Mayer Brown, together with the leading Spanish law firm Cuatrecasas, Goncalves Pereira, has advised Banco de España on the €122m sale of its 5.3% stake in Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) in an accelerated bookbuilding transaction. Through the transaction, the national central bank disposed of its entire holdings in the operator of the Spanish Stock Exchanges.

Robert Flanigan, Banking & Finance partner, commented: "This transaction represents another step in Spain’s recovery. It allowed for the orderly exit of the central bank from BME’s capital, which was one of the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund in its Financial Stability Assessment of Spain last year.”

The Mayer Brown team was led by Banking & Finance partner Robert Flanigan with Corporate & Securities partner Greg Stonefield. Mayer Brown worked closely with Cuatrecasas, Goncalves Pereira, who advised on the Spanish law aspects of the transaction – their team was led by Corporate & Commercial partner Juan Aguayo and included Ignacio Escriva de Romani Morales-Arce and Alvaro Lopez de Ceballos Reyna.