2018 Deals of the Year Awards
Each year LatinFinance's Deals of the Year Awards recognize outstanding transactions as well as the people and institutions that made them happen.
The 2018 Deals of the Year Awards celebrate excellence in the capital markets of Latin America and the Caribbean from October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018.
The LatinFinance editorial team carries out a comprehensive review of financial markets activities over the previous 12 months examining the progress and innovations that have taken place, identifying the landmark transactions and the borrowers, banks and law firms that made them happen.
Awardees are selected by the editors of LatinFinance, taking into account the size, complexity, innovative elements, market significance and execution of each transaction. Each decision follows an extensive consultation process with a range of industry experts.
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Winning transactions and institutions
Bond House of the Year Citi
Corporate High-Grade Bond of the Year Peru LNG
Corporate High-Yield Bond of the Year Tecpetrol
Corporate Issuer of the Year Petrobras
Corporate Liability Management of the Year Petrobras
Cross-Border M&A Deal of the Year Enel Americas
Domestic M&A Deal of the Year InRetail
Equity Follow-On of the Year SQM
Equity House of the Year Goldman Sachs
Financing Innovation of the Year CELSE
Initial Public Offering of the Year PagSeguro
Investment Bank of the Year Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Law Firm of the Year: Andes Garrigues
Law Firm of the Year: Argentina Bruchou, Fernández Madero & Lombardi
Law Firm of the Year: Brazil Pinheiro Neto
Law Firm of the Year: Latin America Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Law Firm of the Year: Mexico Creel
Loan House of the Year BBVA
Local Currency Deal of the Year Province of Buenos Aires
M&A House of the Year Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Private Equity Deal of the Year OHL
Quasi-Sovereign Bond of the Year Pemex
Restructuring of the Year Oi
Sovereign Bond of the Year Mexico
Sovereign Issuer of the Year Dominican Republic
Sovereign Liability Management of the Year Mexico
Structured Financing of the Year Energias del Valle de Mexico II
Syndicated Loan of the Year Petrobras
Trade Financing of the Year Suzano Papel e Celulose
Awards dinner
Browse photos from the Deals of the Year Awards Dinner in New York City below or click here for the full gallery.
Selection process
Click any of the sections below for full details on the selection process.
Overview
LatinFinance's Deals of the Year Awards are the pre-eminent marker of excellence in the industry, determined by LatinFinance's editors based on an exhaustive selection process involving examination of data and in-depth feedback and discussions with market participants.
Categories
The categories for LatinFinance's 2018 Deals of the Year Awards are:
- Sovereign Issuer of the Year
- Corporate Issuer of the Year
- Sovereign Bond of the Year
- Quasi-Sovereign Bond of the Year
- Corporate High-Grade Bond of the Year
- Corporate High-Yield Bond of the Year
- Sovereign Liability Management of the Year
- Corporate Liability Management of the Year
- Initial Public Offering of the Year
- Equity Follow-On of the Year
- Private Equity Deal of the Year
- Cross-Border M&A Deal of the Year
- Domestic M&A Deal of the Year
- Syndicated Loan of the Year
- Financing Innovation of the Year
- Restructuring of the Year
- Local Currency Deal of the Year
- Structured Financing of the Year
- Trade Financing of the Year
- Law Firm of the Year: LatAm
- Law Firm of the Year: Mexico
- Law Firm of the Year: Brazil
- Law Firm of the Year: Andes
- Bond House of the Year
- M&A House of the Year
- Equity House of the Year
- Loan House of the Year
- Investment Bank of the Year
Criteria
The 2018 Deals of the Year Awards will be judged on the following factors:
Issuers:
Categories 1 and 2 will be judged on:
- Extent of participation in the bond, loan and equity markets over the year, including the volume and diversity of deals
- Sophistication of issuance strategy, including innovation and foresight
- Structural aspects of transactions, success of issuances and geographical reach of deals
Deals:
Categories 3 to 19 will be judged on:
- Market significance, strategic importance and groundbreaking qualities
- Structural aspects of the transaction, including complexity, innovation and size
- Execution, including price and demand achieved compared to other references in the market with regard to conditions at the time
- Secondary market performance, and reception by peers and investors
- Geographic reach where relevant
Investment Banks and Law Firms:
Categories 20 to 28 will be judged on:
- Overall strategy, volume and diversity of transactions
- Innovation and foresight
- Execution quality and success of transactions worked on
- Role in particularly complex, innovative or large deals over the year
- Quantity of transactions worked on over the year, and compared to previous years
Selection Process
The 2018 Deals of the Year Awards selection will take a three-step process as outlined below.
1. Nominations and shortlist
LatinFinance’s editors will compile a shortlist of deals for consideration in each category through two channels. An internal review will be done with the editorial team and of LatinFinance’s own coverage of the capital markets to identify impressive transactions and institutions. At the same time, market participants are invited to nominate stand-out deals and institutions for consideration.
In both cases, LatinFinance will verify that each transaction submitted is eligible for consideration before including it in the shortlist. Typically this involves checking the transaction has closed within the timeframe under consideration (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018). All eligible transactions and institutions nominated internally and externally are included on the shortlist. The shortlist is not published.
External nominations are limited to one transaction or institution per category. Nominations must be submitted via the official nomination form, which must be returned by email as an excel document. Institutions are invited to submit further documentation to support their pitch. The deadline for submission of external nominations is Thursday, October 4, 2018.
2. Examination of data: meetings and research
LatinFinance will review official data for each of the transactions and institutions on the shortlist to reach its decision. This includes nomination documentation, data from LatinFinance and Dealogic, and recommendations from clients.
As part of this process, LatinFinance’s editors will conduct meetings and phone calls with market participants to discuss the shortlisted deals and institutions.
Institutions may request meetings and calls with the selection committee. Meetings are available at 10am and 2pm Monday-Friday from September 25 to October 19. Where an institution has nominated transactions or institutions for more than six (6) categories, we request that two appointments are made, divided by asset class.
3. Editorial evaluation
LatinFinance's editorial team retains discretion over the final allocation of awards in each category. The final decision will be based on information supplied in pitch documents and meetings or calls, research of financial data and analysis, interviews, and our knowledge of markets and activity over the course of the past 12 months. \
Announcement
Winners will be informed by LatinFinance’s editor by early November, with the news embargoed until winners are publicly announced at our awards dinner in New York City in January 2019.
Participate
Click here to download the official nomination form.
Email the completed nomination form to awards@latinfinance.com with "2018 Deals of the Year nominations" in the subject line by end of day on October 4, 2018.
Contact
Send inquiries to awards@latinfinance.com with "2018 Deals of the Year Awards" in the subject line.