Howard Glicken is Proud to Announce that Violy & Company wins Deal of the Year For Argentina

Howard Glicken is Proud to Announce that Violy & Company wins Deal of the Year For Argentina

Violy & Company wins Deal of the Year for Argentina
The Financial Times & Mergermarket
M&A Awards Americas 2008

On October 30th, 2008, the Financial Times and Mergermarketannounced its M&A Awards Americasto recognize corporate, private equity, banking and legal excellence and expertise in M&A in Latin America.

Violy & Company won one of the 3 coveted Corporate / M&A Deal of the Year Awards for Latin America. V&Co advised the Lopez family in the sale of a majority stake in their company, and executed the creation of Navios South American Logisitcs [NSAL] by combining Navios Maritime Holdings with with Horamar’s, River Plate and maritime operations. NASL is the largest integrated river logistics platform in South America combining inland and maritime ports, leading barge operations, storage facilities and maritime transportation. NASAL is based in Argentina and covers the 5 countries that comprise the Hidrovia.

There were 1,309 disclosed M&A transactions in Latin America from July 2007 through July 2008. Only 3 of these deals were honored by the Financial Times and Mergermarket as Deals of the Year. Violy & Co. is proud to have been the advisor on one of them.
“We created the company 30 years ago and Violy & Co. created the strategy to transform it into the leading player in the region”, says Claudio Lopez, now CEO of Navios South American Logistics. “Violy & Co. worked in earnest to create a deal that made sense to our family and our partner.”

“In light of the recent financial crisis,” Lopez added, “Violy & Co.’s approach demonstrates that one cannot create a deal only through leverage or financial engineering. Indeed, the passage of time has proven the value of Violy & Co.’s innovative and forward thinking. Their insightful understanding of both Horamar’s needs and Navios’ businesses, and their relentless pursuit of creative solutions to bridge and optimize both parties’ interests, achieved a “win-win” for everyone. This approach is uniquely Violy & Co. and places them at a level where there are no equals.”
The Deal of the Year Awards used both empirical M&A transaction data and independent experts’ opinions to identify the winners in each category. Mergermarket is a leader in providing M&A deal information and intelligence worldwide. The Financial Times is a premier global publication with an unrivaled editorial reputation and understanding of the world's most influential decision-makers in global business and politics.

HYPERLINK: http://www.ftconferenceslive.com/mmawardsUS
 

About Violy & Company
Violy & Co. (V&Co.) is a multi-service Investment Banking boutique providing Strategic Advisory Services, including M&A, Capital Markets, Restructuring and Reorganization, and Management Consulting Services.

V&Co is the only boutique that for the last 12 years has served the Latin-American and Iberian Peninsula markets with impeccable service and track record. V&Co partners combined have over 60 years of experience and over US$120 billion in completed transactions, Violy & Co. prides itself on its philosophy of “clients first and foremost”. The Company’s objective standards and total commitment to its clients are measured by its willingness not to recommend a transaction if it is not in the client’s best interest.
Violy & Co.’s collaborative local - global approach involves its clients, itsble Advisory Board members, its professionals and its network of Affiliates in each and every project and transaction, and its 360 degree thinking identifies challenges and risks and creates unique solutions that other financial institutions have not considered possible thus exemplifying the company’s motto: THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE
Violy & Co. has offices in New York, USA and Bogota, Colombia, Affiliates located in Chile, Peru and the Caribbean, and an Advisory Board that includes members from throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and the Iberian Peninsula.
 

Since 1995, regardless of economic cycles, Violy & Co. has continued to attract new and recurring clients due to its high level of performance and success.
“She’s [Violy] a person that knows her clients profoundly, and shares with Cemex’s senior management the Company’s objectives.”
Lorenzo Zambrano CEO, Cemex
“She knows Bacardi better than I do.”
Manuel Jorge Cutillas, Chairman, Bacardi International

http://theamericasgroup.net/announcements?cat=230952&p=4americas-gr

Distinguen a una naviera local

La compañía naviera argentina Horamar y Navios South American Logistics Inc. recibieron el premio a la Transacción del Año, en reconocimiento a la excelencia y expertise corporativa.

La distinción, otorgada por el prestigioso diario inglés Financial Times, junto con Merger-market, líder global en información sobre operaciones de fusiones y adquisiciones de empresas (M&A), se dio por la transacción realizada en enero último.

Violy & Company, la firma de asesoría financiera especializada en América latina, con sede en Nueva York, ofició de consultor estratégico y financiero en esta fusión.

“La articulación de las múltiples y diversas legislaciones y jurisdicciones de los países del Mercosur, Grecia y Estados Unidos fue clave para el éxito”, sostuvo Violy McCausland-Seve, CEO de Violy & Company.

Financial Times

The Financial Times and Mergermarket are pleased to announce the inaugural M&A Awards Americas to recognize corporate, private equity, banking and legal merger and acquisitions expertise and excellence in the Americas.
Corporate Awards

M&A Deal of the Year Argentina
Navios South American Logistics Inc

Violy McCausland Seve “Latin America is going through an interesting moment”

She is the most influential and successful investment banker in Latin America. Throughout her 25 year-long career she has advised companies on millionaire businesses and her opinion is highly held among Wall Street investors.

From her offices in New York, Violy McCausland Seve spoke with DEF on the current economic situation of the region, the possibilities for Argentina and the leadership of women in the modern world.

“Los Inversores Tienen Miedo a la Argentina”

La Colombiana Violy McCausland Seve es una experta en el mercado de fusiones y adquisiciones de America Latina, con mas de 14 operaciones en ejecución. Con una vasta experiencia en los más tradicionales bancos de inversión, desde hace varios años dirige desde Nueva York su propia boutique financiera Violy & Company. “A los grandes bancos no le gusta que haya una mujer latina quitándole los proyectos”, confiesa un poco en broma, un poco en serio.

Su actividad en la Argentina se intensifico al año pasado: asesoro a Western Union para la compra de la local Pago Fácil por US$70 millones. Y hace unas semanas cerro la fusión de su cliente Argentino Horamar con la mayor naviera Griega Navios Maritime Holdings, en una operación valuada en US$112.2 millones.

Una de las mayores navieras griegas se fusiona con una empresa

Una de las mayores navieras griegas se fusiona con una empresa local

Navios Maritime, que cotiza en Wall Street y opera el puerto uruguayo de Nueva Palmira, se asoció con la argentina Horamar. Forman una nueva empresa con una capitalización bursátil de U$S 1.200 millones.

A fines de los años 70, Claudio López cursaba sus últimas materias de abogacía en la Universidad de Belgrano y comenzaba a hacerse cargo de una oficina de liquidaciones de seguros de su padre, Horacio. En esos tres ambientes de Florida y Viamonte, además, comenzaba a funcionar Horamar, una incipiente naviera que en 1978 ya había hecho su primer convoy petrolero por el Paraná. Tres décadas más tarde, en los primeros días de 2008, López y Horamar protagonizaron una megafusión con Navios Maritime Holdings, una armadora de origen griego, que cotiza en la Bolsa de EE.UU. y que entre otros activos tiene la concesión del puerto uruguayo de Nueva Palmira. Entre las dos empresas formaron una nueva compañía, Navios South American Logistics, con activos por 1.230 millones de dólares y cotización en Wall Street.

Navios (sin el acento en la i) pertenece a la empresaria griega Angeliki Frangou, quien ahora controla dos tercios de la nueva naviera sudamericana, que conformarán la flota de Horamar y su puerto propio en San Antonio (Paraguay).

En tanto, Navios aportó a la sociedad el puerto de Nueva Palmira y un pago de US$ 112,2 millones en efectivo a los dueños de Horamar, según fue comunicado a la New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), la Bolsa neoyorquina.

Para Navios, la nueva sociedad con Horamar representa un desembarco a mayor escala dentro de la región, ya que pasará de ser operadora de un puerto fluvial en Colonia a controlar casi una décima parte de todo el tráfico fluvial de la Hidrovía, por donde circulan entre 1.300 y 1.400 barcazas. Cien de esos buques pertenecen a Horamar.

López seguirá dentro del negocio como socio y, además, como director ejecutivo de la nueva compañía, desde su oficina en Buenos Aires.

"Un dato destacable es que los López tenían la opción de vender la totalidad de sus acciones, pero optaron por quedarse y reinvertir el capital dentro de la nueva compañía", dijo a Clarín Violy McCausland, dueña de la boutique financiera Violy & Co quien operó como asesora financiera de Horamar.

Desde su oficina, en 2006, también se había cocinado la compra de Pago Fácil por parte de Western Union, que terminó adquiriendo (en US$ 70 millones) el 75% de la empresa fundada por Francisco Macri.

"Hay un plan muy agresivo por delante, que incluye una inversión de 50 millones de dólares en la compra de nuevos buques", detalló McCausland, por teléfono, desde su oficina en EEUU.

-¿Comprarán buques de astilleros locales?, le preguntó Clarín.

-Ellos operan con astilleros locales y también adquieren buques usados.

Precisamente, la prohibición a la importación de buques y barcazas usados, que está vigente desde la década pasada, es uno de los reclamos centrales de la Federación de Industrias Navieras (FINA), que agrupa a los astilleros locales (ver recuadro).

Horamar alterna la compra de sus buques a astilleros locales, como Sabb o Tandanor, con las importaciones desde Lejano Oriente.

Ya lleva 32 años en el mercado, con una flota de 100 barcazas de río a las que le acaba de sumar dos enormes buques marítimos de origen chino. Se maneja en la hidrovía Paraná-Paraguay transportándole combustibles a Repsol, Shell y Esso, y también granos y aceites a Bunge, Cargill, Glencore y Vicentin.

Por fuera de Navios South America, la griega Navios mantiene su flota propia de más de 70 buques marítimos y sus sedes en Grecia, EE.UU. y Bélgica.
 

Super Violy - The Consultant and her Beloved Venezuela

Colombian Violy McCausland is still a queen in Latin America, and we are not talking about a pageant queen. For more than 20 years, her experience in the area of mergers and acquisitions has led her to advise multiple Venezuelan, Mexican and Colombian business people in their hunts for great business in the region. Oswaldo Cisneros, Carlos Slim, Carlos Gill, Lorenzo Zambrano, Juilio Mario Satodomingo, Rafael Zubilaga, Gustavo Cisneros are just a few of the people to whom she has given the benefit of her expertise. One of Violy’s Venezuelan clients explains: “Violy has that brilliant way of relating to power with an individual touch”.

McCausland is always on the wish list of all the wealthy Latin American businessmen who visit New York. Her experience and reputation are so great that she can and does handpick her clients.

Tenacious Strategist

Many big businesses in Central America have one name in common: Violy, a Colombian who has caused investment banking to evolve.

“The woman who led the coup d’etat against Pepsi”, “a Wall Street czarina”, “the queen of mergers & acquisitions.” These are only some of the comments published about Violy McCausland in the international media.

She is also one of the 100 most influential people in the region. A woman of great persistence and skill, especially with regards to her ability to close a deal successfully. Her feminine subtlety and capability as executive are hard to resist. These statements are strongly confirmed by her personal record of transactions closed: over US $50,000mm.

She has closed deals that were impossible for others such as the US$210mm capital raising for Mexican Cemex, the alliance between Electra and Western Union and the sale of Calvin Klein to Phillip-Van Heusen.

Lo que el viento se llevó

Avianca ya no es colombiana pero sigue viva. Detalles desconocidos de la histórica transacción que desconcertó al país.

Comprar una aerolínea con pasivos de 300 millones de dólares sin due dilligence ilustra tanto la agilidad con que se hizo el negocio como el temperamento audaz de su protagonista, Violy.

Oh, the Places She’ll Go!

Is CEO Violy McCausland-Seve the most powerful independent deal-maker in Latin America?

The whirlwind investment banker, once JPMorgan’s star M&A player, now has a five-year track record that puts her maverick firm among the top 10 in the industry.

Violy tore through a 14-year stint at JPMorgan to become not only one of its all-time top producers, but also the top female M&A closer in the US. Her secret: specializing in the volatile, but highly lucrative, world of Latin American investment banking. That, plus a seemingly endless well of high-strung energy. As client Carlos Cisneros puts it, “She never sleeps, and she never fails.” VB&P chairman James D. Robinson, who, as the head of American Express, was one of the best-known CEOs in the US, says that what attracted him to Violy was her amazing capacity to get things done. Having spent four decades in New York’s financial sector, Robinson says he never saw anything quite like Violy.

Violy’s Latin Touch Sparks Red Hot Deals

Violy McCausland’s understanding of Latin American business culture has helped her carve a niche in Wall Street mergers and acquisitions.

Empathy with the region’s tycoons has helped Colombian born Ms. McCausland, a former head of Latin American mergers and acquisitions at JP Morgan, led transactions worth $30 billion in a Wall Street career spanning almost 20 years.

“Violy brings tremendous drive to a transaction,” said Ms. de la Puente. “She gets to know her clients very closely and becomes personally involved.”

600 The Most Powerful People in Finance

Colombian-born McCausland, 43, set up her own firm, Violy, Byorum & Partners, and arranged the landmark deal in which the Cisneros family’s Venezuelan bottler switched from Pepsi to Coca-Cola. She and partner Stormy Byorum then handled the bottler’s sale to Panamco for $1.1 billion and have also done deals for Richardo Salina’s Cemex and Lorenzo Zambrano’s Elektra in Mexic
 

Top 50 Women in Finance

Violy McCausland is chief executive of her own company, Violy, Byorum and Partners. Specializing in Latin America, she has personally led and executed M&A capital raising transactions for a total value exceeding $1.9 billion over the last eight years. Yet her career and reputation as a Latin American superstar are most remarkable for their survival through conditions of adversity.
 

Violy, Stormy, And The Coke Coup

Violy Byorum & Partners, a new New York investment banking boutique, has bagged six M&A and capital-raising deals worth almost $1.7 billion so far this year and has another 14 deals, worth $2 billion, in the works.

Then, late last month, came the stunner; a $500 million coup that ended a 50-year relationship between PepsiCo and Venezuela’s Cisneros family-and moved the Cisneros bottling operations into that arms of Pepsi’s arch-rival, Coca-Cola.

Chief banker on the deal was Colombian-born Violy McCausland who earned her M&A stripes in a 15 year stint at J.P. Morgan and who set up her own shop last January after briefly helping to build a Lating business at James D. Wolfensohn’s M&A boutique.

At Morgan, McCausland was known as a workhorse. Clearly the skill of Violy in dealing wit the emotional aspects of a deal is an important asset. Charm, along with banking talent, gives Mc-Causland an unusual edge. Her tenacity and aggressive work pace help, too. “When you’re doing a deal,” McCausland says, “there are no schedules.”

How Venezuela Is Becoming Coca-Cola Country

‘’In 35 years, I cannot recall a Coke bottler becoming a Pepsi bottler,’’ he added. ‘’People are asking how Venezuela, Pepsi’s major global success story, could be snatched from them in broad daylight, on a cloudless day, by their worst enemy.’’ Coke shares soared to a 52-week high of $51.75 on Friday, while Pepsi shares have fallen $1.50, to $30.125, since the announcement.

Oswaldo Cisneros said: ‘’I hired investment bankers. I hear that’s the way you sell a company in the United States.” The Coca-Cola contact was made, the cousins said, by the Cisneros Group’s Manhattan investment bank, Violy, Byorum & Partners, which specializes in Latin American deals.

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/21/business/how-venezuela-is-becoming-coca-cola-country.html

Flamboyant Banker Pushed One Big Deal Too Many; Clients Loved Her Work

No one doubts that Violy McCausland can bring home the goods. In her 14 years at J.P. Morgan & Co., the diminutive, Colombian-born investment banker generated hundreds of millions of dollars in advisory fees.

She was widely respected and liked by clients. She worked extraordinary hours --“the most of everyone I know,” says Gustavo Caballero, chief financial officer of Cemex.

“Her contacts in Latin America are, quite frankly, priceless,” says Lorenzo Zambrano, Cemex’s chief executive.

“She’s like a bulldog; she takes up an issue until she has it resolved,” says Eugenio Mendoza, “She’s very intense, very detailed.” For that, Morgan loved her.