Biography: Mergers and Acquisitions

Armando Arias is a partner at Arias & Muñoz, the only law firm in Central America with its own offices in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. He leads its corporate department, specialising in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, international commerce and contracting, banking law, fiscal planning and project finance. He has participated in many local and multinational transactions, such as joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions and project finance, including some of the biggest and most complex transactions in the region in recent times. He advised business groups in the negotiations of the free trade agreement (CAFTA) between the United States and Central America (2005) and the Association Agreement, a free trade agreement with the European Union (2008/2009).

Latin Lawyer praises him as 'one of the most important lawyers in El Salvador and Central America'. Chambers Latin America commends him as 'one of the most prestigious experts in the country', and World Finance Magazine named him Best M&A Lawyer in Central America (2009).

He obtained his Doctorate Degree from Universidad de El Salvador (1978) and studied Economics at Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas, El Salvador. He also attended the Program of Instructions for Lawyers at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts (2001).

He was professor of Commercial Law at Universidad Dr José Matías Delgado Law School (1982-1993). He is admitted as higher member of the Interamerican Bar Association (1995), and is currently president of the American Chamber of Commerce of El Salvador (AmCham), and of the Salvadoran Banking Association (ABANSA), and was recently elected as board member of the Latin-American Banking Federation (FELABAN).

Other Practice Areas

Armando Arias also features in the following practice areas:

• Corporate Governance