Marcela Ruenes represents a full range of lead arrangers, lenders, and borrowers on their most complex US and cross-border finance and private credit transactions.

Marcela draws on extensive experience across global markets and a sophisticated understanding of parties’ needs and objectives on all sides of a financing to guide investment and commercial banks, direct lenders, borrowers, and private equity firms on:

  • Leveraged financings and acquisition financings
  • Unitranche financings
  • Asset-based lending
  • Investment grade loans
  • Debt restructurings including debtors-in-possession and exit financings
  • Private credit transactions

A recognized leader within the firm, she has served on Latham’s Diversity Leadership Committee, Recruiting Committee, and Mentoring Committee and as Global Leader of the Hispanic/Latin American Lawyers Group.

Marcela maintains an active pro bono practice, with a particular focus on immigration and asylum matters, including representing victims of domestic violence in obtaining protection under VAWA.
Marcela remains active with Columbia Law School, where she regularly speaks on panels discussing both commercial and diversity-related topics.

Before joining Latham, she was an associate in the Mexico City office of a leading Mexican law firm.

In large syndicated financings, Marcela’s representative investment bank clients include:

Investment Banks

  • Citi
  • Jefferies Finance
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank
  • UBS

In single-lender and club financings, Marcela’s representative clients include:

Direct Lenders

  • HPS Investment Partners
  • The Carlyle Group
  • Golub Capital
  • Oak Hill Advisors
  • Ares Capital

Marcela’s transactional experience includes advising:

Private Credit

  • Ares Capital Management on:
    • Term loan and a revolving credit facility in connection with Providence Equity Partners’ acquisition of TimeClock Plus, a cloud-based time and attendance software management system
    • Term loan and a revolving credit facility in connection with Kohlberg’s acquisition of United Digestive MSO Parent, a gastrointestinal practice management company
    • Term loan facility for Global Medical Response, a medical care provider
    • Term loan and a revolving credit facility in connection with The Vistria Group and GHO Capital Partners’ acquisition of Zebra Bidco, a holding company, to refinance existing debt
  • Oak Hill Advisors and other funding sources on the financing for GTCR’s acquisition of Surmodics, a provider of medical device and in vitro diagnostic technologies to the healthcare industry
  • HPS Investment Partners on:
    • Term loan and revolving credit facilities in connection with Providence Equity Partners’ equity investment in Brandt Information Services, a leading provider of outdoor recreational technology platforms
    • Term loan and a revolving credit facility in connection with Hg Capital’s acquisition of CaseWare International, a provider of software solutions, to refinance existing debt
    • Term loan and revolving credit facilities in connection with the acquisition of LandCare Holdings, a provider of commercial landscaping and maintenance services
    • A term loan facility in connection with Hg Capital’s acquisition of Holding Acepta S.A., a Chilean-based business-to-business service company
  • The Carlyle Group on:
    • A US$200 million senior secured term loan credit facility for iRobot, a technology company that designs and builds consumer robots and home innovation products, including vacuums and mops
    • A term loan facility for Park County Holdings, a multiplatform media and entertainment enterprise
    • Forming its Litmus Music platform as well as in connection with the debt financing of its subsequent catalogue acquisitions
  • Golub Capital on term loan and revolving credit facilities in connection with Thomas H. Lee Partners’ acquisition of Nextech Holdings, a technology software provider
  • Litmus Music Holdings on a revolving credit facility by a bank syndicate in connection with the funding of an acquisition of music royalty rights by Litmus Music, a music rights manager

Syndicated Financings

  • Citibank, N.A. on:
    • Term loan and revolving credit facilities in connection with Motive Partners’ acquisition of Fiserv SR Holdings, a financial services technology provider, to refinance existing debt
    • Term loan and revolving credit facilities for Tegra118 Wealth Solutions, a provider of software solutions to the wealth and asset management industry, to refinance existing debt
    • A term loan facility and asset-based revolver for Petco Health and Wellness Company, an American pet retailer, to refinance existing debt
    • An asset-based revolving facility for Saks Off 5th, an American luxury department store
    • A revolving credit facility for Jefferies Leveraged Credit Products to refinance existing debt
    • A revolving credit facility for Jefferies International Limited, an independent investment bank and financial services company
  • Jefferies Finance on:
    • Revolving and term loan facilities for Onex and Ares portfolio company Ryan in connection with its acquisition of Altus Group’s Canadian tax business
    • Term loan and a revolving credit facilities in connection with Apax Partners’ acquisition and debt refinancing of Cadence Education, an educational services provider
  • Barclays Bank on:
    • Term loan and revolving credit facilities, concurrent with a senior secured bond offering, for B&G Foods, a manufacturer, seller, and distributer of shelf-stable food and household products, to refinance existing debt
    • Term loan and revolving credit facilities, concurrent with a US$350 million bond offering, in connection with Advanced Drainage Systems’ acquisition of Infiltrator Water Technologies Ultimate Holdings, a manufacturer and seller of wastewater systems
    • Term loan and revolving credit facilities in connection with Covis Finco’s acquisition of AstraZeneca UK Limited, a British Pharmaceutical company
  • Fortress Investment Group on a term loan and revolving credit facility in connection with Genstar’s acquisition of Telestream Holdings, a provider of desktop components, applications, enterprise-class digital media transcoding, and workflow systems

Latin America Financings 

  • The joint global coordinators, lead arrangers, and bookrunners in connection with the US$2.3 billion five-year credit facilities provided to Mexico’s TC Energía Mexicana, S. de R.L. de C.V. (TCEM), a subsidiary of TC Energy Corporation, the first private-sector company to construct and operate natural gas pipelines in Mexico
  • The joint global coordinators, lead arrangers, and bookrunners in connection with the US$1.56 billion five-year term loan credit facility refinancing of shareholder loans provided to Mexico’s Infraestructura Marina del Golfo (IMG), the owner and operator of the Sur de Texas-Tuxpan natural gas pipeline
  • Global Infrastructure Partners on:
    • Its joint venture with Grupo Romero to acquire a 50% stake in Trabajos Maritimos (Tramarsa), a Peru-based port infrastructure platform
    • Acquiring Atlas Renewable Energy, from Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure; Atlas is the second largest independent renewables developer in Latin America with 14 fully contracted solar assets that produce 2.3GW of installed capacity across Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay
    • El Aguila Energy SpA’s debt restructuring involving its subsidiary, Guacolda Energía S.A., a Chilean power generation company based in Huasco, Chile, including the restructuring of its shareholder arrangements and eventual exit
  • Grupo Altex, a leading food and agro-industrial company in Mexico, on its US$105 million notes financing
  • Citibank, N.A., as administrative agent, and its affiliates on the restructuring of Avianca’s revolving credit facility and letters of credit as part of the company’s reprofiling of its debt and lease obligations in Avianca’s initial step to its turnaround plan
  • Compania Operadora de Inversiones Mercantiles, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican investing company, on its real estate trust’s US$115 million term loan facility in connection with refinancing its debt used in developing commercial real estate properties, including Antara
  • Crédit Agricole and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in a US$350 million senior secured asset-based financing relating to the construction, ownership, and leasing of certain vessels and fluvial equipment in Colombia (winner of the Syndicated Loan Deal of the Year 2015 by LatinFinance)
  • Credit Suisse in connection with a multiple-tranche MXN$8.69 billion syndicated financing for Grupo Gondi, a Mexico City-based paper packaging company
  • Linzor Capital on the financing to acquire GE Capital’s equipment lending and leasing platform in Mexico
  • Scotiabank on a term loan and revolving credit facility for Psa Panama International Terminal S.A. to refinance its existing debt

Project Finance

  • A non-US bank on a letter-of-credit facility for a renewable energy company
  • An international client on acquisition financing for the potential acquisition of a renewable portfolio in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Spain, the US, and Uruguay

Company Representation

  • Carlyle Credit Opportunities Fund on forming its Litmus Music platform as well as in connection with the debt financing of its subsequent catalogue acquisitions
  • OpenStore, an ecommerce aggregator, on multiple financing transactions
  • Blackhawk Mining, a coal mining company, on multiple financing transactions

Bar Qualification

  • Mexico (Abogado)
  • New York

Education

  • LL.M., Columbia Law School, 2013
  • Licenciado en Derecho (J.D., Law), Universidad Iberoamericana, 2009

Languages Spoken

  • English
  • Spanish