News & Resources

PMA acted as counsel to Popular, Inc. (“Popular”), the leading banking institution by both assets and deposits in Puerto Rico, and its subsidiary Popular North America, Inc. (“PNA”), in the restructuring of the terms of $233.2 million of senior notes of PNA, guaranteed by Popular, that were originally issued in 2007 to various institutional investors. The restructuring, which was completed in June 2011, was handled by partners Eduardo J. Arias and Antonio J. Santos.

PMA acted as counsel to Banco Popular de Puerto Rico in connection with the restructuring of credit facilities in the aggregate amount of $72,000,000 to one of the principal pharmaceutical distribution companies on the Island. The transaction closed in April of 2011. Partners Donald E. Hull and Manuel del Valle handled this matter.

PMA acted as underwriters and Puerto Rico special tax counsel in connection with the $112.6 million Hospital Revenue and Refunding Bonds, Series 2011A and B issued on July 7, 2011 by the Puerto Rico, Industrial, Tourist, Educational, Medical and Environmental Control Facilities Financing Authority. The Authority loaned the proceeds of the bonds to the Hospital Auxilio Mutuo Obligated Group, which operates one of the largest private tertiary care hospitals in Puerto Rico. The underwriting group was lead by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and included FirstBank Puerto Rico Securities Corp. and Popular Securities, Inc. Partners Javier D. Ferrer and Manuel Rodríguez handled this matter.

PMA advised Triple-S Management Corporation (Triple-S) and its managed care subsidiary Triple-S Salud, Inc. in their $83 million all-cash acquisition of all the outstanding capital stock of Socios Mayores en Salud Holdings, Inc. (“SMSH”), the parent company of American Health, Inc., a provider of Medicare Advantage services to over 40,000 dual and non-dual eligible members in Puerto Rico. Partners Javier D. Ferrer and Manuel Rodríguez Boissen handled this matter. The transaction, which positioned Triple-S for continued growth in the Medicare Advantage segment, was structured as a reverse triangular merger and closed on February 2011. Triple-S is the leading managed care company in Puerto Rico and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, holding the exclusive rights to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield name and trademark in Puerto Rico. With approximately 1,000,000 customers, it reaches 30% of Puerto Rico’s population.

PMA acted as underwriters and Puerto Rico special tax counsel in connection with the $112.6 million Hospital Revenue and Refunding Bonds, Series 2011A and B issued on July 7, 2011 by the Puerto Rico, Industrial, Tourist, Educational, Medical and Environmental Control Facilities Financing Authority. The Authority loaned the proceeds of the bonds to the Hospital Auxilio Mutuo Obligated Group, which operates one of the largest private tertiary care hospitals in Puerto Rico. The underwriting group was lead by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and included FirstBank Puerto Rico Securities Corp. and Popular Securities, Inc. Partners Javier D. Ferrer and Manuel Rodríguez Boissen handled this matter.

PMA partners Javier D. Ferrer and Antonio R. Molina represented Banco Santander Puerto Rico as lead lender and administrative agent in connection with the $242 million senior secured credit facility for the State Insurance Fund Corporation, a public corporation and government instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the first such loan from the private sector ever made to the public corporation in May 2011. The State Insurance Fund is the sole entity authorized by law to provide workmen’s compensation insurance in Puerto Rico.

Chambers and Partners recently announced that PMA has been shortlisted as Puerto Rico Law Firm of the Year. The award recognizes outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service.

We are proud to announce that in its 2011 Global edition, PMA received a top Band 1 ranking in the Corporate Commercial and Dispute Resolution (Litigation) areas by Chambers and Partners.

For the second consecutive year, PMA collaborated on Getting the Deal Through – Product Liability, an annual report published by Law Business Research Ltd. whose contributing editors are Harvey L. Kaplan and Gregory L. Fowler. Getting the Deal Through- Product Liability provides international analysis in the area of product liability law for legal practitioners and business people. The 2010 Getting the Deal Through- Product Liability includes information on thirty-two (32) jurisdictions, with contributors from each jurisdiction preparing their jurisdiction’s chapter. Néstor M. Méndez Gómez, Heidi L. Rodríguez, María D. Trelles, and Jason R. Aguiló co-authored the updated chapter on Puerto Rico, which includes information regarding the Puerto Rico and U.S. Federal court systems and civil procedure in each forum, as well as products liability law in Puerto Rico. For more information on this publication, please visit www.GettingtheDealThrough.com.

Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig announced on November 11, 2010, that Major League Baseball has established a new structure that will oversee the continued implementation of reform to the game’s operations in the Dominican Republic and throughout Latin America. PMA litigation partner, Jorge E. Pérez-Diaz has been named the interim head of Latin American Oversight for Major League Baseball, succeeding Sandy Alderson, who was recently appointed General Manager of the New York Mets. Jorge, who has been working with Major League Baseball on Latin American issues since January, will be responsible for continuing the implementation of recommended changes aimed at improving operations in Latin America. Jorge will consult with a three-person Latin American Oversight Committee, which will be comprised of Alderson; Larry Beinfest, President of Baseball Operations for the Florida Marlins; and Bill Smith, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Minnesota Twins. PMA managing partner, Jaime E. Santos said “we, at PMA, celebrate Jorge’s designation as the interim head of Latin American Oversight for MLB and are very excited with the opportunity of collaborating with MLB in this important endeavor.”