Vicente Saenz

Vicente Sáenz de Santa María

Associate
About

Vicente Sáenz de Santa María concentrates his practice in corporate, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and venture capital. He advises companies and investors on financing rounds. This includes Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A and Series B, in Chile and abroad, through equity or debt instruments, such as convertible mutuals or simple agreements for future equity (SAFE) contracts, and on the strategy and implementation of compensation plans for workers, consultants, or employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).

Vicente also advises companies and startups on expanding and internationalizing their businesses, either through company flips abroad or through domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

Regarding M&A, his practice includes structuring, drafting, and negotiating share purchase and sale agreements, asset purchase and sale agreements, and shareholders' agreements, among other corporate documents, and assisting and leading due diligence processes.

In corporate governance best practices, Vicente has advised leading companies, such as open corporations of significant national and international relevance, in preparing corporate governance codes, manuals, and policies, boards and committees, directors' responsibilities, evaluation procedures, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, among other things.

Bar AdmissionsChile, 2020

EXPERIENCE

Venture Capital
  • FEN Ventures in the negotiation and preparation for investments in:
    • Shinkansen SpA, a Chilean fintech specialized in fast money transfers and payments, with a US$200,000 investment through a SAFE instrument, including full due diligence
    • Wibond, a fintech offering installment payments without the need for a credit card, with a US$250,000 seed investment
    • Vita Wallet, a fintech enabling fast and easy international payments for individuals and companies, with a US$400,000 bridge investment
    • Flycrew Chile, a company operating a training hub, with a US$350,000 seed investment
  • Betterplan, a Chilean fintech company consisting of a customized investment platform, in the structuring, negotiation, and preparation of the investment documents for a Series A equity round amounting to approximately US$1.85 million
    • In addition, convertible notes and previous SAFEs were converted, and the transaction was performed in connection with a change in the company's legal structure, moving from Chile to Delaware
  • Carvuk, a startup that developed an online platform for providing mechanics and car repair services to car owners, in the negotiation, structuring, execution, and closing of a seed round through SAFE instruments subscribed with several investors
  • RentApp, a proptech that developed a software platform for lease management, in the negotiation and execution of a Pre-Seed investment round with local investors through SAFE instruments
  • Caja de Compensación Los Andes and its subsidiary CLA Digital SpA in the negotiation, execution, and development of an alliance/business partnership with SoyFocus and its related companies, a Chilean fintech consisting of a specialized investment platform
    • The advisory included an investment by CLA in SoyFocus through a convertible note
  • Dily (formerly TransaTuAuto), a startup that developed a platform for the secure and online transfer of vehicles, in the negotiation and execution of a seed round in equity in which the entry of new strategic investors materialized, including a significant Chilean family office
  • Checkeados, a technology platform for the online purchase and sale of used cars, in the structuring, negotiation, and implementation of financing granted by BTG Pactual Venture Debt I Investment Fund and BTG Pactual Venture Debt II Investment Fund through the opening of a credit line with two disbursements
    • Additionally, in the negotiation, implementation and subscription of an option agreement for BTG to invest in Checkeados in a future round of venture capital financing
  • Wareclouds, a platform that uses space in private homes for storage and dispatch of products to e-commerce, in the negotiation and preparation of investment documents for a Series Seed-3 equity round
    • In addition, convertible notes and SAFEs were converted. The transaction was carried out in conjunction with a change in the company's legal structure, moving from Chile to Delaware
  • Pawer, a startup that provides pet insurance through digital media, in the structuring, preparing and negotiating the necessary documentation for an investment of US$100,000 in a bridge round through convertible notes, which included several investors
  • The Live Green Co., a Chilean company dedicated to developing clean and vegan food formulas, in the US$7 million investment in their Pre-Series A round
  • Customer Scoops in their series seed investment round of US$220,000 subscribed by local investors with convertible instruments
  • Vestuá in a Series A investment round of US$1.5 million subscribed by local investors
  • Wild Foods, a Chilean company that develops healthy food products, in the negotiation and preparation of a US$25 million Series A financing round led by Glisco, a Mexican private equity fund
Mergers and Acquisitions
  • CAR Group Limited (Carsales), a renowned technology company with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, dedicated to the online car buying and selling business, in the structuring, negotiation and execution of the purchase and acquisition of 50.1% of Autofact Chile SpA, a software company that has developed a 100% platform for the secure transfer of cars, and the preparation of reports with technical and mechanical backgrounds
  • Modyo, a Chilean company that developed a SaaS (Software as a Service) leader in modular frontend solutions for financial, banking and insurance companies, in the sale of 100% of its stake to a Chilean subsidiary of Constellation Software Inc. (TSX: CSU), a leading Canadian software and services company
  • Talana (Linq SpA), a Chilean start-up that developed and commercialized a software for software to digitize and automate the processes related to employee management within companies, in the acquisition of 100% ownership of Key Clouding (Tescloud SpA), a Chilean company that offers software solutions to streamline and simplify the selection of talent, improving recruitment processes within companies
  • Soluciones en Minería y Energía SpA ("Zyght"), in the sale and transfer of the commercial operations of Zyght, including all its technology, assets, certain liabilities and business, to the company Datamine Chile S.A., a Chilean subsidiary of Vela Software International, Inc., a well-known global company in software development, marketing, and related services
  • Beetrack, a Chilean start-up that developed SaaS (Software as a Service) for fleet management and parcel tracking for shipping and delivery companies, in the sale of their 100% ownership to DispatchTrack, LLC. and DispatchTrack Intermediate, LLC., a US group of companies dedicated to last-mile delivery and route optimization
  • Advent International, one of the world's largest and most experienced private equity investors, in conjunction with our offices in Colombia, Spain, Argentina and Peru, in the due diligence process and other local legal matters for a joint venture with CEMEX for the acquisition of its subsidiary NEORIS, a technology and digital transformation services consulting firm
Corporate Governance
  • Cámara Nacional de Comercio, the most important national trade federation that brings together companies and guilds in the areas of commerce, services, and tourism throughout Chile, in the process of reviewing, updating, and modernizing its corporate governance practices through the preparation and drafting of a new proposal of bylaws
  • Aguas Andinas in analyzing and adopting the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance as the company's corporate governance framework and standard
    • Additionally, adaptation of its current General Policy of Habituality for its operations with related parties by the regulations in consultation with the Financial Market Commission (CMF) ("General Rule No. 501"), which aims to establish the minimum matters and mentions that should be contained in the policies of usual operations of open corporations
  • Viña Concha y Toro (CyT), the leading wine producer in Latin America with an outstanding position among the most important wine companies in the world and a presence in more than 130 countries, in the review, update and drafting of a new Corporate Governance Code, as well as the analysis, review and adaptation of its current General Customary Policy for its operations with related parties in accordance with the regulations under consultation with the CMF (now General Rule No. 501)
Languages
  • Spanish
  • English

Awards

The Legal 500 Latin America

  • Recommended, Chile Venture Capital, (2025)
Education
  • LL.M., University of Sydney, Law School, 2025
  • Law Degree, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, School of Law, 2018

Publications

Media Mentions

  • Mentioned, "The 17 lawyers who led the largest transactions in the Chilean market in 2022," Financial Journal, March 15, 2023
  • Mentioned, "Dispatch Track acquires Beetrack and expands in America," Lex Latin, January 5, 2022