Image of António Soares

António Soares

Capital Markets and Financial Regulation Partner, Lisbon

“I have more than 30 years’ experience as a corporate and capital markets counsel, as well as having been involved from the outset in developing the Portuguese securities legislation. My comprehensive experience and in-depth knowledge of the market means I provide clients with commercially focused legal advice from a legislative, regulatory and practical perspective.”

Overview

Professional experience

Education and qualifications

Overview

António is widely acknowledged as one of Portugal’s leading lawyers in financial regulatory matters, securities, banking and commercial law. He advises major corporations, including listed companies, banks and financial institutions, and national and foreign investors on some of the most complex and high-profile transactions, both in Portugal and cross-border. He has prowess in equity and debt securities capital markets transactions, financial regulatory, public and private M&A, public offerings, privatisations, and company restructurings.

António is one of the founding partners of the firm’s Lisbon office, which opened in 2002, and served as national managing partner of the firm’s Portugal operations from 2016 to 2023.

Earlier on in his career, António served as a consultant to the Lisbon Stock Exchange and was also member of the board of directors of the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM) for four years.

Work Highlights

 António has led on many of the market’s most important transactions. Highlights include advising:

  • Takeovers: Semapa buyback of its own shares using as consideration shares the company owned in Portucel, the Portuguese paper and pulp company
  • Public offers/private M&A: the Chinese company Fosun on its investment in the Portuguese BCP bank 
  • Regulatory: Novo Banco on its incorporation following the application of a resolution measure to Banco Espirito Santo 
  • Capital markets: Luz Saúde (formerly Espírito Santo Saúde) on its IPO and subsequent takeover by Fidelidade 
  • Privatisations: J.P. Morgan Securities and Caixa - Banco de Investimento on the €343m placement of shares in CTT - Correios de Portugal, the national postal service in Portugal, and the underwriting banks on CTT Group’s IPO on the Lisbon Stock Exchange

Professional experience

While working at the Lisbon Stock Exchange, António assisted with the drafting of the first Portuguese Securities Market Code that also established the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM). He subsequently was appointed as a member of the board of directors of CMVM and assisted with writing the revised market code.

António was closely involved in the creation of the Portuguese Securities Institute (Instituto dos Valores Mobiliários- IVM), which promotes the study of securities law in Portugal through education, conferences and publications. He is also a member of the board of IVM.

António teaches and lectures at IVM on the securities and company law. He also regularly speaks at conferences on company law and capital markets topics.

Education and qualifications

António studied law at the University of Lisbon Law School.

He speaks Portuguese, English and French.