Recent global transactions affecting trade & investment
EC1 PARTNERS LAUNCHES FOURTH GLOBAL HUB IN MIAMI
International fintech recruiter EC1 Partners added a fourth global
hub in Miami alongside its three existing hubs in New York, Singapore, and London.
DISNEY CRUISE LINE SELECTS PORT EVERGLADES AS HOMEPORT FOR SECOND YEAR
A new agreement has named Port Everglades as Disney Cruise Line’s second year-round homeport. The 15-year partnership includes a minimum of 10.6 million passenger movements and three five-year extension options that could add another 11.25 million movements. The agreement provides for one ship to be homeported in Port Everglades year-round beginning in Fall 2023, joined by a second, seasonal ship in 2025.
MIAMI-DADE, ROYAL CARIBBEAN SIGN $2.8B PORTMIAMI DEAL
Miami-Dade County commissioners have approved a development and lease agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises projected to net the county $2.8 billion over the next 50 years. The deal is expected to create 12,000 permanent cruise-related jobs, including 1,000 new positions at Royal Caribbean’s Miami headquarters. It also includes the construction of a new terminal at PortMiami for exclusive use by Royal Caribbean and its subsidiary companies.
BTIG OPENS REGIONAL OFFICE IN MIAMI BEACH
BTIG’s newest location opened in Miami Beach in late November. The global financial services firm’s new location in the Starwood capital group headquarters building is its third largest in the U.S., accommodating all of its business divisions, including investment banking, research, and institutional trading. BTIG, LLC and its affiliates operate out of 20 cities in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia.
ALDI EXPANDS IN MIAMI
The German supermarket chain Aldi has secured a 20-year ground lease at Midway Crossings shopping mall near Miami International Airport. The deal provides Aldi with four five-year renewal options.
HOLLAND & KNIGHT LOOKS TO STRENGTHEN GLOBAL
ENERGY PRACTICE
Law firm Holland & Knight has recruited a new nine-partner transactional and regulatory team from Eversheds Sutherland, a global multinational law practice, all members of which have experience in the energy industry. The team is led by energy and renewables partner Ram Sunkara in Houston and tax partner Amish Shah in Washington, D.C.
AMERICAN AIRLINES TO ADD OVER 700 MIAMI JOBS
American Airlines is looking to fill around 600 roles in its reservations department and 100 in customer service roles at Miami International Airport this year. The company hired more than 2,000 team members in Miami in 2022 and continues to expand.
U.S. AMBASSADOR REJOINS FOLEY & LARDNER LLP
Foley & Lardner LLP announced that former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, Manuel Rocha, has rejoined the firm’s Miami office as a senior international business advisor in its Government Solutions Practice Group. Ambassador Rocha, who previously served as a special advisor on international business at Foley from 2009 to 2012, will help clients with immigration issues and international business opportunities.
FLIGHT UPDATES
American Airlines and Spirit have resumed flights from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Managua, Nicaragua after a 2.5-year pause due to the pandemic. American is also now offering a third daily flight from Miami to Sao Paulo (GRU) and Buenos Aires (EZE), while suspending its nonstop flights to Paramaribo, Suriname, effective March 1. Meanwhile, Delta Airlines is planning to resume its service to Havana, Cuba in April 2023 with two daily nonstop flights from MIA. Eastern Airlines has also launched a new monthly route connecting MIA to Santo Domingo, and low-cost carrier French Bee is now offering non-stop service from MIA to Paris Orly Airport (ORY).
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY WINS GLOBAL BUSINESS AWARD
The county received the Global Business Relationship Management (BRM) Community Excellence Award in December, recognizing its IT department’s BRM capabilities and its impact on business. The county’s BRM program was created to promote collaboration across Miami-Dade County’s departments and make them more efficient and effective. Atlanta-based BRM Institute is a non-profit corporation established to help organizations grow business relationship management capabilities.
WORLD TRADE CENTER MIAMI SIGNS MOU WITH CARIBBEAN EXPORT AND CANNING HOUSE
A memorandum of understanding between Caribbean Export, World Trade Center Miami, and UK-based Canning House is designed to in- crease trade relations between Latin America and the Caribbean. Canning House is the United Kingdom’s leading forum on Latin America.
U.S. SENATE CONFIRMS FIU PROFESSOR AS U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE OAS
Professor Frank O. Mora, who previously led Florida International University’s Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center and teaches politics and international relations, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the permanent U.S. representative to the Organization of American States (OAS). The appointment carries the rank of ambassador. The OAS is a leading multilateral organization that works to strengthen peace and security in the Western Hemisphere. Mora was nominated to the diplomatic role by President Biden.
GENERAL ATLANTIC OPENS MIAMI OFFICE
Global growth equity firm General Atlantic has opened a new office in Miami Beach, its fourth U.S. office and its 16th worldwide. “With the establishment of our Miami office, we are well-positioned to play a larger role in advancing the city’s growing and dynamic tech sector,” said Chairman and CEO Bill Ford.
SAUDI ARABIA ACQUIRES MAJORITY STAKE IN MAGIC LEAP
The South Florida-based augmented reality company completed a deal reportedly worth $450 million to make Saudi Arabia its majority stakeholder. The Public Investment Fund (PIF), which acquired the interest in Magic Leap, is controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and invests in projects deemed worthy of diversifying the country’s national economy. Through PIF, the country also owns minority stakes in American companies like Disney, Uber, Boeing, and Meta, among others.
TOGAL.AI WINS WORLD’S LARGEST CONSTRUCTION TECH COMPETITION
After winning Miami’s eMerge Americas Startup competition, Miami-based Togal.AI’s team traveled to Dubai to compete in The Big 5 – the world’s largest construction event with more than 38,000 companies from 60 countries. After several rounds of pitching, Togal.AI won first place in the Start-Up City Pitch Competition. The company’s AI-powered construction software can process site designs and building requirements in less than a minute.
NORTHMARQ OPENS NEW MIAMI OFFICE
Northmarq is expanding its debt and equity platform in South Florida with plans to open a debt/equity office located in Miami’s Brickell financial district. The Miami team will be responsible for originating, underwriting, and closing debt and equity financing for commercial and multifamily properties in the Miami metropolitan area and Southwestern Florida.
AIR CARGO FORUM TO BE PERMANENTLY HOSTED IN MIAMI
In 2024, Miami will become the permanent host of the Air Cargo Forum, which was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center last November. Almost 4,000 people attended the trade show with more than 220 companies exhibiting from the global air cargo, transportation, and logistics industry.
SANCTUARY WEALTH LAUNCHES MIAMI-BASED FIRM FOR INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS
Sanctuary Wealth’s Sanctuary Global subsidiary has launched a new Miami-based partner firm, Diagonal Investment Office, to oversee $200 million in assets for international clients. The boutique family firm serves wealthy Latin American clients who want to invest in the U.S.
MOGUL ENERGY INTERNATIONAL, INC. ACQUIRES “FLORA” GROUP
The group includes Florida Beauty Flora, Florida Beauty Express, Floral Logistics of California, and Tempest Transportation, all of which provide refrigerated trucking and logistics services to companies (such as flower importers) that require time-sensitive, temperature-controlled segments of the supply chain. Mogul, an international oil and gas exploration company, will use the FLORA companies to help grow revenues from approximately $70 million in 2022 to $185 million by 2025.
