Shearman & Sterling is representing Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana (Grupo Sura) in its acquisition of ING’s Latin American pensions, life insurance and investment management operations in a transaction valued at approximately $3.8 billion.

Grupo Sura is a financial holding company listed on the Colombian stock exchange and is registered in the ADR-Level 1 program in the United States and on Latibex, the Euro Market for Latin American Stocks. The company has investments in leading Colombian companies, including Colombia’s biggest insurance company and number one bank, and also holds significant stakes in companies in other countries throughout the Americas. ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin, offering banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services. As of 31 March 2011, ING served more than 85 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 40 countries.

The Shearman & Sterling team was led by partners Michael J. McGuinness (New York-Mergers & Acquisitions) and Jeanne Olivier (New York- Project Development & Finance) and included partners Jeffrey Crandall (New York-Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits), Don J. Lonczak (Washington, DC-Tax), Tina Patel (Palo Alto-Intellectual Property Transactions), Linda Rappaport (New York-Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits), and Christopher Ryan (Washington, DC-International Arbitration); counsel Jessica Delbaum (New York-Antitrust/Competition) and Alexandro Padrés (New York-Finance); and associates Tania Mattei (New York-Mergers & Acquisitions), Tomas Arnaude (New York-Mergers & Acquisitions), Giovanni Cirelli (New York-Mergers & Acquisitions), Yan Liang (Beijing-Mergers & Acquisitions), Hee Yeon (Iris) Park (New York-Mergers & Acquisitions), Daniella Polar (New York-Finance), Vittorio Cottafavi (New York-Antitrust/Competition), Jeffrey Tate (Washington, DC-Tax), Nathan Tasso (Washington, DC-Tax), Veronica Wissel (New York-Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits), Mandee Lee (New York-Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits) and Gloria Jung (New York-Intellectual Property Transactions).