In a year defined by geopolitical volatility, climate shocks and macroeconomic uncertainty, Astris Finance once again showed why it is the go-to independent financial advisor for infrastructure projects across Latin America.
Between the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025, the firm closed more than $1 billion in financings spanning water, transport, rail, power and renewable energy. From Brazil and Mexico to Uruguay, Peru and Chile, Astris proved its ability to design creative solutions in both mature and emerging markets—earning recognition as Financial Advisor of the Year 2025, the second time in three years it has won this award.
The firm’s strength lies in turning complexity into opportunity. In Peru, Astris preserved the terms of a $256 million ECA-covered tranche for Lima Metro Line 2 by engineering a maturity extension and carving out future cash flows to unlock long-term value—saving roughly 250 basis points compared with a market reset. In Chile, Astris structured a rare project-finance bond in local currency for Alfa Transmisora, a transaction that demanded careful work with rating agencies and extensive investor education to secure approvals and maintain investment-grade status. In Uruguay, it guided the upsizing of Ferrocarril Central, the country’s largest PPP, balancing cross-currency structures, dual-revenue streams and political uncertainty while evolving a financing strategy Astris has refined since the project’s 2018 bid stage.
In Mexico, Astris advised on the Los Cabos desalination plant, a rare greenfield PPP. Despite record-high peso interest rates, the MXN1.1 billion deal will supply water to nearly half a million people and cut Baja California’s deficit nearly in half. In Brazil, Astris led the Verde Ambiental Alagoas water and sanitation project, a US$294 million investment serving 27 municipalities, while also supporting Cymi’s acquisition of Cotesa, a specialist in high-voltage O&M. Together, these transactions illustrate Astris’s ability to move seamlessly from transformative infrastructure to strategic corporate deals.
For managing director Romain Papassian, the common thread is early, independent advice. “Infrastructure projects are increasingly complex—and so are their contracts,” he says. “Sponsors rarely know at the outset how they will manage risks or which banks will be the right partners. That’s where independent advisors prove invaluable.” He notes the pressures of merchant-market risk, demand for local-currency solutions and elevated financing costs. “We’re used to swimming upstream,” he adds. “By engaging early, we can design financing strategies that actually work.”
This year also marked a milestone in the firm’s evolution. In July 2025, Astris completed a merger with Colliers, the global professional services and investment management company. The deal expands Astris’s reach and resources while preserving its independence and entrepreneurial spirit. Senior leadership retains significant equity, ensuring continuity of culture and alignment of incentives. The combination strengthens Astris’s North American hubs in New York, Washington and Toronto, while reinforcing its longstanding Latin American base in Mexico City, Bogotá, São Paulo and its newly opened Santiago office.
Even as it grows, Astris has remained committed to smaller markets such as Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador and the Caribbean. That balance of global reach and local focus underscores the firm’s distinctive approach: close enough to understand each market’s nuances, yet connected enough to mobilize resources across borders.
By structuring first-of-their-kind transactions, educating investors and guiding sponsors through uncharted territory, Astris has reaffirmed its role as one of Latin America’s leading independent financial advisors. Strengthened by its partnership with Colliers, it enters its next chapter ready to deliver even greater impact across the region and beyond.