Argentina’s economy has staged a striking turnaround over the past year. Inflation has fallen to its lowest level in eight years, gross domestic product is expanding at close to 5% and the country is running a fiscal surplus. As confidence has returned, private investment has followed—driving the most active year this decade for mergers and acquisitions, bonds and loans.
A constant presence across this surge in dealmaking was one law firm: Bruchou & Funes de Rioja. Its role in transactions spanning energy, mining, banking, infrastructure and sovereign operations made it a defining force in Argentina’s reawakening capital markets. From reopening project finance markets and enabling multibillion-dollar energy infrastructure to guiding consolidation in banking and technology, the firm helped shape the contours of Argentina’s recovery, earning it the title of Law Firm of the Year for Argentina.
“Each of our practice areas was prepared for the moment the situation changed. The quality of our team and the scope of the practice is a value added. It differentiates us,” says José Bazán, a partner at the firm.
With more than 30 practice areas and 173 attorneys—including 51 partners—Bruchou advised on transactions across the full spectrum of Argentina’s revival, working with state entities, multinational corporates and local champions. “When you step back and look at the trajectory, we are talking about an enormous number of projects and billions of dollars. While saying we are on every deal would be a lie, we were pretty close,” Bazán says.
A hallmark of the year was the first wave of large-scale investments under the government’s RIGI framework, which promotes projects above $20 million. Bruchou was central to several of the most consequential of these initiatives, particularly in energy and natural resources.
Among the most significant was Vaca Muerta Oil Sur (VMOS), a strategic oil pipeline designed to unlock exports from Argentina’s vast shale formation, which holds an estimated 16 billion barrels of crude and 308 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. The VMOS consortium, led by state-owned YPF, secured a $2 billion loan, with total investment expected to reach approximately $3 billion.
“VMOS was the largest commercial loan for an infrastructure project in the country and it reopened the international market for project financing, which had been closed since 2019,” Bazán says.
Bruchou also played a leading role in upstream consolidation as producers positioned for export growth. A standout transaction was Vista Energy’s $1.5 billion acquisition of Petronas’s Argentine subsidiary, structured through a complex mix of payment mechanisms to bridge valuation and regulatory considerations.
Mining and critical minerals formed another pillar of activity. As Argentina moved to capitalize on lithium and copper resources, Bruchou advised on transactions that underscored the country’s return to global mining investment flows. Most notably, the firm supported the creation of a joint venture between Lundin Mining and BHP for the Vicuña copper project, a cross-border development straddling Argentina and Chile with potential investment of up to $17 billion.
In financial services and corporate M&A, Bruchou advised on landmark transactions that reshaped key sectors. These included Prosus’s $1.7 billion acquisition of Despegar and bank consolidation deals such as Banco Galicia’s acquisition of HSBC’s local operations and Banco Macro’s purchase of Itaú’s Argentine unit—signals of renewed confidence in Argentina’s consumer, technology and financial sectors.
On the public side, Bruchou worked with the federal government, provincial authorities and the Central Bank on operations critical to financial stabilization. The firm was the only law firm to advise the Central Bank on its repo operations—transactions that helped restore liquidity tools and reconnect Argentina with international markets. Bazán was among the partners directly involved.
The firm’s workload mirrored the structural shift underway under President Javier Milei’s reform agenda. Further changes to labor and tax policy are expected to drive another wave of complex transactions in 2026.
“We were ready. Doubts about the economy are subsiding and there is support for the reforms. Risk has reduced, which points to more activity,” Bazán says.