Sanchez Fischer Levine, LLP

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Xavier Ruiz

Meet Our Attorneys

  • 1200 Brickell Avenue, Ste 750, Miami, Florida 33131
  • (305) 925-9947
  • Xavier.ruiz@rclawllp.net
Xavier Ruiz - Sanchez Fischer Levine

Xavier Ruiz

OF COUNSEL

Xavier Ruiz is an experienced attorney that serves as Of Counsel* to Sanchez Fischer Levine, LLP. Mr. Ruiz works with Sanchez Fischer Levine, LLP by way of its alliance with RC Law, where he is a founding partner. Mr. Ruiz brings a wide breath of knowledge and experience in cross-border corporate and finance transactions, especially in the United States and Latin America. Over the years, he has acted as New York’s M&A or finance counsel to some of the major European and Asian corporates, including Sony Corporation, Telefonica, Prosegur , BBVA, Indra, Mapfre, Dragados, Abengoa, Caixabank, Bankia, ACS, Vantico (Ciba Geigy), Globalia, Riu Hotels, Chemo (now Insud Pharma), and Fagor Ederlan.

Practice Areas

Education

  • Licenciado en Derecho (JD equivalent), University of Barcelona, Spain (1982).
  • Master in International and Comparative Law (Cum Laude), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels), Brussels, Belgium (1985).
  • LLM (With Honors), University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California (1986). Fulbright Scholar.

Admissions

  • Spain, 1988
  • New York, 1999

Perspective

Overview

Mr. Ruiz brings a unique expertise to international transactions, as he can efficiently combine his experience as a New York law practitioner and his understanding of the rigors and demands of U.S. legal practice with his comprehension of the laws and principles of the civil law system. This talent makes him particularly valuable when advising European (especially Spanish) and Latin American companies operating in the United States, as well as European and U.S. companies doing New York law governed transactions in Latin America.

Mr. Ruiz has received several recognitions as an M&A expert by leading legal publications, including Euromoney’s “Guide of the World’s Leading M&A Lawyers” (US Chapter) in 2004 and 2005, and by Chamber’s “Legal 500 – Latin America” in 2015 and 2016, with a client praising him as “really exceptional” and another suggesting that he “went far beyond what I could expect from a lawyer”. He is a frequent speaker on M&A related topics on diverse fora throughout Spain and Latin America and is the co-author of the U.S. chapter of the “Guide on Shareholders’ Agreements” (2018), published by the International Bar Association.

Mr. Ruiz is a graduate of the University of Barcelona (1982) and holds the degree of Master in International and Comparative Law from the Free University of Brussels (1986, Cum Laude) and an LLM degree from the University of California at Berkeley (1987, With Honors), where he studied as a Fulbright Scholar. He is admitted in New York and Spain and is a member of the International Bar Association, where he served as a Committee Officer for four years.

Mr. Ruiz is also a member of the Board of Directors and the Vice-Chairman of the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce in New York, where he served as Executive Chairman from 2010 to 2014. He also serves on a pro-bono basis as a member of the Advisory Board and as Secretary of the Vicente Ferrer Foundation (USA), a U.S. non-profit organization devoted to fighting poverty in India.

*RC Law, LLP is a separate law firm from Sanchez Fischer Levine, LLP.  The “Of Counsel” designation is used to describe the relationship between the two firms and their lawyers in jointly representing certain common clients on specified matters. Xavier Ruiz is not an attorney employed by Sanchez Fischer Levine, LLP. Sanchez Fischer Levine, LLP and its attorneys are likewise not employed by RC Law, LLP.

  • Acted for a Spanish financial lender in connection with a US$600 million acquisition financing for a tender offer by a Colombian company over a Peruvian listed company.
  • Acted for a Swiss travel conglomerate in connection with various acquisitions of U.S. incoming business operators.
  • Acted for Mexican sellers in connection with a more than US$250 million sale of a Mexican media/entertainment family business to a U.S. network.
  • Advised Swiss/United Kingdom chemical conglomerate in connection with the spin off of its specialty chemical business.
  • Acted for a Spanish-listed security group in connection with its more than US$200 million acquisition of the largest Latin American security group with subsidiaries in eight Latin American countries.
  • Acted as lead counsel for the reorganization of the Western Hemisphere subsidiaries of a leading Japanese electronics conglomerate that involved 10 countries and valued more than US$1 billion.
  • Acted for a Spanish leading telecommunications company in connection with its more than US$350 million tender offer regarding a telecommunications carrier in Central America.
  • Acted for a U.S. private equity firm in connection with the acquisition of the Spanish soft drink beverage business of a U.S. chemical and food conglomerate.
  • Acted for a U.S.-listed pharmaceutical company in connection with the sale of a manufacturing plant in Spain.
  • Acted for a U.S.-listed chemical group in connection with the sale of its Spanish specialty chemical business.
  • Acted for a Spanish company in connection with the bulk sale of a U.S.-listed offshore construction and management company.
  • Acted for a Spanish industrial group in connection with the establishment of joint venture manufacturing facilities in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
  • Acted for a Spanish-listed construction company in connection with its acquisition of a U.S. security solutions company.
  • Acted for a U.S.-listed company in connection with several acquisitions of automobile parts manufacturers in Argentina.
  • Acted for a U.S.-listed telecommunications/media company in connection with the acquisition of 17 cable TV operators in Argentina.
  • Acted for a U.S.-listed generics company in connection with two successive acquisitions of pharmaceutical and food producing companies in Argentina.
  • Acted for a leading, Spanish family-owned kitchen equipment manufacturer in connection with its US$150 million takeover of its U.S. joint venture group.
  • Advised a leading U.S. healthcare management company in connection with a joint venture with a local partner to build and manage a private clinic in Barcelona, Spain.
  • Acted for a Spanish-listed company in connection with its acquisition of two vehicle service/extended warranty providers in the U.S.
  • Acted for a Latin American telecommunications infrastructure company headquartered in Guatemala in connection with the sale of 50% of its equity interests to a U.S. private equity firm.
  • Acted for a Spanish company in connection with two attempted acquisitions of a U.S. automobile components group from a private equity seller.
  • Advised the New York branch of a Spanish leading financial institution in connection with multiple public finance transactions in the U.S.
  • Advised the Miami branch of a Spanish financial institution on multiple financings of hotels and resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean.
  • Advised the Bolivian government regarding the legal compliance for privatization of a local power company, an electrical distributor and the postal service.
  • Advised on the winning bid in the privatization of the port in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • Advised an electrical company in the U.S. with a contract for a power plant in Buenos Aires, Argentina.