ARGENTINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Agustin Ferrari and Astrid Nottebohm, Naveira, Truffat, Martínez, Ferrari & Mallo Abogados
nantly in the Vaca Muerta area) have applied to the regime, with the El Quemado solar energy project in the Province of Mendoza, sponsored by Luz de Campo S.A. and YPF Luz, and the project involving the construction of an oil pipe - line by the new joint venture Vaca Muerta Oil Sur (VMOS), being the first two projects approved. The privatisation boom fostered by Milei with respect to over 50 publicly-owned firms was also a significant trend that drew attention from multiple sectors and contributed to buoyancy of the M&A industry. The sale of the government’s interest in IMPSA, a highly-indebted metallurgi - cal company primarily operating in the hydro - electric, wind and nuclear sectors, to an ARC Energy-backed vehicle, was the first privati - sation to successfully close in a row of long, delicate and complex processes in which much development is yet to be seen. Argentina’s renowned human talent, competitive advantages and dynamic scientific community create an environment with high potential for investment and growth in the technology and knowledge-based services sector which has seen some significant activity in recent months. Expected labour law, foreign-exchange and tax reforms reducing the liabilities that negatively affect valuations will be crucial in deepening the As previously described, oil & gas was among the most active sectors in the past 12 months, with several superdeals made, such as: • Pluspetrol’s acquisition of some of Exxonmo - bil’s assets; • Geopark’s acquisition of oil fields in Neuquén and Río Negro; sector’s dynamism. 1.3 Key Industries
• YPF’s acquisition from Equinor of onshore assets in Vaca Muerta; • the new VMOS joint venture involving YPF, PAE, Pluspetrol, Vista, Pampa Energía, Shell and Chevron; and • YPF’s sale of mature oilfields to Grupo Pérez Companc, Quintana E&P, Compañía TSB, Bentia Energía-Ingeniería Sima, Velitec and PCR in order to focus on Vaca Muerta. In the mining sector, particular interest has developed with respect to copper, lithium, gold and uranium projects. In this sector: • BHP and Lundin Mining have set up a JV in the province of San Juan (on the Argentine- Chile border) to acquire assets in a deal worth over USD3 billion; • Jaguar Uranium acquired two Uranium (Canada) projects from IsoEnergy; • Eramet (France) acquired interest in a lithium project in the Salta province; • CNGR (China) acquired control over a solar project in Salta; and • Ganfeng Lithium (China) acquired a stake in the Pastos Grandes lithium project, also in Salta. Notable transactions in the renewables sector included Stellantis’ acquisition of a stake in 360 Energy, as well as the consolidation of players that entered the country during the Macri admin - istration and the Renovar programmes. In the retail and mass consumer sectors, News - an S.A., a leader group in the manufacturing and sale of home appliances and consumer elec - tronics announced an exclusive agreement with Procter & Gamble (P&G) for the commercialisa - tion in Argentina of some of its iconic products as part of P&G’s exit plan from Argentina. In the same line, Dreamco S.A. completed the acquisi -
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