Arias, Fábrega & Fábrega acted as Panamanian counsel to Arcos Dorados, and the underwriting/managing banks, in connection with a US$450 million bond offering in the US set to mature in 2019 at a rate of 7.5 per cent. The underwriting/managing banks were Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

ARIFA joined the team of Latin American counsel acting for both parties to the offering. As local counsel, the firm advised clients on all aspects of Panamanian law.  

It was a challenging transaction that required continuous teamwork among all the parties involved; most of whom were also involved in the original deal transferring the McDonald's franchise to the Argentine consortium and/or the subsequent financing.

Argentina­ based Arcos Dorados is Latin America's biggest restaurant operator and has been the operator and licensee of McDonald’s restaurants in Latin America since they won the licence in 2007.