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Image: Jonathan E. Kellner

Jonathan E. Kellner

Partner, Corporate Department

Overview

Jonathan Kellner is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions practice and the Chair of the São Paulo office. He focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity and venture capital, capital markets, bank finance, and investment funds for U.S. and Latin American corporations and financial institutions. 

Mr. Kellner has experience working on transactions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru, and he regularly transacts in Portuguese and Spanish.

Education

  • Duke University School of Law, J.D.
  • Duke University School of Law, LL.M., International & Comparative Law
  • University of Virginia, B.A.

Representations


Mergers & Acquisitions 

  • Advised Arezzo Indústria e Comércio S.A., a leader in the women’s footwear, handbags, and accessories market in Brazil, on the acquisition of assets from, and a licensing and distribution agreement in Brazil with, Vans.
  • Advised Grupo ABC, the largest advertising agency in Brazil, in the sale of its stake in Pereira & O’Dell LLC to Serviceplan.
  • Advised the selling shareholders on the sale of Agrosema Comercial Agrícola Ltda. to Nutrien Ltd.
  • Advised Gavea Investimentos, a large Brazilian private equity fund, in its investment, together with Softbank and other leading investors, in VTEX.
  • Advised Moove, a leading global producer and distributor of lubricants and base oils, in its acquisition of PetroChoice Lubrication Solutions from Golden Gate Capital for US$479 million. (Corporate/Strategic Deal of the Year (Over $250M) - The M&A Advisor M&A Awards 2023) 
  • Advised Mubadala Capital in its investment in Prumo S.A.

Capital Markets

  • Advised PagSeguro Digital Ltd on its US$2.6 billion initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
  • Advised Temasek as selling shareholder in the R$3.4 billion initial public offering of Hidrovias do Brasil. 

Investment Funds 

  • Advised Cyrela Commercial Properties in connection with the formation of a joint venture with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for investments in the Brazilian commercial real estate sector.
  • Advised AIYRA Empreendimentos e Participações Ltda. in the formation of a joint venture with GIC to invest in the Brazilian residential real estate market.
  • Advised Equitas Venture I, LP in the creation of a venture capital fund for investments in Brazil.

Practice Areas

Corporate

Energy

Latin America

Mergers and Acquisitions


Languages

English

Portuguese

Spanish


Admissions

Sao Paulo Foreign Legal Consultant

New York Bar


Education

Duke University School of Law, JD / LLM 2003

University of Virginia, B.A. 1999