Juan-Pablo "John" Crespo
John P. Crespo has a broad-based transactional practice that includes extensive experience in domestic and international transactions, including the formation and structuring of joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, privatizations, development of infrastructure projects, and general corporate and contract matters. John has advised a wide array of clients comprising public and privately held corporations, private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds, and financial institutions. Much of John’s experience is focused on Latin American-based transactions. A native of Bolivia, John is fluent in Spanish and English and has a working knowledge of Portuguese. He serves as co-chair of the Morgan Lewis Latin America practice. He is admitted in Texas only.
video
We are Morgan Lewis: John Crespo
Corporate partner John Crespo, a leader of our Latin America practice, says he often sees the fruits of his labor while taking taxis in cities across Latin America. Find out what he’s been up to.
video
3 Perspectives on Latin America
Morgan Lewis partners Felipe Alice, John Crespo, and Humberto Padilla Gonzalez are energized about representing clients in Latin America. Learn why.
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Represented Sigga Technologies, a provider of Enterprise Asset Management software, in the investment by Gemspring Capital
- Represented Trevi Finanziari Industriale (Italy) in the sale of its Oil & Gas division to Megha Engineering & Infrastructures (India)
- GE Commercial Finance Real Estate in its $450 million acquisition of a Mexican real estate portfolio from Mexico’s Grupo Finsa and the American International Group
- Affiliates of a publicly traded US industrial REIT in connection with the acquisition, financing and re- financing of industrial properties in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Queretaro and Tijuana
- Duke Energy International in the purchase of a Guatemalan company holding a hydroelectric power concession and development rights to a 29MW power plant in San Cristobal, Guatemala.
- GB Group SA in its bid to acquire more than 500 Shell petrol service stations, and refinery and storage assets, from Shell in Central America
- AEI Energy in the purchase of an equity interest in Chilquinta Energia SA, an electrical distribution company in Chile, and Luz del Sur SA, an electrical distribution company in Peru, for $685 million
- A private equity fund Haddington Ventures LLC in its sale of the Bobcat Gas Storage in Louisiana to Spectra Energy Corp. for $540 million
- A global energy company in its proposed acquisition of a 50% interest in Gas Atacama SA, an integrated electricity and natural gas company operating in Chile
- A Fortune 100 transportation company in the acquisition of a logistics company by the name of Comlasa Inc., which held operations in 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean
- AEI in the purchase and related acquisition financing of Del Sur, an El Salvador electrical distribution company, for $180 million
- Millennium Energy Holdings Inc. in the sale of the company’s 50% participation in Carboeléctrica Sabinas, a Mexican coal supplier and owner of coal and associated gas reserves, to Minerales Monclova (Mimosa). In addition to the sale of Millennium's interest in Sabinas, the parties and certain of their affiliates entered into an agreement in which they will share in certain proceeds derived from the marketing of certified emission reduction credits under the Kyoto Protocol
- Kemira Chemicals OYJ in its €240 million acquisition of Bayer Chemicals’ paper division
- A US investor with its purchase and subsequent divestment of two holding companies, which held various aggregate mining concessions and aggregate mining lease operations in the Dominican Republic
- The Home Depot Inc. in its initial entry into the Mexican retail market and its acquisition of the home improvement chain Total Home SA
- BHP Petroleum International Pty Ltd in the sale of its capital interests in BBPP Holdings Ltda. (a partner in the Bolivia to Brazil gas pipeline) to Total Gas & Power Ventures
- Seaboard Corporation in the sale of two power barges in the Dominican Republic to Barrick Gold Corporation
- A Fortune 10 company in the disposition of its interest in a Venezuelan gas compression company
- Sempra Energy on the potential divestment of certain South American gas distribution pipelines
- Haddington Ventures LLC, an affiliate CAES Development Company LLC, in the sale to FirstEnergy Generation Corp. of all equity interests in Norton Energy Storage LLC, a company engaged in development of a 2700 MW compressed air energy storage (CAES) project in Norton, Ohio
- Haddington Ventures LLC in its $122 million disposition of a gas storage facility in California
- NIC Holding Corp. in the sale of its business division Northville Product Services to an affiliate of Noble Group Limited (SGX:N21). Noble Group paid to NIC approximately $179 million in cash and issued a $10 million promissory note convertible into ordinary shares of Noble Group Limited
- Exterran in its disposition of a gas compression company and other development rights in Venezuela to the Wood Group
Joint Ventures
- Enterprise Products Partners LP, in the structuring and formation of a joint venture with TEPPCO Partners LP and Oiltanking Holding Americas Inc. to build an off-shore crude oil terminal in the Gulf of Mexico
- El Paso Corporation on a proposed joint venture project for the development of an LNG receiving terminal in the Bahamas
- A private equity company in the structuring and formation of a $500 million joint venture with General Electric for the construction of midstream related assets in the Gulf Coast region of the United States
- A US publicly traded master limited partnership on a proposed $1 billion joint venture project for the development of midstream related assets in Oklahoma
- Cheniere Energy Inc. in the structuring and formation of a joint venture relationship to hold permits and other development rights to an international gas pipeline traversing the Texas/Mexico border
- BHP Billiton in a proposed joint venture arrangement for a coal mining concession in Colombia
- Exterran Holdings Inc. in the restructuring and subsequent divestment of its joint venture in WilPro Energy Services (El Furrial) Limited and WilPro Energy Services (PIGAP II) Limited, (both joint venture companies co-owned with The Williams Companies)
- A major US based independent oil company on the structuring, negotiation and documentation of a joint venture agreement and other financing arrangements for the exploration of oil concessions in Argentina
- A major global energy company in the purchase of an equity interest in a 185MW power project in the Dominican Republic and the follow-on structuring of a joint venture relationship
- A major global energy company in its joint venture arrangements to develop, construct, finance and market a proposed LNG export project in Venezuela
- AMB Property Corporation, a US publicly traded REIT, on the formation of a $720 million joint venture with the government of Singapore for the acquisition of industrial properties in Mexico.
- A US-based publicly trade energy company in establishment of a joint venture in Angola
- Sprint Corporation in its investment and follow on joint venture arrangement in Pegaso Telecomunicaciones SA de CV, a Mexican all digital wireless telephone company
- Enel Latin America LLC on certain proposed restructuring of existing joint venture arrangements in Brazil and El Salvador
- H&R Block in restructuring its Brazilian joint venture project with local partner Semco Investimentos
- A US publicly traded bank in the formation of a joint venture with operations in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil
- Lehigh Cement in its proposed joint venture for the acquisition of aggregate mining assets in the Dominican Republic
- Duke Energy International on proposed joint venture arrangements for the operation of electric generating assets in Mexico
- A private equity backed company in the negotiation of a joint venture relationship with a US publicly trade utility for the right to complete the development of a natural gas storage project in Louisiana.
Privatizations
- A Fortune 10 company in the privatization of Elektro Electricidade e Servicos SA, Brazil’s sixth-largest electricity distributor
- Participated in the privatization of Bahia Las Minas, a 355-megawatt electric generation plant and one of the largest thermal power plants in Central America
- A US energy concern in the bidding process for the construction of an 80-megawatt power generation system in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
- A major international energy company in its bid to acquire a Brazilian power concessionaire valued in excess of $1 billion
Project Development
- Shell Oil Company in the negotiation of a gas sales agreement with Calpine Corporation and a related restructuring of a gas storage agreement with Kinder Morgan
- Repsol YPF SA internal audit committee in its investigation into Repsol’s proven reserve write-downs in Bolivia, Argentina, Venezuela, and Trinidad Tobago for year-end 2005
- A US energy company in the implementation of certain currency swaps to hedge exposure under natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas contracts
- A Sao Paulo, Brazil-based private wealth fund in the reorganization of international subsidiaries holding more than $1 billion worth of securities of Brazil Stock Exchange-retail based listed companies
- Tesoro Corporation on matters related to its rights to transport crude oil through the facilities of Petroterminal de Panama SA and the construction financing of such facilities
- A private equity sponsored portfolio company in negotiating multiple ethanol sales agreements with Shell Oil Company for the export of ethanol from Latin America and North Africa
- Nicaraguan and Guatemalan power plants in the procurement of long-term fuel oil supply agreements
- A private equity sponsored portfolio company in the development of clean energy projects in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Argentina, and Peru
- Edison Mission in the acquisition, development, and financing of a 150 megawatt wind power generation project near San Antonio, Texas
- A US-based utility in the acquisition, development, and financing of a wind power generation project in South Texas
- A US energy company in its acquisition of a biofuels production facility in Guatemala
- South Texas College of Law, 1998, J.D.
- Texas A&M University, 1994, B.A.
- Texas
- Judicial Intern to Judge David Hittner of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas (1997)

Member, Law Firm of the Year, Energy/Projects: Power (including Renewables), Chambers USA (2018)
Ranked, Energy & Natural Resources, Latin America–wide, Chambers Global (2018, 2019)
Ranked, Energy & Natural Resources, Latin America-wide, Chambers Latin America (2016–2019)
Ranked, Latin American Investment, Texas, Chambers USA (2017–2019)
Ranked, Projects, Latin America-wide, Chambers Latin America (2017)
Recommended, Industry focus: Energy: transactions: oil and gas, The Legal 500 US (2020, 2021)
Recommended, Finance: Project finance, The Legal 500 US (2019)
Recommended, Finance: Project finance: advice to sponsor, The Legal 500 US (2018)
Recommended, City Leaders – Houston, Latin America: International Firms, The Legal 500 Latin America (2024, 2025)
Recommended, Banking and Finance, Latin America: International Firms, The Legal 500 Latin America (2023–2025)
Recommended, Corporate and M&A, Latin America: International Firms, The Legal 500 Latin America (2014–2025)
Recommended, Projects and Energy, Latin America: International Firms, The Legal 500 Latin America (2014–2025)
Recommended, Focus on Mexico, The Legal 500 Private Practice Powerlist: US-Mexico (2022)
Recognized, M&A, Project Finance, and Infrastructure Latin Lawyer 250 (2017)
“Rising Star” and “Best Lawyers Under 40,” Texas Monthly (2004–2011)
Energy Lawyers Under 40 to Watch, one of five named, Law360 (2011)
Member, State Bar of Texas, International Law Section
Member, American Bar Association, Business Law Section: Mergers & Acquisitions, Committee Member; International M&A, Committee Member; Model Stock Purchase Agreement, Editorial Committee Member
Member, American Bar Association, International Law Section: International Investment and Development, Committee Member; Latin America and the Caribbean, Committee Member
Member, Houston Bar Association
Southern Region Advisory Board, AngelPool
Articles Editor, South Texas College of Law Journal of International Trade Law
