About
EMILIO AARÚN IS A PARTNER IN THE FIRM’S MEXICO CITY OFFICE AND A MEMBER OF THE BANKING AND FINANCE, AND BANKRUPTCY AND RESTRUCTURING PRACTICES.
Emilio advises international and domestic banks, non-bank lenders, debt funds, investment banks, other financial institutions, institutional investors, and corporate borrowers on a wide range of complex banking and finance transactions, as well as out-of-court bankruptcy and restructuring matters. His practice encompasses structured finance, real estate finance, project finance, asset-based lending, mezzanine financing, acquisition finance, corporate finance, bilateral and syndicated facilities, secured and unsecured domestic and cross-border loans, loan portfolio-based lending, agricultural loans, and workouts. He also advises private equity and venture capital funds on mezzanine financing structures across a variety of sectors including energy, telecommunications, data centers, and hospitality.
Emilio's representative out-of-court restructuring experience includes advising lender groups in complex, multilateral cross-border financial restructurings, including certain voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 proceedings of a globally recognized, market-leading automotive company, and the restructuring of one of Mexico's largest cinema chains during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also represented one of the largest non-bank financial institutions in Mexico and Latin America in completing the Mexican component of its Chapter 22 restructuring. This engagement involved structuring and implementing a debtor-in-possession financing, conducting the concurso mercantil proceeding of several affiliates, restructuring cross-border debt, and implementing intercompany claim transfers pursuant to the Chapter 11 plan. In addition, Emilio participated in one of the largest Chapter 11 plans of reorganization in the offshore drilling sector, including its Mexican reorganization component.
In his lending practice, Emilio has participated in the negotiation of numerous domestic and cross-border financing transactions. His experience includes financing the modernization and renovation of one of Mexico's most prominent stadiums, implementing innovative project finance structures for online platforms in the automotive sector, and structuring a green loan for the renovation and expansion of Latin America's largest public bicycle-sharing system in Mexico City. He has also advised on acquisition and development financings for hotels in Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, and Cancún, financing the construction of a major mixed-use office development for one of Mexico's leading companies in the financial sector, and a structured refinancing for one of Mexico's largest residential developers involving a collateral package comprising more than 50,000 real estate properties. He has also advised on structured financings in the hospitality, retail, and non-bank financial institution sectors, and has represented real estate startups and their lenders in connection with innovative financing structures.
Emilio has been recognized as a leading lawyer in banking and finance by Chambers and Partners as Band 2 in Latin America and as Band 3 in Global, Legal 500 as Leading Partner, and Best Lawyers.
Emilio obtained his law degree from Universidad Anáhuac in 2003, a postgraduate law degree in Corporate Law from Universidad Anáhuac in 2005, and his LL.M. (Legal and Business Administration Program) from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid in 2006. He worked as a foreign associate in the New York office of Cleary Gottlieb in 2011. He is a member of the Mexican Bar Association, the American Bar Association (ABA), the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), and the Mexican-Lebanese Lawyer's Association (Al Muhami). He is co-author of the IFLR Americas Regional Report 2016 publication "Smoothing the Process" on insolvency and corporate reorganization, and the Mexican chapter of the 2021 ABA publication "Global Financial Collateral: A Guide to Security Interest in Securities, Securities Accounts and Deposit Accounts." His native language is Spanish, and he is fluent in English.