Deal: LG International (LGI) acquire a 20 percent equity interest in GeoPark Columbia S.A (GeoPark Columbia)

Value: US$20.1 million

Key players: Ashurst were the lead legal advisers for the Korean behemoth LGI on its expansion into the energy and resources sector in Latin America. The lead Ashurst partners were Rupert Lewi from Perth and Jason Radford in New York.
International firms that acted for LGI included Larrain Y Associados (Chile), Briggard & Urrutia (Colombia) And Arias & Munoz (Panama).
Washington-based Chadbourne & Parke partner Noam Ayali acted for GeoPark.

Deal Significance: This deal sees LGI enter the Columbian oil and gas market. GeoPark is a leading oil and gas exploration company in Columbia, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market. GeoPark has recently acquired interests in 10 hydrocarbon blocks in Columbia.
An LGI official said, “We have successfully entered the E&P business in Colombia in addition to Chile, thus securing a hub in Central and South America. In the future, we will continue to expand our natural resource development business and other relevant areas, including the building of logistics infrastructures into the whole Central and South American region.”