Zygmunt Brett

Partner

“Zygmunt Brett is one of the most experienced M&A lawyers in the Central American market.”

Client quoted by The Legal 500

Profile

Zygmunt Brett, Partner at BLP in El Salvador, specializes in Business Law, with a focus on Mergers and Acquisitions, Banking & Finance, Capital Markets, Competition & Antitrust, and Energy & Infrastructure. He advises local and international companies across various sectors, domestically and internationally. Zygmunt has been professionally recognized for his expertise in financing and capital markets in Central America, North America, and the Caribbean. He has also been acknowledged by Chambers and Partners, Latin Lawyer, Who’s Who Legal, and IFLR 1000. He joined BLP in 2020.

  • Banking & Finance

  • Business Law
  • Energy & Infrastructure
  • Competition & Antitrust

  • Recognized in Corporate/M&A practice by Chambers & Partners

  • Listed as Leading Lawyer by The Legal 500
  • Recognized as Market Leader by IFLR1000

Education 

  • Juris Doctor Degree from the Universidad de Salamanca, Spain.

  • Master in Laws (LLM), International Business, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada.
  • Master in Business Administration (MBA) with honors, INCAE Business School.
  • Executive Program on Management (MPL), Yale University.
  • Program of Negotiation for Lawyers (PIL) at Harvard Law School.

Languages  

  • Spanish  
  • English  
  • French

  • International Bar Association (IBA)

  • Chamber of Commerce, El Salvador: Arbitrator
  • International Section in the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA): Chapter Chair (El Salvador).
  • Inter-American Bar Association (IABA): Senior Member
  • Salvadoran Association of Banking Law (ASDEBAN): Founding Member

  • Avianca financial restructuring process.

    BLP advised Latin American airline Avianca during the restructuring process to obtain short-term financing and eliminate more than $1 billion of liabilities. In October 2021, the airline received court approval for its restructuring plan in New York. The transaction was Latin Finance’s Deal of the Year.

  • Restructuring Phoenix Tower loans in Guatemala and El Salvador. BLP advised Scotiabank, which acted as the lead arranger and broker of the transaction, leading a syndicate of banks that restructured the loan agreements. The borrower re-arranged several loans through the deal, placing loans borrowed by Phoenix Tower’s U.S., Spanish, and Chilean subsidiaries into the same debt structure. The portfolio now includes a $1.4 billion credit line, a $540 million delayed draw term loan, and a $56 million revolving credit facility. The transaction won the 17th annual Deal of the Year Award in the banking and finance category by Latin Lawyer. 
  • Syndicated loan of $700 million. BLP has advised a roster of 15 first line creditors, such as Bancolombia Group, Davivienda Group, BAC Group, Aval Group, Banco Industrial Group and Banco General on a syndicated loan for up to $700 million, to the Calleja Group, the leading grocery retailer in El Salvador. 
  • Grupo Unicomer on a syndicated loan for US$350 million. BLP advice on a $350 million loan transaction granted to Grupo Unicomer by a pool of syndicated banks, where several subsidiaries of Unicomer in LATAM and the Caribbean have acted as guarantors. Our legal guidance spanned the entire process, from negotiations to signing the credit agreement, and included the preparation and execution of creative local documentation, such as local acknowledgments, security trusts, and promissory notes. 
  • First repurchase of bonds made by the government of El Salvador. BLP acted as legal counsel to Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. as dealer manager on tender offers made by the Republic of El Salvador to repurchase sovereign bonds due in 2023 and 2025 for an aggregate of up to $360 million in the first round, and up to $74 million in the second round.  
  • Syndicated loan to AES in El Salvador. BLP has advised Banca de Inversión Bancolombia S.A., Banco Agrícola, S.A., and other local and foreign banks on a syndicated loan for up to $348 million to the AES group. 
  • Granting of a loan for $10 million. BLP has advised World Business Capital (WBC) on granting a loan to MULTI INVERSIONES BANCO COOPERATIVO DE LOS TRABAJADORES, S.C. DE R.L. DE C.V. (Mi Banco) for $10,000,000, backed by the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC).   
  • First issuance of Sustainability Bonds in El Salvador. BLP acted as legal advisor to IDB Invest in El Salvador. IDB purchased the entire first tranche of $20 million out of a $100 million five-year sustainability bond issuance program representing the first thematic bond in El Salvador’s history.