S. Todd Crider

Todd Crider is a Partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, where he is a member of the Firm’s Corporate Department and Head of the Latin America Practice. Todd divides his time between the Firm’s New York and São Paulo offices. He advises clients in international corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions and project finance. Todd concentrates primarily on transactions in Latin America and Spain and speaks Spanish, Portuguese and French.

Todd’s practice and experience reflects the evolving nature of Practice in Latin America.

In corporate finance, Todd has led transactions in Latin America and Europe, including advising in debt or equity offerings by issuers from Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia, as well as Spain and Portugal. Todd has handled matters for BAML, BTG Pactual, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Itau, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and UBS, among others.

In M&A, Todd’s experience includes representing Apax, Blue Water, Carlyle, CVC, KKR, Patria, Riverwood, SoftBank, Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) and other private equity firms. Todd’s experience also includes advising principals in strategic transactions such as The Boeing Company in its acquisition of Embraer (terminated), Despegar.com, Inc. (NYSE: DESP) in its acquisition of Best Day Travel Group, Grupo Axo in its announced strategic distributor partnership with Nike to acquire Nike’s operations in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, TCV in its investment in Nubank, the controlling shareholders of Distribución y Servicio D&S in the sale of a controlling stake to Walmart, Dunas Energía in its tender offer by Grupo Energía Bogotá, Netshoes in its merger with a Magazine Luiza subsidiary, Volcan in its joint venture related to Port of Chancay in Peru, Gas Natural in its tender offer for Endesa, Portugal Telecom in its response to an unsolicited tender offer, Vivo in its exchange offers in Brazil, Telefónica Móviles in its acquisition of Motorola’s mobile telephone companies in Mexico, and Owens-Illinois in acquisitions and joint ventures in Latin America.

In project finance, Todd has represented sponsors and lenders in hydro-electric projects, airport expansions, toll road projects, gas-fired generation facilities and other projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Todd has been recognized by Chambers Global and Chambers Latin America as a leading individual in a number of fields, including:

• Capital Markets Latin America-wide (2009–2023)

• Corporate/M&A Latin America-wide (2009–2023)

• Corporate/M&A: International: Brazil (2011–2020; 2022–2024)

• Capital Markets: International: Brazil (2008–2020)

• Capital Markets: Debt and Equity (USA) – Foreign Expertise in Brazil (2017–2023)

• Banking & Finance Latin America-wide (2010–2018)

In Chambers Latin America 2021, he is described as “a fantastic lawyer… [with] a very good understanding of US and local law across the different jurisdiction of Latin America,” and as “one of the best we’ve ever worked with.” Chambers Latin America describes Todd as “an influential figure in the Latin American securities markets” and a practitioner with “considerable experience in the field to advise major corporate and private equity funds on high-stakes M&A transactions.” Todd’s practice is favorably reviewed by Latin Lawyer 250, which reports, “Crider’s reputation throughout the region is stellar.” He has also been named by Latin Business Chronicle as one of its Top 50 Legal Stars and by Latinvex to its top 100 (and top 50 international) lawyers in Latin America.

Todd is an active member of the New York City Bar Association, where he was Founding Chair and is currently Vice-Chair of the Committee for the Cyrus R. Vance Center of International Justice. He is Vice-Chair (and past Chair) of the Board of the Rainforest Foundation US. Most recently, Todd joined the Board of the Directors of the Council of the Americas. He has previously served as Co-Chair of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee and on the board of other legal services organizations in New York. He has acted as legal advisor to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the Awas Tingni case, a central precedent under international law relating to the rights of indigenous peoples. Todd also led in the development of the Pro Bono Declaration of the Americas, a declaration of the legal profession’s public service responsibilities signed by 500 law firms across South and North America. He has participated as an organizer and speaker at public interest conferences in Bogota, Buenos Aires, Lima, Madrid, Mexico, New York, Santiago and São Paulo and elsewhere. He is also a frequent speaker on private equity, capital markets and emerging markets and has co-authored several papers.

Originally from the American South, Todd lived in Spain for ten of his first 20 years. Todd received his B.A., magna cum laude, in 1987 from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was student body president, his License d’histoire in 1988 from the Université de Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), where he was a Rotary Scholar, and his J.D. in 1991 from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.