Maria Teresa D. Mercado-Ferrer

mtmferrer@syciplaw.com

Ms. Ferrer is a partner in SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan. She handles corporate work (particularly mergers and acquisitions, foreign investments, business process outsourcing, real estate, consumer laws compliance and similar commercial transactions); securities (including public offering and tender offers); intellectual property (including licensing and franchising); and matters regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), a government agency that implements the grant of incentives to qualified companies. Ms. Ferrer's experience encompasses domestic and cross-border transactions and spans a wide range of industries.

In 2013, she was mentioned in the “Legal 500: Asia Pacific Guide to Asia's Commercial Law Firms” as a “Recommended Lawyer”.

Among others, Ms. Ferrer has: (a) advised a buyer of a BPO company that was listed with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and the Nasdaq; the acquisition involved a dual tender offer structure which was a first in the Philippines; (b) acted for the underwriters relative to the issuance of the PhP72Billion Series 2 Preferred Shares by San Miguel Corporation; (c) advised a leading multinational food manufacturer in structuring an acquisition of a local food manufacturing company to ensure seamless transition; (d) assisted in the acquisition by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) of shares in Digital Telecommunications Company (Digitel), a PSE-listed company; the consideration for the Digitel shares are partly cash and new PLDT shares; the transaction involved tender offer for the Digitel shares and delisting of Digitel; (e) assisted foreign companies in establishing Philippine operations either by establishing new entities or acquiring existing operations; (f) negotiated various contracts involving acquisition and/or lease of real properties; (g) assisted clients (most of which are in the BPO industry) on matters before the PEZA or covered by the PEZA law; (h) assisted clients in negotiating and documenting various commercial arrangements such as joint venture and/or licensing/franchising arrangements; and (i) advised clients on consumer laws and regulations (such as on importation, distribution and labelling requirements) and on other laws and regulations implemented by the Department of Trade and Industry and/or the FDA.

Admission to the Bar

1990, Philippines

Education

University of the Philippines (A.B., cum laude; LL.B.)

Publications

• The Philippines section in Franchising in Asia 2015: Legal and Business Considerations, published by LexNoir Foundation;
• Doing Business 2016: Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency, published by the World Bank;
• The Philippines section of The International Capital Markets Review, published by Law Business Research Ltd; and
• Doing Business in Asia, published in Singapore by CCH Asia Limited.

Professional Activities

• Member, UP Women Lawyers Circle
• Member, Licensing Executives Society (Philippines)
• Member, Licensing Executives Society International
• Member, Integrated Bar of the Philippines
• Member, IT & Business Process Association Philippines
• Member, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
• Director and corporate secretary in several Philippine companies