Professional notice
Mexico
Fernando Carreño helms the competition practice at VON WOBESER & SIERRA. The firm prides itself on being a go-to for clients facing investigations by the Mexican enforcer, and says it is involved in more than half of the agency’s investigations.
Von Wobeser successfully defended Volaris against a COFECE investigation into an alleged price-fixing investigation among airlines. The agency found other airlines such as Aeromexico had illegally allocated slots at Mexico City Airport, but it exonerated Volaris of any liability in the agency’s first market investigation. Dairy company Grupo Lala faced a pair of COFECE investigations related to two deals it initiated in 2016 and 2018, but the enforcer closed the probes without any sanctions. The team acted for Cryoinfra against a COFECE investigation into whether distributors of oxygen, nitrogen and argon had abused their dominant market position by imposing the use of exclusivities in the supply of their products. Grupo Infra, Praxair Mexico and Grupo Infra negotiated commitments to restore the competitive process.
The firm is acting on behalf of Scotiabank in an investigation for abuse of dominance related to alleged price discrimination in the market for credit information. Carreño and his team convinced the enforcer that Scotiabank was not guilty in a decision that was upheld by the board of the commission in 2019. On the deal side, the firm acted for Calsonic Kansei on its €5.8 billion purchase of Fiat Chrysler’s Magneti Marelli, which formed the seventh-largest independent car parts supplier. Other M&A clients include KKR, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Mitsui and Blackstone.
Offering excellence and integrity, Von Wobeser y Sierra, S.C. was founded in 1986 and is one of the foremost Mexican law firms to offer full-service legal solutions. The firm is composed of 16 Practice Areas, 5 Practice Industry Groups as well as specialized desks with a strong roster of international and national clients. The firm’s lawyers are renowned for their expertise in advising and fortifying leading companies in establishing and conducting day-to-day business dealings related to entering and expanding their operations in Mexico and internationally. Von Wobeser y Sierra, S.C. has been recognised on an international level by various institutions, including Chambers Global, Chambers Latin America, Latin Lawyer 250, Global Arbitration Review (including the GAR 100), The Legal 500 and IFLR1000, among others.
Advising our clients so that they surpass their business objectives
Our dynamic firm is growing considerably, and is well known for its strong, pragmatic business focus and approach, as well as for the strategic and preventive legal solutions that it offers clients. The legal team focuses on understanding each client’s core business and its unique situation, and offers well-tailored, thorough and effective solutions that optimise resources and aid in the consolidation of each client’s business objectives. The firm operates as a strategic legal partner that handles each client’s most significant transactions and prominent cases and is involved in assisting them with their most transcendental and consequential business decisions. Many of the firm’s clients are significant investors in Mexico and Latin America and are listed in prestigious forums, such as the Fortune 50 and the Fortune 500, the Dow Jones, Standard & Poor’s 500, DAX, Nikkei and the Mexican Stock Exchange. They include national and multinational companies, banks, government entities, financial institutions and organisations from the United States, Canada, Germany, the European Union, Asia and Mexico.
Our team
Our team is made up of 16 partners, 4 of counsel and more than 80 lawyers with comprehensive, up-to-date knowledge of legal reforms, as well as current national and international events that affect the global business economy.
Practice areas:
- Administrative & Regulatory
- Anti-corruption & Compliance
- Arbitration
- Banking & Finance
- Bankruptcy & Restructuring
- Competition & Antitrust
- Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions
- Energy & Natural Resources
- Environment
- Industrial & Intellectual Property
- International Trade & Customs
- Labor, Executive Compensations & Benefits
- Litigation
- Real Estate
- Tax
- TMT
Practice Industry Groups
- Automotive & Manufacturing
- Consumer Goods
- Energy & Natural Resources
- Financial Services
- Pharmaceutical & Life Sciences
Desks
- American
- Asian
- Canadian
- European
- German
Strong International Network
Our firm’s lawyers are leaders and active participants in various leading professional organisations, including the American Bar Association, the International Bar Association, the Mexican Bar Association, the American Arbitration Association, the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Fiscal Association, the International Trademark Association, the German Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce, among others. We have established close international networks with law firms in top cities in the United States, Canada, Germany and many other European countries, as well as Latin America and Asia.
Pro bono
We are firmly committed to defending human rights and making sure that our actions have a positive impact on a social and environmental level. We actively promote that our lawyers participate, helping with different associations that need assistance including cultural, environmental, social, sport and charities.
Languages
Spanish, English, German, French and Dutch.