Harsco acquires ESCO Interamerica, Ltda.
Client(s) Harsco Corporation
Jones Day advised Harsco Corporation in its acquisition of ESCO Interamerica, Ltda., one of Latin America's premier engineering and equipment services providers to the infrastructure sector and the number one market leader in Central America and the Caribbean. The transaction had a few noteworthy aspects. First, ESCO Interamerica's business is located solely in Latin America and the Caribbean, primarily Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago and Puerto Rico, which required extensive use and coordination of local counsel in these jurisdictions. Our Mexico City office was particularly helpful with this coordination. Second, in order to satisfy Panamanian foreign ownership and tax requirements, the transaction involved the separate acquisition of a so-called "Grandfather entity" in Panama and the separate acquisition of ESCO Interamerica's Panamanian subsidiary.