J. Mathias von Bernuth heads Skadden’s São Paulo office. von Bernuth provides New York law advice to Brazilian, Latin American, U.S. and international clients in a wide range of corporate transactions, including cross-border mergers and acquisitions, public and private equity and debt offerings (including high-yield debt), restructurings and financings.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 100 Lawyers You Need to Know in South America | 2026 | M&A, Capital Markets |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 100 Lawyers You Need to Know in South America | 2025 | M&A, Capital Markets |
von Bernuth has extensive experience across a variety of industries, including energy, oil and gas, steel, telecommunications, financial services, real estate, manufacturing, education, infrastructure, transportation, environmental services and retail.
He also has been involved in and conducted cross-border internal investigations for entities and boards of directors in connection with compliance and government enforcement issues, as well as related U.S. securities actions.
Notable matters include representing:
Mergers and Acquisitions
- C6 Bank in its sale of a 40% stake to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
- Vortx, a Brazilian technology company, in its sale of an equity stake to FTV, a U.S. financial investor
- Hidrovias do Brasil in the acquisition of the South American shipping business of Imperial Logistics Limited
- Estre Ambiental in its merger with Boulevard Acquisition Corp. II and the related public listing of the surviving Cayman entity
- The Carlyle Group in its equity investment in Rede D’Or São Luiz, the largest private hospital operator in Brazil
Equity Offerings
- XPAC Acquisition Corp. in its $200 million initial public offering of 20 million units, each unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant. XPAC is a Brazil-focused blank check company formed by Brazilian financial services firm XP Inc. The units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants were listed on Nasdaq
- G2D Investments, Ltd., a portfolio company of GP Investments, Ltd., in its R$260 million Rule 144A/Reg S initial public offering of Class A common shares and Brazilian depositary receipts (BDRs) with each BDR representing one Class A common share. The BDRs were listed on Bovespa and the Class A common shares were listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange. This is the first dual-listing involving a primary listing of shares on the Bermuda Stock Exchange supporting BDRs that are listed on Bovespa
- Hidrovias do Brasil S.A. in its R$3 billion Rule 144A/Reg S IPO of common shares and listing on the Brazilian B3 stock exchange. This was one of the largest IPOs in the Brazilian markets in 2020
Debt Offerings
- Rede D’Or in connection with its issuance of $1.2 billion of 4.5% 2030 dollar bonds. Rede D’Or is Brazil’s largest private owner and operator of hospitals and oncology clinics
- Hidrovias International Finance S.à r.l. as issuer and Hidrovias do Brasil S.A., Hidrovías del Sur S.A., Hidrovías del Paraguay S.A. and other subsidiaries as guarantors in its US$600 million Rule 144A/Reg S offering of 5.950% notes due 2025. The notes will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited
- Banco Bradesco BBI S.A., Banco BTG Pactual S.A. — Cayman Branch, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and Itau BBA USA Securities, Inc. as joint bookrunners in a US$750 million Rule 144A/Reg S offering of 5.75% senior notes due 2024 issued by Cimpor Financial Operations B.V.
Restructurings/Financings
- Usinas Siderúrgicas de Minas Gerais S.A. (USIMINAS) (Brazil) in the first phase of its US$2 billion out-of-court debt restructuring pursuant to which the company refinanced nearly 92% of its total indebtedness
- AES Tiete Energia S.A. (Brazil) in connection with an internal corporate restructuring involving, among other steps, the Rule 144A/Reg S exchange offer of equity securities in the form of AES units and AES American depositary shares