Paul Hastings Represents Initial Purchasers in FibraHotel's $330M International Offering

June 05, 2013

New York, NY – Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global law firm, recently represented Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan as initial purchasers in connection with FibraHotel’s $330 million international follow-on equity offering.

FibraHotel was the first lodging and first sector-specific Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in Latin America and was among the first Mexican REITS to be utilized in the wake of a comprehensive legal overhaul in Mexico that created the equivalent of the U.S. REIT. This newly created investment vehicle called the FIBRA provides a transparent and liquid vehicle to allow international investors to own and trade real estate in Mexico in a tax efficient manner. The REIT vehicle is being studied by other emerging market countries and could quickly become one of the most important asset classes for investors interested in international real estate.

The six-times oversubscribed offering involved the issuance of approximately US$330 million in FibraHotel’s stock publicly on the Mexican Stock Exchange and internationally pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S. Approximately $10 billion of equity securities have been placed by Mexican REITS.

Our lawyers also represented the underwriters in FibraHotel’s successful IPO in 2012. That transaction transformed the Mexican lodging industry, as it represented the first use of the FIBRA investment vehicle in the Mexican lodging sector and has served as a model for other companies seeking to create hotel-focused FIBRAs. Our lawyers, having worked on the majority of the FIBRAs closed so far, and using their strong real estate and Latin American franchises, are currently working on several other FIBRA transactions, and the pipeline of FIBRAs, some in the billion-plus range, is ever increasing in response to the elevated investor interest in this new and novel asset class.

Latin America practice partners Mike Fitzgerald and Arturo Carrillo led the Paul Hastings team, which also included associate Emily Winston and foreign associate Alfonso Monroy.

Paul Hastings is a leading global law firm with offices in Asia, Europe, and the United States. We provide innovative legal solutions to financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies. Please visit www.paulhastings.com for more information.