Carey counsels Masisa on assets sale

Chilean law firm Carey has acted as counsel to timber company Masisa on the sale of all the forestry assets owned by its subsidiary Masisa Forestal to Forestal Tregualemu, a company wholly owned by GFP Chile Timberland Holdings.

The transaction was valued at $350 million and Carey also advised on the on the private bidding, negotiation of the respective asset purchase agreement and completion of the conditions for closing the deal, including the mandatory approval from Masisa’s shareholders.

The transaction also included a long-term supply contract between Forestal Tregualemu and Masisa for the supply of timber products for the latter’s industrial operations.

The M&A was the largest transaction in Chile since October 2019, according to the law firm.

“It was carried out in an extremely challenging context due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The process started under the form of an international bid, in which several companies and funds submitted very competitive bids,” the law firm said.

“The negotiations among the parties took several months and comprised not only contracts typically included in M&A transactions but also others which are highly technical from the forestry industry standpoint. This implied the need for collaborative work among the executives of the company, the lawyers, financial advisors and forestry experts,” it added.

Carey deployed a large team as counsel, led by partners Francisco Ugarte and Jorge Ugarte (pictured), with counsel Francisco Corona and associates Alejandra Daroch, Pamela Morales, Maximiliano Urrutia, Manuel José Barros, Izaskun Linazasoro, Patricia Rivas, Pablo Torrealba, and Alicia Corbo. 

Antitrust partner Lorena Pavic and associate José Pardo, and tax partner Jessica Power were also involved in the transaction.