Sara Brazao Ferreira is of counsel in the Houston office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and a member of the firm’s Real Estate group.
Sara represents private equity firms, public companies, REITs, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds and various other clients in complex real estate matters across all asset classes. She regularly advises on acquisitions and dispositions of real estate assets, including hospitality, retail centers, commercial office buildings and multi-asset portfolios; financing transactions, including senior mortgage, mezzanine and construction financing; commercial leasing transactions; and the formation and restructuring of joint ventures.
Sara has been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Real Estate Law (2023-2025).
Representative Matters include representation of:*
- QIC in various transactions, including its $3.175 billion acquisition of a portfolio of regional shopping malls
- Apartment Investment and Management Company in its $10.4 billion reverse spin-off of Apartment Income REIT Corp.
- Ares Management in connection with:
- its $175 million construction financing of a luxury beachfront development in Maui, Hawaii;
- its formation of a joint venture with a sovereign wealth fund investor; and
- a $260 million sale of a majority ownership interest in a development asset to a sovereign wealth fund
- A private equity fund in various dispositions of single-family residence portfolios, each valued at over $100 million
- Genesis HealthCare, Inc. in its restructuring of approximately $256 million of debt and operations of 51 facilities leased with Welltower
- A private equity firm in a $65 million mezzanine financing secured by a luxury hotel and resort in Los Cabos, Mexico
- Major financial institution in its aggregate $129 million acquisition and pre-development senior and mezzanine loans to a real estate investment firm for a mixed-use development in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Sovereign wealth fund in its formation of numerous joint ventures, with aggregate investments valuing over $500 million
- Pattern Energy in its $1.7 billion debt and tax equity financing for the Western Spirit wind project and transmission line in New Mexico
- Brookfield Renewable in its $733 million sale of a portfolio of wind energy projects to NextEra Energy Partners
- Ontario Power Generation in its $298 million acquisition of Eagle Creek Renewable Energy
- Public company in its $260 million acquisition of a portfolio of convenience store locations
- Property management and investment company in its $218 million sale of a major commercial office building in San Francisco
- Numerous other clients, including AustralianSuper, The RMR Group, Silverstein Properties, Inc., Terraform Power, Talen Energy, Centro Properties Group, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., MSD Capital, L.P., WEC Energy Group and Yahoo/Altaba in various acquisitions, dispositions, financings, investments, joint ventures, developments and leasing transactions
Sara has also advised on various transactions across the energy sector, including the acquisition, disposition, development and financing of renewable energy projects and transmission facilities.
She has been involved in a variety of pro bono engagements, including advising charter schools and nonprofit organizations in leasing and financing transactions, Holocaust survivors in reparations cases, and asylum seekers in immigration matters, as well as participating in screening projects for the Innocence Project. She was previously a board member of the Women Lawyers’ Association of Los Angeles.
Prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Sara practiced at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. She received her Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law, where she was a member of the UCLA Law Review.
* Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Capabilities
Credentials
Education:
- University of California - Los Angeles - 2013 Juris Doctor
- Sarah Lawrence College - 2002 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- California Bar
- Texas Bar