Dealmakers of the Year:
Equities: Manuel Garciadiaz, Davis Polk & Wardwell
The only time his partners can count on catching Manuel Garciadiaz at his office in New York is during the four days before Lent. That's Carnival, and he says it's the only time he can be sure his Brazilian clients aren't working.
Otherwise, Garciadiaz, 38, heads to Brazil nearly once a week, lured by the country's booming economy. Last year Garciadiaz -- who says he'd rather endure the commute than leave New York -- worked on 30 Brazilian initial public offerings, two of which were also listed in the United States. The biggest was that of sugar and ethanol producer Cosan Limited, which went public in August with a $1.2 billion offering on the New York Stock Exchange and São Paulo Stock Exchange. It was the year's sixth-largest IPO.
Cosan was a 71-year-old family business. Taking it public required a corporate restructuring, including creation of a class of supervoting shares, a new concept in Brazil. To receive necessary approvals, Garciadiaz had to make sure Brazilian regulators were up to speed on U.S. securities laws. The process took almost a year.
A native of Puerto Rico, Garciadiaz says his focus on Brazilian capital markets began in earnest after he made partner in 2005. But his educational background includes two master's degrees related to Brazilian trade and finance, and -- fortuitously -- undergraduate coursework in Portuguese, Brazil's official language. "It worked out pretty well for me," Garciadiaz says. "There are not many U.S. lawyers who are fluent in Portuguese." Foreign language teachers, take heart.
DEAL IN BRIEF
Cosan IPO
Value: $1.2 billion
Exchange: NYSE; São Paulo
Issuer's Counsel: Davis Polk & Wardwell; Appleby; Souza Cescon Avedissian Barrieu e Flesh
Underwriter's Counsel: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga
Source: Thomson Financial
