Beccar Varela and Covington & Burling advise on the sale of the 49% of Prisma Medios de Pago to Advent.
Buenos Aires, March 30th, 2022. After exercising a sale option on October 1st, 2021, and following a negotiation process, fourteen of the most important banks in Argentina (Banco Santander Río S.A., Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires S.A.U., Banco BBVA Argentina S.A., Banco Macro S.A., Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, HSBC Bank Argentina S.A., Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Argentina) S.A.U., Banco Patagonia S.A., Nuevo Banco de Santa Fe S.A., Banco Itaú Argentina S.A., Banco Comafi S.A., Banco de la Nación Argentina, Banco Credicoop Coop. Ltdo. and Branch of Citibank N.A. established in the Argentine Republic) together with Visa Internacional sold the remaining 49% stake in Prisma Medios de Pago S.A. to Advent International last March 18th. Prisma is the leading company in electronic payment methods in Argentina, the licensee of the VISA brand, and the owner of Banelco, Payway, Todo Pago, LaPos, and Pago mis Cuentas.
Beccar Varela and Covington & Burling LLP acted as deal counsel for the sellers, while Cravath, Swaine & Moore advised on dispute resolution matters. Baker McKenzie advised the buyer.
The sale price was approximately US$360 million, financed over a six-year term, with instruments subject to the New York Law and guarantees for the financed price governed by the Argentine law.
The acquisition was completed within the framework of the divestment agreement entered into with the Federal Competition Authority. With this acquisition, Advent completed the purchase of the 100% stake in Prisma.
This acquisition constitutes a milestone for having successfully concluded the divestment started in 2019 and being one of the most important deals in Argentina in recent years.
Legal counsel to sellers
In Argentina
Beccar Varela: partners Roberto H. Crouzel, María Shakespear, María Benson, Carolina Serra (M&A), Agustín Waisman (Competition), Pablo J. Torretta (FX and financing regulation), and Santiago L. Montezanti (Tax law), and associates Valeria Kemerer, Delfina Carregal, Agustina Saporiti, Francisco Grosso and Marina Alvarado.
In the USA
Covington & Burling LLP: Sergio Urias, Thomas Lopez, Brent Little, and Nicole Duclos.
Prisma Medios de Pago: Juan Cruz Alvarez and Eliana Tylkovitch.
Legal counsel to the buyer, Advent International Corporation
In Argentina
Baker McKenzie (Buenos Aires): partners Vanina Caniza, Gabriel Gómez-Giglio, Francisco Fernández-Rostello, and Geraldine Mirelman, and associates Rocío Rojas Iglesias and Candelaria Munilla.
In the USA
Baker McKenzie (New York and Chicago): partner Alan Zoccolillo.