Claudio Sepúlveda

Associate

Emailclaudio.sepulveda@us.dlapiper.com

About

Claudio Sepúlveda is a Senior Associate in the Corporate team at DLA Piper in Santiago. He focuses his practice on infrastructure, construction projects, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and mining, and leads the Real Estate & Construction team at the Santiago office, an area in which he has developed a strategic approach to transactions linked to key productive sectors such as energy, mining, hospitality, and healthcare.

He advises Chilean and international clients at every stage of the project lifecycle, combining deep legal knowledge with a practical, business-oriented vision. His ability to coordinate multidisciplinary teams and his international transactional experience-including a period as a Foreign Associate at DLA Piper LLP (US) in Chicago- enable him to handle complex transactions with a global perspective tailored to the particularities of the local market.

Throughout his career, Claudio has been actively involved in a wide range of industries, including mining, energy, hospitality, education, healthcare, construction, and telecommunications. In construction, his experience spans from early-stage project development, tenders, and negotiation of BOOM (Build, Own, Operate and Maintain), BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer), EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction), and O&M (Operation and Maintenance) contracts, through to construction, claim management, and project closeout.

In the field of mining, Claudio has particularly relevant experience in the establishment and acquisition of exploration and exploitation mining concessions, review of mining titles and concessions for due diligence processes, negotiation of highly complex mining contracts, and regulatory advice on permits and environmental obligations. He has worked with domestic and international clients on projects ranging from lithium exploration and exploitation in northern Chile as well as in various Latin American jurisdictions (Argentina and Bolivia), to the development of iron and gold operations in the Atacama Region.

In the M&A space, he has advised on transactions including strategic acquisitions, stake disposals, corporate restructurings, capital increases, joint ventures, and negotiation of shareholders' agreements, supporting his clients from the due diligence phase through to closing and post-transaction integration.

Areas of FocusFinancial Services Regulatory Technology Corporate Projects and Project Finance Infrastructure, Construction and Transport Energy and Natural Resources

Bar admissionsChile, 2014

EXPERIENCE

Corporate & M&A

Inversiones Santa María in the sale of its stake in the cybersecurity company Neosecure, with presence in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Spain, Colombia, and Brazil, to the Brazilian fund Patria. Additionally, we advised on terminating the shareholders' agreement and future obligations with The Rohatyn Group, which also sold its stake in Neosecure
Janssen S.A. in a capital increase to acquire 60% ownership in Kreis SpA
Axalta Coating Systems in the renegotiation of a distribution contract and ancillary guarantees, essential to maintain its business in Chile
Apollo Global Education in the sale of IACC and the transfer of control of UNIACC

Energy, Mining & Natural Resources

CarbonFree Chile SpA: regarding mining protection (approximately 40 mining concessions) for developing and financing more than 20 photovoltaic projects
Desarrollos Mineros PKR S.A.: in acquiring and establishing various mining exploitation concessions (60 in total) in northern Chile and negotiating for a potential project sale
Admiralty Minerals: advising from the beginning (acquisition of mining concessions) to the present (financing), for the development of an iron project (US$70 million)
A steel producer, in a private bidding process, formed a joint venture with the National Copper Corporation of Chile (CODELCO) to exploit lithium from Salar de Maricunga, the second-largest lithium reserve in Chile
A distributor of sodium-sulfur batteries in the negotiation of an MoU, Supply Contract, and a Master Service and Maintenance Agreement for the development of energy storage projects in Chile

Projects

Turismo y Hoteles Navarino SpA, a joint venture that includes a cruise holding company based in Miami, Florida, US, in the preparation and negotiation of construction contracts for the building of a hotel in the southernmost populated settlement in the world
Constructora Excon S.A.: in the negotiation and signing of various construction contracts (Minera Teck, US$107 million; Minera Spence, US$124 million; BHP, master construction contract, among others). Additionally, a subsidiary company was established in Argentina to execute projects related to the lithium industry (Jujuy - US$50 million; Catamarca – US$110 million). Also, in a joint venture with a leading Chilean company in comprehensive and innovative solutions in the construction and industrial assembly sector, for executing a construction contract signed with Corporación Nacional del Cobre (CODELCO), advising the client during the bidding process
DE'Capital in the negotiation and drafting of EPC contracts for the La Blanquina and Covadonga solar projects, each with an installed capacity of more than 10 MW (US$26 million)
An Australian company dedicated to exploration and development in emerging regions, in the negotiation of an agreement with a Bolivian state-owned company, to test technology and develop a pilot lithium extraction plant in an initial phase and, if the technology is proven satisfactory, provide the framework for the conclusion of an agreement for the development of an industrial lithium plant
A national television channel with regional reach, for the presentation of defenses in the context of the sanctioning procedure initiated against it by the National Television Council for potential non-compliance in implementing digital television in the country

Languages

Awards

Legal 500 Latin America