Mr. Baratta is a Managing Director and Head of Brazil at Houlihan Lokey, having joined the firm in 2023 to launch its São Paulo office. Over the past two decades, he has advised companies across industries on a variety of strategic matters, including debt restructuring, liability management, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, corporate restructurings, investments, and other topics.
Recent deal activity includes advising the AHG of creditors of Oi on its debt restructuring. Selected noteworthy engagements before joining Houlihan Lokey include advising Mubadala on the acquisition of RLAM; Odebrecht on the sale of its interest in Braskem to LyondellBasell (terminated); Coats on the divestiture of its Brazil and Argentina businesses; PPG’s separation of its Commodity Chemicals business and merger with Georgia Gulf Corporation via a Reverse Morris Trust; PetroRecôncavo on its IPO; Ocyan on its debt restructuring (2023); OpenCo’s Series D with SoftBank; Omega Geração on its combination with Omega Desenvolvimento; Embraer on the divestiture of its Evora factory to Aernnova; AHG of creditors of USJ on its debt restructuring; AHG of creditors of Andrade Gutierrez on its debt restructuring; Oi on its mezzanine financing; Natura on the acquisition of Avon; Odebrecht Oil & Gas on its debt restructuring (2017); Odebrecht liability management program; Aché on the acquisition of Melcon; OEC’s exchange offer evaluation; CEMEX’s liability management; Reynolds American’s acquisition of Lorillard, and related transactions involving British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco; Delhaize Group’s sale of its Sweetbay, Harveys, and Reid’s supermarket banners to BI-LO Holdings (Southeastern Grocers); Constellium IPO; and CEMEX’s strategic agreement to outsource its global shared services business to IBM.
Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Baratta spent nearly 12 years at Lazard, where he led the firm’s Industrials and Restructuring and Capital Solutions businesses in Brazil. Before Lazard, he worked as a Strategic Consultant at Accenture, advising clients on corporate finance topics.
Mr. Baratta holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Industrial Engineering from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.