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Struggling Brazilian sugar and ethanol group Santelisa Vale has secured a takeover by Swiss agricultural conglomerate Louis Dreyfus Commodities.

Demarest e Almeida Advogados is advising Louis Dreyfus in the deal, which was agreed on 16 April, while Santelisa Vale's various shareholders are taking counsel from Pinheiro Neto Advogados, Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados and Wald e Associados Advogados.

Pinheiro Neto partner Fernando Meira explains: "It is no secret Santelisa Vale has been in severe financial distress. We were able to enter into a debt restructuring agreement with the company's main creditors, a condition of which was to find a new controlling shareholder, chosen via a bidding process."

The deal will see Santelisa Vale merge with Louis Dreyfus's Brazilian subsidiary LDC Bioenergia, creating the country's second-largest sugar and ethanol producer after Cosan.

Santelisa Vale was formed in 2007 when the Santa Elisa company, owned by the Biagi family, acquired rival Vale do Rosario, owned by the Junqueiras. Pinheiro Neto and Wald e Associados represented the two families in the earlier deal and in Goldman Sachs' subsequent purchase of a 17 per cent stake in the new company.

The company's debts are estimated at US$1.4 billion.

Counsel to Louis Dreyfus Commodities
In-house counsel - Fernando Moraes
Demarest e Almeida Advogados
Partners Rogério Cruz Themudo Lessa, Paulo Frank Coelho da Rocha, Priscila Sartori Pacheco e Silva, Juliana Bonazza Teixeira da Cunha, and João Luis Ribeiro de Almeida

Counsel to the Biagi family
Pinheiro Neto Advogados
Partners Álvaro Martins dos Santos and Fernando Alves Meira

Counsel to Goldman Sachs
Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr e Quiroga Advogados
Partners José Eduardo Carneiro Queiroz and Pedro Whitaker de Souza Dias and associates Luciana Pietro Lorenzo and Manoela de Barros Pimentel Penteado

Counsel to the Junqueira family
Wald e Associados Advogados
Partners Vamilson José Costa and Ivo Waisberg and associates Leandro Amorim Fonseca and Daniel Romaguera Louro

Fonte: Latin Lawyer