Morais Leitão Galvão Teles Soares da Silva & Associados often acts for the creditors in insolvency proceedings and a clear highlight last year saw the firm act for AWB last year as a creditor of Oleocom, an importer of cereals, in its insolvency proceedings. A key figure at the firm is Helena Soares de Moura and last year she acted for Abbott as a creditor of pharmaceutical distributor CJ Sousa Andrade in its insolvency proceedings. Soares de Moura was also advised two creditors, CAI International and SKY Container Trading, on the insolvency proceedings of Linhas de Navegacao do Atlantico (LNA).

"They are very close to certain companies who are active in this market so in that context it's common to see them in this area" is one peer's view of the project finance team at Morais Leitão Galvão Teles Soares da Silva & Associados. With the renewable sector still thriving, it is perhaps unsurprising to find that one of Morais Leitão's largest projects last year saw them work on the financing for the construction of 23 wind farms with a combined capacity of 480MW. The team advised the European Investment Bank (EIB), who is partly financing the deal, with facilities valued at €498 million. Another substantial energy deal saw a team led by Luis Branco and Filipe Lowndes Marques advising a consortium of banks over the refinancing of 30 existing wind farms and the construction of four new ones. The total value of the facilities was over €1 billion. Photovoltaic is one of the biggest areas of renewable energy activity and last year the team had a hand in a €37 million financing of a plant in Ferreira do Alentejo, again advising a consortium of banks as the lenders. Outside of energy, the firm also acted for the banks on a €82 million PPP (public-private partnership) for the construction of a new hospital building in the Lourdes area.

The M&A team at Morais Leitão Galvão Teles Soares da Silva & Associados is well respected by peers and clients alike. "The lawyers they have working on our teams are mainly the top tier lawyers and so we are very pleased with the level of experience," says one client. Others appreciated the firm's sector specific knowledge. "They have one or two lawyers who have specific knowledge, particularly in software and telecoms," says one client. The team's capacity was reduced slightly in May 2009 with the departure of Maria Antónia Cardoso de Menezes. A highlight of the firm's work last year saw them advise two separate parties in actions connected to the market-defining Cimpor transaction. In one, a team led by João Soares da Silva and Carlos Osório de Castro acted for Teixeira Duarte on the sale of its 22.1% stake in Cimpor for €970 million. Osório de Castro and Luísa Soares da Silva did similar work for Cinveste advising on the sale of its 3.93% stake for €155 million. João Soares da Silva was appreciated by clients. "Generally his knowledge of Portuguese law and capital markets regulation and his extensive experience is always appreciated," says one. In the energy sector, Nuno Galvão Teles was busy advising EDP on the €330 million acquisition of gas distribution, transmission and supply assets in Spain from Gas Natural. Galvão Teles was active in the renewable sector. EDP again came calling in July 2009 as the firm advised two subsidiaries, Distribuição - Energia and Inovação, in the incorporation of a joint partnership for ocean wave energy projects. The team also advised a consortium of buyers on the €250 million acquisition of Qimonda Solar. In the banking sector, João and Luísa Suares da Silva were called in by Banco Comercial Português to act on its agreement to sell a 95% stake in Millennium Bank in Turkey to Credit Europe for €61.8 million. The team also acted for Pfizer on the Portuguese aspects of its worldwide merger with Wyeth including the co-ordination of various subsidiaries.

The capital markets and corporate offering at Morais Leitão was slightly reduced last year as Maria Antonia Cardoso de Menezes left in May 2009. The firm has a strong reputation in capital markets and is seen by the market as a major player. "Our closest competitor is Morais," says one peer. This reputation is played out by the firm's deal list. On the debt side, one of the firm's biggest clients is Banco Comercial Português (BCP) and in August 2009 the team acted on its €7.5 billion debt issuance programme. Specifically the team advised on the issue of a series of deeply subordinated notes with a combined value of €900 million. The bank also called in the team to act on its €25 billion EMTN programme including the issuance of floating and fixed rate notes. EDP also called in the firm to act on a substantial debt issuance programme. Led by Luisa Soares da Silva the team acted on various aspects of a €12.5 billion programme, including floating and fixed rate issues and a US offering under the 144A/Reg S rule. Soares da Silva was also active for another energy company Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN) on its ¥1 billion (€8.8 billion) issue of 2.71% notes as part of the company's €5 billion EMTN programme. On the structured finance side the firm received further work from BCP advising on its €10 billion covered bonds programme including issuance and an update in March 2010. Similar work came from Morgan Stanley who called on the team to advise over Banco Santander Totta's €5 billion covered bonds programme. In equity, although IPO's have generally been low on the ground in Portugal recently the team did act for Douro Azul on the preparation work for its offering on the Euronext Lisbon. Led by partner Carlos Osório de Castro, the deal is expected to be the first tourism IPO on the Euronext in Lisbon. Osório de Castro was also involved as the firm advised Papeles y Cartones De Europa on its delisting from the Euronext Lisbon. In the securitisation area the team acted for EDP subsidiary EDP - Serviço Universal (EDP SU). The deal saw EDP SU sell the rights to the capital produced by the positive adjustment to the electricity tariff estimated to be worth €447 million, to Tagus - Sociedade de Titularização de Créditos (Tagus). On the banking side, Morais Leitão's reputation is also well established. "Morais is counsel to BCP, the biggest bank in Portugal they also have a few international banks, certainly they deserve the tier one ranking," says one rival. When it comes to finance matters at the firm, peers and clients alike specifically highlight Luis Branco: "He's very knowledgeable, quite straightforward and he listens to the concerns that you have and doesn't rush to the banks immediately, he tries to find a way out for everyone involved," says one client. Branco led the team last year when the firm advised MSF in connection with a €55 million facility agreement for the acquisition of stakes in various infrastructure companies. Branco was also called in by Caixa Geral de Depósitos in its acquisition of credits, valued at €23 million, owed to several companies of the Portugal Telecom Group. One of the firm's largest transactions last year involved Filipe Lowndes Marques acting for the lenders, including Banco Espírito Santo and Banco Comercial Português on a €155 million corporate credit facility and security agreement for Sport TV Portugal.