Winston & Strawn Wins Latin Lawyer’s 2020 Private Equity Deal of the Year Award

Winston & Strawn received Latin Lawyer's 2020 Private Equity Deal of the Year Award for representing Grupo Wiese, a consolidated economic and business group based in Peru, in the January 2020 sale of 98.04% of NISA Blindados S.A. (Nisa Blindados), which owns 14.76% of Hermes Transportes Blindados S.A. (Hermes), to CVC Group, an investment firm that seeks to invest in the commercial products, consumer durables, and retail sectors. 

Nisa Blindados is a Peruvian company established in 2017 and headquartered in Lima, Peru. The company’s line of business includes the arranging of transportation of freight and cargo. CVC Capital Partners, through the CVC Fund VII acquired The Caryle Group’s shares of Hermes. This transaction marks CVC’s first investment in Peru. Hermes, listed in the Lima Stock Exchange, is a leading provider of cash management services with a nationwide network of 18 branches, 228 armored vehicles, and over 3,700 employees. The company offers valuable logistics, cash processing, and custody services to a blue-chip client base comprised of more than 1,000 active clients in the financial, retail, utilities, and mining segments. Hermes is a mission critical partner to the largest financial institutions and retail organizations in Peru.

As part of the negotiation, CVC acquired the Osma Family Trust’s 10.24% equity interest in Hermes. Assuming control of Hermes, a takeover bid was conducted for up to 84,04% of the shares of the company’s capital stock. CVC also acquired 98.0411% of the shares of Nisa Blindados, which were held by majority shareholders and Grupo Wiese of Peru, for US$40.8 million. Nisa Blindados owns shares representing 14.76% of the capital stock of Hermes, who in turn was valued for an enterprise value of approximately US$400M.

Latin Lawyer’s editorial team selected the winning deals from more than 600 nominations. New York Partners Talbert Navia and Sey-Hyo Lee and former Foreign Legal Advisor Adrián Méndez Sevilla represented Grupo Wiese.