, as sole lead arranger, in a $200 million syndicated credit facility for Inversiones Centenario S.A., a Peruvian real estate operator
Represented Grupo Rovira, a master franchisee of quick service restaurants in Mexico and Latin America, in its corporate restructuring and the refinancing of its existing indebtedness with a $170 million syndicated dual currency (U.S. dollars and Mexican pesos) credit facility arranged by Citibank, N.A.
Advised Deutsche Bank on bilateral loan, participation agreement and structuring generally in back to back loan underlying the $350 million inaugural bond issuance by Guatemalan cement producer Cementos Progreso
Represented the joint lead arrangers and the administrative agent of a $400 million unsecured term loan and a $200 million unsecured revolving credit facility for Inversiones CMPC, a Chilean paper products company, guaranteed by its parent company, Empresas
Represented Banco Santander Chile as lender in bridge financing to Air Products & Chemicals Inc. for acquisition of controlling interest in Indura S.A
Represented the arranger in a $300 million financing of an acquisition by Almacenes Exito S.A. of shares of the competing retailer Carulla Vivero
Advised the joint lead arrangers and the administrative agent in connection with a $150 million credit facility for the North American subsidiaries of Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A.
Advised Telefónica Móviles Chile, one of the largest mobile telephone operators in Chile, in connection with a $70 million unsecured term loan facility

Represented Banco Santander S.A. in connection with the financing provided to Grupo Odinsa of Colombia for a portion of the purchase price for the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Quiport, the concessionaire of Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito, Ecuador
Represented Morgan Stanley, as lead arranger, in a $340 million secured dividend recapitalization financing to a U.S. technology company
Represented lenders in a $1.2 billion nonrecourse financing of the acquisition by a Dubai World subsidiary of a block of shares of gaming and hotel operator MGM Mirage
Represented a private equity fund in the financing for an acquisition of a U.S. midstream gas project
Represented several U.S. private equity and real estate funds in partnership financings secured by investor commitments

Credentials

Education

The University of Chicago Law School, J.D., with honors
The University of Chicago Law School, LL.M.
Universidad Católica Argentina, J.D.

Bar Admissions/Licenses

Florida
New York

Memberships

American Bar Association

Honors & Awards

The Best Lawyers in America guide, Banking and Finance Law, 2020-2025
The Best Lawyers in America guide, Miami Banking and Finance Law Lawyer of the Year, 2025
Chambers Global – The World's Leading Lawyers for Business guide, Banking & Finance: Latin America-wide (Experts Based Abroad), 2014-2025; Project Finance: Latin America-wide (Experts Based Abroad), 2021-2025; Banking & Finance: USA (Foreign Expert), 2014-2018, 2023-2025
Chambers Latin America – Latin America's Leading Lawyers for Business guide, Latin America-wide Banking & Finance, 2014-2025
Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers guide, Latin American Investment, 2018; Energy & Natural Resources, 2021, 2022
IFLR1000, The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms, Leading Lawyer, Rising Star, Banking, 2015-2018; Highly Regarded, Banking, 2019-2021, 2023
Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2021
The Legal 500 Latin America, Banking and Finance, 2016-2019; Capital Markets, 2017-2019; Projects and Infrastructure, 2019; Projects and Energy, 2019
Best Road Financing, Project & Infrastructure Awards, LatinFinance, 2016, 2017
Best Local Currency Finance, Project & Infrastructure Awards, LatinFinance, 2017
Best Infrastructure Financing for the Andes Region, Project & Infrastructure Awards, LatinFinance, 2016
Deal of the Year, Project Finance, Latin Lawyer, 2016
Most Effective Lawyer Winner, International, Daily Business Review, 2016
Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers, Legal Media Group's Expert Guides, Rising Star, 2015
Latin America's Rising Legal Star, Latinvex, 2015
Order of the Coif, University of Chicago, 2003

Spoken Languages

English
Portuguese
Spanish

Publications

Argentina Announces Preliminary Highway P3 Bidding Guidelines

Holland & Knight Alert

December 12, 2017

2 Minutes

Acquisition Finance 2015 - Introduction

Latin Lawyer

2015

Partner

Norberto E. Quintana

Partner

Overview

Representative Experience

Credentials

Publications

Argentina Announces Preliminary Highway P3 Bidding Guidelines

Acquisition Finance 2015 - Introduction

Speaking Engagements

Beyond Borders: Exploring Emerging Markets for U.S. Businesses

Project Finance

2019 World Strategic Forum

News

Holland & Knight International Practices and Lawyers Recognized by Chambers Global

Holland & Knight International Practices and Lawyers Recognized by Chambers Global

Holland & Knight Represents Grupo Energía Bogotá on $509 Million Syndicated Loan

Holland & Knight's Latin America Practice Named "Highly Recommended" by Latin Lawyer 250

Holland & Knight Advises on Landmark Financing for Colombia's Rumichaca-Pasto Toll Road

Chambers Latin America Recognizes 12 Holland & Knight Attorneys in 2022 Guide