Signatura Advisory and Lazard form a new Brazilian joint-venture

On December 8, 2004, Signatura Advisory and Lazard created a Brazilian 50/50 joint-venture, called Signatura Lazard Assessoria Financeira. The firm will provide a wide range of advisory services, including mergers & acquisitions, corporate restructurings and general financial and strategic advice.

Signatura Advisory is a Brazilian advisory firm that has been recently incorporated by Brazilian executives with large experience in mergers & acquisitions, corporate restructurings and general financial and strategic advice.

Lazard is a leading advisory investment bank, with offices in 15 countries around the globe. With origins dating back to 1848, the firm provides international financial advisory services and global transaction execution to corporations, partnerships, institutions, governments and individuals.

According to a source from Pineiro Neto, ?This was a very exciting deal. On one side, we had very experienced Brazilian bankers opening up their own advisory firm and on the other side a top tier global investment bank, with no presence in Latin America. The deal is a clear evidence that Brazil is moving towards the right direction and that key global players, as Lazard certainly is, are betting that there should exist great investment opportunities for their clients in Brazil in the upcoming years?.

Signatura Lazard was advised by Pinheiro Neto Advogados. The Brazilian firm acted as Brazilian law counsel through partner Fernando Alves Meira and associate Hans Keeling while White & Case acted as New York law counsel through partner Steven Teichman and associate Nerlyn Pierson.

Lazard was represented by Machado Meyer, Sendacz & Opice. The firm acted as Brazilian law counsel through partner Antonio Meyer and associate Rafaela Frazão while Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz acted as New York law counsel through partner Benjamin Fackler and associate Stephanie Van Duren.