Bruchou, Fernández Madero & Lombardi, Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados and Clifford Chance LLP have advised HSBC in the sale of its Argentine insurance operations to Australia’s QBE Holdings (Americas).

Allende & Brea provided counsel to QBE Holdings for the transaction, which was agreed on 7 March and forms part of HSBC’s US$1.2 billion asset sale in Argentina, Mexico, Singapore and Hong Kong. QBE is purchasing business units in Argentina and Hong Kong for US$784 million, while French insurer AXA insurance group is acquiring assets in Mexico, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The closing of the Argentine leg, which sees QBE pick up 99.73 per cent of capital stock in HSBC La Buenos Aires Seguros, is subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, as well as approval from the national insurance superintendence.

Clifford Chance was brought on board to provide global assessment for the deal, with Machado Meyer working on regional assessment.

HSBC will continue to operate in Argentina through its life insurance and annuities business units.

QBE has had operations in Argentina since 2001, and is a long term client of Allende & Brea.

HSBC has recently sold off assets in several other Latin American countries. In January, the bank sold US$801 million worth of assets in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras to Banco Davivienda. A raft of firms were brought on board for the deal, with the UK′s Addleshaw Goddard LLP, US firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, Costa Rica′s Consortium - Centro America Abogados, El Salvador′s Consortium - Centro America Abogados office in El Salvador, Honduras′ Consortium Centro America Abogados - Honduras, Panama′s Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega and Dudley & Asociados advising Banco Davivienda, and Linklaters, Arias & Muñoz (Costa Rica), Arias & Muñoz (El Salvador) and López Rodezno & Asociados in Honduras, Berdeja Abogados SC in Mexico, Panama′s Morgan & Morgan and Brazil′s Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados working with HSBC.

In October last year, HSBC worked with its in-house counsel to sell its retail banking business in Chile to Banco Itaú, which turned to Claro y Cía.

Counsel to HSBC

In-house counsel - Miguel Estevez

Clifford Chance LLP

Partners Timothy Page and Lee Taylor, and associates Mark Hultum, Derek Hung, Rebecca Goldie and Hugo Laing in London and Hong Kong

Argentina

Bruchou, Fernández Madero & Lombardi

Partners Hugo Bruzone and Matías Olivero Vila, and associates Matías López Figueroa, Leandro Caputo, Jorge Garnier, Juan Manuel Chiesa, Francisco Lanusse, Santiago Oscar Zebel and Martín Calatrava

Brazil

Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados

Partners Eduardo Avila de Castro and Camila Borba Lefevre, and associates Pedro Corbucci Caldeira Nasi and Thais de Gobbi

Counsel to QBE Holdings

In-house counsel - Narda Zuñiga

Argentina

Allende & Brea

Partner Pablo Louge and associate Eugenia Cyngiser

(Latin Lawyer 09.03.2012)

(Notícia na Íntegra)