Isabela Xavier

Isabela Xavier has over 25 years of experience in the legal market, with a career distinguished by her leadership in strategic transactions across M&A, private equity, cross-border deals, and corporate law, with a particular focus on publicly held companies and matters with international scope. Her practice is widely recognized for its strength in mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, and joint ventures, advising Brazilian, foreign, and multinational companies across a broad range of industries.

Isabela previously served as in-house counsel at Strategy, Inc. (Nasdaq: MSTR), where she was responsible for the company’s legal operations in Brazil, Portugal, and South Africa. She was also part of the Corporate Practice Group at Squire Patton Boggs LLP in New York, where she advised clients on highly complex cross-border transactions. She holds a law degree from the University of São Paulo (USP) and an LL.M. from the University of Chicago, one of the most prestigious law schools in the world.

Her work has been recognized by leading national and international legal rankings, including Legal 500, Latin Lawyer 250, Análise Advocacia, and Análise Advocacia Mulher, further solidifying her position as one of the leading professionals in the transactional law field.

Over the course of nearly 30 years, Isabela has advised on approximately 40 M&A transactions in Brazil, most of them cross-border, representing buyers and sellers in roughly equal proportions. Her most significant transactions include:

• Led the legal representation of a U.S.-based education group in its buy-and-build growth strategy in Brazil, handling a series of acquisitions of higher education institutions, the establishment of the group’s Brazilian holding company, and the integration of the acquired companies into the group;
• Advised on the full lifecycle of the business, from the structuring through the subsequent sale of one of Brazil’s pioneering payment companies, representing the U.S. shareholder in its exit from the business;
• Led the legal representation of a British investment fund in the acquisition of several customer experience software companies in Brazil, including the establishment of the Brazilian holding company and the integration of the acquired companies;
• Advised a leading financial institution in Brazil on the acquisition of a fund administrator with proprietary technology that was pioneering in the sector;
• Represented the reference shareholder in the merger and subsequent listing on a foreign stock exchange of a Brazilian sanitation company—one of the first transactions involving a SPAC structured in Brazil;
• Serves as trusted legal counsel to several foreign companies in the hospitality and tourism sector, with relationships spanning more than 15 years, advising on both acquisitions and sales of operations in Brazil;
• Advised on the sale of several facilities management companies in Brazil as part of a broader industry consolidation trend;
• Advised on a merger between companies in the nondurable consumer goods sector, focused on household cleaning products, resulting in the creation of a conglomerate with annual revenue exceeding BRL 1 billion;
• Advised several multinational automotive groups on acquisitions of auto parts companies in Brazil;
• Led the legal representation in the sale of several Brazilian software companies, with a particular focus on the SaaS segment, including exits to founders and foreign strategic and financial buyers.

This cross-sector experience gives Isabela a broad perspective on structuring complex M&A transactions. Her practice is also distinguished by extensive international experience, having represented U.S., European, and Asian clients in foreign direct investment transactions in Brazil, with particular attention to the regulatory, foreign exchange, and corporate law considerations involved in cross-border transactions.

• Master of Laws (LL.M.), University of Chicago Law School, United States
• Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil