Maria De Bedout
Associate
Maria De Bedout
212.513.3491
Overview
Maria De Bedout is an attorney in Holland & Knight's New York office and a member of the firm's Financial Services Team. Ms. De Bedout focuses her practice on cross-border financing and capital markets transactions, with an emphasis in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ms. De Bedout advises lenders, corporate borrowers, project sponsors, developers and private equity sponsors in a wide range of cross-border and domestic financings, including syndicated lending, acquisition financing, project and structured financings. In addition, she has substantial experience advising sponsors and developers in the preparation of documentation related to ongoing development projects.
Also, Ms. De Bedout advises on a variety of debt, equity and project bonds transactions by issuers in the financial services, energy, transportation and infrastructure sectors. She regularly advises underwriters and issuers in connection with securities offerings sold pursuant to Rule 144A and/or Regulation S.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. De Bedout worked at a New York law firm, where she participated in domestic infrastructure financings and syndicated cross-border loans. She also previously practiced in Colombia for a leading law firm, where she participated in several of the country's milestone infrastructure financings. Many of the transactions she worked on received "Deals of the Year" designation in their respective categories.
Representative Experience
- Advised Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos S.A. (AySA), as issuer, on its offer to exchange any and all of its US$500 million 6.625 percent Senior Notes due 2023 for newly issued 7.900 percent Senior Notes due 2026 cash, as well as the consent solicitation to eliminate certain events of default under the indenture governing the Existing Notes
- Advised BofA Securities Inc. and BCP Securities Inc., as dealer managers, on the successful exchange offer for the 9.75 percent senior notes due 2022 of Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (Edenor), the largest electricity distribution company in Argentina; the debt refinanced was allocated in accordance with social bond guidelines
- Advised the Argentine Province of Jujuy in the restructuring of $210 million in foreign debt through a solicitation of consents to amend its 8.625 percent notes due 2022; bondholders representing approximately 92.45 percent of the principal amount of the notes outstanding delivered their consents, which allowed the application of the collective action clauses in the indenture to modify all notes
- Advised Fibra UNO on its international offering of US$300 million in senior notes; the issuance included the reopening of up to US$300 million at 5.250 percent yield to maturity, due in 2026, issued in accordance with Rule 144A and Regulation S
- Advised Fibra UNO on its international offering of US$650 million in senior notes; the issuance includes the reopening of up to US$375 million at 4.950 percent yield to maturity, due in 2030, and US$275 million at 6.250 percent yield to maturity, due in 2050; both were issued in accordance with Rule 144A and Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933
- Advised Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (Bladex), a multinational bank, in the offer and sale of US$400 million of 2.375 percent senior notes due in 2025 under Bladex's Euro Medium Term Note Program; the notes were issued to investors in the U.S. pursuant to Rule 144A and investors outside the U.S. pursuant to Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933; the notes are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and admitted for trade on the Euro MTF
- Advised the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB Invest), a multilateral investment bank, as lender of a loan for up to $100 million to ENSA Grupo EPM (Elektra Noreste S.A.), an energy distribution company in the northeast of Panama; the loan will fund a project to improve and expand electrical services to rural and urban areas of ENSA's concession area, benefiting more than 35,000 users, of whom nearly 5,000 lack access to electricity
- Advised Grupo Energía Bogotá (GEB) in connection with a $509 million syndicated term loan for use primarily to acquire certain transmission assets in Brazil from Canadian asset manager Brookfield
- Advised Bancolombia S.A. as lender and lead arranger in a US$100 million syndicated loan to GMG Holding S.A. and subsidiaries of Grupo Monge
- Advised Mizuho Bank Ltd. as mandated lead arranger and bookrunner in connection with a US$193 million syndicated loan to Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior, S.A. (Bladex)
- Advised CrediQ, the financial arm of Central American vehicle dealer GrupoQ, to obtain a US$102 million loan from Bladex
- Advised CrediQ to obtain a US$92.3 secured credit facility provided by the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and a $7.7 million three-year secured facility provided by Citibank N.A., aligned with the DFC Environmental and Social Policy and Procedures and DFC's 2X Women's Initiative
- Advised Gramercy Funds Management LLC as lender in connection with a senior secured credit facility for an aggregate principal amount up to $300 million to MNJ Capital, S.A.P.I. de C.V., SOFOM, ENR (MNJ) to provide credits to Pemex suppliers in a dual-level structure
- Advised Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch as lender and administrative agent in connection with a US$300 million syndicated loan credit facility to Telecom Argentina S.A.
- Advised gold miner Continental Gold in securing a $250 million credit facility for the financing of a large-scale gold mining project in Colombia
- Advised Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, a nonprofit entity, in structuring a financing scheme for the construction of a new cancer center and the purchase of related medical equipment
- Advised Citibank N.A. and Banca de Inversión Bancolombia as lead arrangers in a reserve-based lending facility to be used by Vetra Exploración y Producción Colombia S.A.S
- Advised JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., as letter of credit provider, and Allianz Investments, as initial purchaser, in private placement bond refinancing of the project debt of the Palenque and Suria power transmission projects in Colombia
- Advised a group of lenders, including Banco Santander, Banco Davivienda and Itaú Corpbanca, on a dual-currency project financing to Energía de Colombia STR S.A.S. E.S.P., a company controlled by Ortiz Construcciones y Proyectos S.A., for the construction of a 23-kilometer transmission line in Colombia
- Advised Red de Carreteras de Occidente, one of Mexico's largest private highway concessionaires, in connection with ongoing additions to the scope of the project and the issuance of additional senior debt
- Advised a sponsor in connection with the issuance of private, tax-exempt activity bonds for the financing of the construction, design and maintenance of certain managed lane facilities in Texas
- Advised Goldman Sachs as lead arranger and a group of syndicated Colombian lenders on the multisource bank and bond financing of part of the 4G toll roads concession program in Colombia
- Advised JP Morgan Chase and Santander on the $514 million financing of a highway as part of the 4G toll roads concession program in Colombia
- Advised Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Colombian lenders FDN, Bancolombia S.A. and Banco Corpbanca Colombia S.A. on the approximately $465 million multicurrency financing of a highway as part of the 4G toll roads concession program in Colombia
- Advised Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the Korea Development Bank, Banco de Crédito del Perú, Instituto de Crédito Oficial, Banco Davivienda S.A., Bancolombia S.A. and FDN on the approximately $445 million multisource, multicurrency financing of the public-private partnership for a major road construction project in Colombia, which was awarded "Best Road Financing" in LatinFinance's 2017 Project & Infrastructure Finance Awards
- Advised Goldman Sachs as lead arranger on the approximately $372 million multisource, multicurrency term loan financing of a major toll road as part of the 4G toll roads concession program in Colombia, which was awarded "Best Local Currency Financing" in LatinFinance's 2017 Project & Infrastructure Finance Awards
- Advised Goldman Sachs as lead arranger in financing for toll road; the project was one of the first two 4G projects to obtain international capital markets financing as part of a multisource and multicurrency structure that included a Colombian peso denominated bond; the financing structure of the deal involved a US$260 million and $397 billion Colombian pesos international bond offering, and a $900 billion Colombian pesos senior loan facility; the project was awarded "Deal of the Year," "Best Road Financing" and "Best Infrastructure Financing" for the Andes Region in LatinFinance's 2017 Project & Infrastructure Finance Awards
- Advised an investment bank and financial services company as initial purchasers, and multiple banks as senior lenders in connection with the approximately $472 million multisource, multicurrency financing of a 4G toll road; the financing structure of the deal involved a US$150.8 million and $327 billion Colombian pesos international bond offering, a $550.5 billion Colombian pesos senior loan facility, a $217.5 billion Colombian pesos subordinated multipurpose revolving loan facility, currency hedges and approximately US$54.4 million of performance insurance
Credentials
Education
- Universidad de Nebrija, LL.B.
- Columbia Law School, LL.M.
- Universidad de los Andes, Post-Graduate Degree, Financial and Securities Regulation
- Universidad de los Andes, LL.B.
Bar Admissions/Licenses
- Colombia
- New York
Honors & Awards
- Pro Bono Advocate of the Year, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), 2022
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2021
- Next Generation Lawyer, The Legal 500 Latin America, 2016, 2017
Spoken Languages
- English
- Spanish