Antonio Prida Returns to Curtis as Partner in Mexico City After Serving as Minister in Europe for Mexican Government Agency

Mexico City, September 21, 2009 — International law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP has announced that Antonio M. Prida is returning to the firm as a partner in the Mexico City office and in its International Corporate practice group. Prida had spent the past 18 months heading the Western European initiatives of the Mexican government agency ProMéxico.

“We are very pleased to welcome Antonio Prida back to the firm after his important government service in Europe for Mexico,” said Curtis Managing Partner Matias A. Vega. “This unique international experience will be an asset not only for him, but for Curtis and its clients as he returns to our practice.”

Prida, one of the founders of the Mexico City office of Curtis in 1991, brings back to Curtis his experience in a wide range of Mexican and international matters, including corporate, commercial, labor and antitrust law. He has served as an advisor to Mexican and foreign investors, lenders and creditors in connection with debt and equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, leasing transactions, real estate transactions, joint ventures, transfer of technology and distribution agreements, private equity and venture capital, and purchase and sale transactions involving existing Mexican companies.

His practice includes substantial work in the banking and financial institutions, food and beverage, hotel and lodging, manufacturing, industrial machinery, construction, life sciences, shipping, transportation and entertainment industries. Prida speaks English, Spanish and French. He received his Degree of Law from Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City and is admitted to practice in Mexico and in the States of New York and Texas as a Foreign Legal Consultant.

He was appointed in March 2008 as Minister in Europe by ProMéxico, the government-run institution responsible for strengthening Mexico's participation in the international economy.

ProMéxico's European regional office, headquartered in London, supports the export activity of Mexican-based companies while also attracting direct foreign investment to Mexico.

ProMéxico is a public trust conducted by a Technical Committee headed by the Secretary of Economy and integrated also by the Secretaries of Foreign Relations, the Treasury and Tourism and by the leaders of the most prestigious private-sector organizations.

“The experience enlarged my view of Europe, and I believe that the rest of my professional life will be linked with that region,” said Prida. “Mexico needs to develop its business relations around the world at the same time as it strengthens its relations with its natural allies, the other North American countries. I am excited to return to Curtis strengthened in many ways by my international experiences at ProMéxico.”

Prida served as ProMéxico's Regional Director for Europe 1 (primarily Western Europe), and was responsible for opening its offices in Brussels, the Hague, London, Madrid, Milan and Paris.

ProMéxico actively participated in the commercial agendas related to the State Visits of President Calderón to Spain and the United Kingdom and the visits of President Sarkozy and the Princes of Belgium to Mexico.

The Curtis Mexico City office is an integral part of the firm's broader Latin American practice as well as the base of the firm's Mexico practice. Curtis offers one of the most robust Latin America practices of any international law firm, having counseled clients in the region for well over a century. Curtis' Mexico City attorneys are experienced with cross-border and domestic transactions, equity and debt offerings, project finance and infrastructure, privatizations, arbitration, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, investment management and venture capital.

The firm's Latin American clients include governmental entities and private-sector companies throughout North and South America and Europe in a diverse range of industries, including commodities (oil and gas, metals, minerals and water), energy, industrial and consumer products, agriculture and food products, telecommunications, transportation, finance, media and tourism. The Mexico City office routinely draws upon the firm's international network to provide full-service representation to Latin American clients and international clients doing business in the region.