After years of challenging discussions, four U.S. law firms, alongside over a dozen Brazilian firms, have successfully negotiated a cross-border restructuring of approximately $4.8 billion in debt, owed by Samarco Mineração, a Brazilian mining company. Law.com reported.
Davis Polk & Wardwell’s partners based in London, New York, and São Paulo played a crucial role in orchestrating this restructuring, representing the ad hoc group of creditors in collaboration with Brazilian firms Padis Mattar Advogados, Ferro, Castro Neves, Daltro & Gomide Advogados, and Resende Ribeiro e Reis Advogados.
This extensive legal endeavor came about in the aftermath of a disastrous tailings dam collapse in 2015, which required the assistance of numerous prominent law firms. These included Cleary Gottlieb, Davis Polk, Sullivan & Cromwell, Norton Rose, alongside several Brazilian firms, all working to steady the joint venture between Vale of Brazil and BHP.