Shearman & Sterling and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom are among a raft of firms to have advised on the recent initial public offering (IPO) of BTG Pactual – the first-ever float by a Brazilian investment bank.

Skadden advised the bank alongside Brazilian law firm Machado Meyer Sendacz & Opice and offshore firm Conyers Dill & Pearman on the Sao Paulo listing, which raised more than REAL3.6bn (£1.2bn). Skadden partners Michael Civale in New York and Richard Aldrich in Sao Paulo acted on corporate and securitisation matters, alongside New York partners Alan Myers, Michael Hoffman, Heather Cruz and Philip Harris, as well as London tax partner and Brazil specialist James Anderson.

Meanwhile, Shearman and Linklaters' Brazilian best friend Lefosse acted for the underwriters, which included JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Citibank and Banco do Brasil. Shearman's team included capital markets partners Mathias von Bernuth in Sao Paulo and Stuart Fleischmann in New York, as well financial institutions partners Russell Sacks and Thomas Donegan.

Von Bernuth commented: "It was a very successful issuance, both for a major Brazilian company and a financial institution. Brazil continues to develop and it seems clear BTG will play an important role in this development, helping to attract investors to Brazil."

Skadden has a close relationship with BTG through former partner Jonathan Bisgaier, who opened Skadden's Sao Paulo office in 2008 before joining BTG's in-house legal team at the end of the year. He is currently the bank's general counsel.