Author: pmalaw

Oreste R. Ramos becomes President Elect of PR Chapter of FBA and Fellow of the Foundation of the FBA

Litigation Partner Oreste R. Ramos was recently elected as President-Elect for the 2011-2012 term of the Hon. Raymond L. Acosta Puerto Rico Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. The Puerto Rico Chapter is the Fourth Largest in the Nation. He will be holding the position of President of the Chapter during the 2012-2013 Term. Mr. Ramos was also recently nominated as a Fellow of the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association. The Foundation is a non-profit, Congressionally-chartered organization. Its mission is to promote and support legal research and education; advance the science of jurisprudence; facilitate the administration of justice; and foster improvements in the practice of federal law.

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PMA counsel to PR PPP Authority in largest public private partnership to date in Puerto Rico

PMA acted as counsel to the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority in connection with the procurement and award of the largest public private partnership established to date in Puerto Rico, involving the concession of the PR-22 and PR-5 Toll Roads. The group of Abertis Infraestructuras and Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners II, L.P. was selected as the preferred bidder with a bid of $1.080 billion. The concession agreement was executed on June 27, 2011 and the transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2011. Partners Manuel R. Pietrantoni, Javier D. Ferrer and Manuel Rodriguez handled this matter.

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PMA successfully represents UPR in Court of Appeals

In Irizarry Mora v. University of Puerto Rico, CA1-09-2314: Successfully represented the University of Puerto Rico on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for First Circuit which affirmed a U.S. District Court (“USDC”) ruling that the university is immune from suit in federal court under the doctrine of sovereign immunity of the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Partner Oreste R. Ramos argued the case on behalf of the University during the oral argument hearing.

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PMA acted as counsel to Popular, Inc. and Popular North America, Inc. in the restructuring of $233.2

PMA acted as counsel to Popular, Inc. (“Popular”), the leading banking institution by both assets and deposits in Puerto Rico, and its subsidiary Popular North America, Inc. (“PNA”), in the restructuring of the terms of $233.2 million of senior notes of PNA, guaranteed by Popular, that were originally issued in 2007 to various institutional investors. The restructuring, which was completed in June 2011, was handled by partners Eduardo J. Arias and Antonio J. Santos.

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PMA acted as underwriters and Puerto Rico special tax counsel in connection with the $112.6 million

PMA acted as underwriters and Puerto Rico special tax counsel in connection with the $112.6 million Hospital Revenue and Refunding Bonds, Series 2011A and B issued on July 7, 2011 by the Puerto Rico, Industrial, Tourist, Educational, Medical and Environmental Control Facilities Financing Authority. The Authority loaned the proceeds of the bonds to the Hospital Auxilio Mutuo Obligated Group, which operates one of the largest private tertiary care hospitals in Puerto Rico. The underwriting group was lead by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and included FirstBank Puerto Rico Securities Corp. and Popular Securities, Inc. Partners Javier D. Ferrer and Manuel Rodríguez handled this matter.

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PMA Represents Triple-S Management Corporation in $83 Million Stock Acquisition of American Health

PMA advised Triple-S Management Corporation (Triple-S) and its managed care subsidiary Triple-S Salud, Inc. in their $83 million all-cash acquisition of all the outstanding capital stock of Socios Mayores en Salud Holdings, Inc. (“SMSH”), the parent company of American Health, Inc., a provider of Medicare Advantage services to over 40,000 dual and non-dual eligible members in Puerto Rico. Partners Javier D. Ferrer and Manuel Rodríguez Boissen handled this matter. The transaction, which positioned Triple-S for continued growth in the Medicare Advantage segment, was structured as a reverse triangular merger and closed on February 2011. Triple-S is the leading managed care company in Puerto Rico and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, holding the exclusive rights to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield name and trademark in Puerto Rico. With approximately 1,000,000 customers, it reaches 30% of Puerto Rico’s population.

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PMA Acts as Underwriters and Special Tax Counsel in $112.6 Million Bond Issue

PMA acted as underwriters and Puerto Rico special tax counsel in connection with the $112.6 million Hospital Revenue and Refunding Bonds, Series 2011A and B issued on July 7, 2011 by the Puerto Rico, Industrial, Tourist, Educational, Medical and Environmental Control Facilities Financing Authority. The Authority loaned the proceeds of the bonds to the Hospital Auxilio Mutuo Obligated Group, which operates one of the largest private tertiary care hospitals in Puerto Rico. The underwriting group was lead by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and included FirstBank Puerto Rico Securities Corp. and Popular Securities, Inc. Partners Javier D. Ferrer and Manuel Rodríguez Boissen handled this matter.

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PMA represents Banco Santander Puerto Rico in $242 Million Secured Credit Facility for SIFC

PMA partners Javier D. Ferrer and Antonio R. Molina represented Banco Santander Puerto Rico as lead lender and administrative agent in connection with the $242 million senior secured credit facility for the State Insurance Fund Corporation, a public corporation and government instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the first such loan from the private sector ever made to the public corporation in May 2011. The State Insurance Fund is the sole entity authorized by law to provide workmen’s compensation insurance in Puerto Rico.

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