Melissa Inglefield
Partner
Phone: 868 299 0981
Mobile: 868 350-6001
Bar Admissions
2011: Trinidad & Tobago
Areas of Practice
- Banking and Financial Services
- Corporate and Securities
- Capital Markets
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Project Finance
- Real Estate
Melissa is a Partner in Hamel-Smith’s Transactional Department.
Melissa’s focus is on corporate and commercial law, including mergers and acquisitions; banking and financing; capital market transactions; commercial real estate transactions and the regulation of the financial and capital markets in Trinidad and Tobago.
Melissa is results and solutions oriented. She is passionate about client service and prioritizes achieving her client’s commercial objective in a timely and cost-efficient manner, while having a keen understanding of the local law and regulation.
Recent Experience
- Trinidad and Tobago counsel to Seprod Limited in the acquisition of 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of A.S. Bryden & Sons Holdings Limited, including the financing of the acquisition
- Trinidad and Tobago counsel to PBS Technology Group Limited in the acquisition of the infocom and technology business of Massy Holdings Limited and both the bridge and long-term financing for the acquisition
- Term Finance Holdings Limited in the offer and subscription for ordinary shares in the company by First Citizens Bank Limited
- Several local and regional fund managers with the establishment and registration of money market funds
- Several local financial institutions in the arranging of financing to the Government and to its wholly-owned subsidiaries or other state enterprises
- ANSA Merchant Bank Limited in its acquisition of Bank of Baroda Limited
- Several multinational companies with respect to the offering of their employee stock ownership plans to Trinidad and Tobago employees
- Trinidad and Tobago counsel to Alignvest Acquisition II Corporation in its acquisition of Sagicor Financial Corporation Limited by way of a scheme of arrangement under the laws of Bermuda
- Trinidad and Tobago counsel to JMMB Group Limited it its 2019 additional public offering of shares in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica
- Trinidad and Tobago counsel to MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Limited in its initial public offering shares in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica
- Endeavour Holdings Limited in its initial public offering and listing on the Small to Medium Stock Exchange of the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange;
- Trinidad and Tobago counsel to National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited in its restructuring by way of a scheme of arrangement under the laws of Jamaica to establish NCB Financial Group Limited as the parent of the NCB Group of Companies;
- Trinidad and Tobago counsel to Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited in its restructuring by way of a scheme of arrangement under the laws of Jamaica to establish JMMB Group Limited as the parent of the JMMB Group of Companies;
- Cemex, SA and its subsidiary Sierra Trading in a successful takeover bid to increase its stake to up to 74.9% of Trinidad Cement Limited, the publicly listed parent company of a regional group companies in the cement production and related industries;
- National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited in its acquisition of a 29.99% stake in, and subsequent take-over bid for up to 67% of, Guardian Holdings Limited, a publicly listed holding company of a group of regional companies in the insurance and financial services sector;
- Superior Hotels Trinidad & Tobago Limited in the acquisition of the Carlton Savannah Hotel, including acting as counsel to the borrower in the financing of the acquisition and renovation works at the hotel;
- The Issuer and Selling Shareholder in a TT$1.5B initial public offering of 49% of the shares in Trinidad and Tobago NGL Limited, a holding company whose sole asset consists of 39% of the shares of Phoenix Park Gas Processors Limited, the only natural gas processing and natural gas liquids fractionation plant (and the largest producer and marketer of propane, mixed butane, isobutane and natural gasoline) in Trinidad and Tobago;
- The Lenders to Caribbean Gas Chemical Limited in respect of a US$693MM loan facility for the funding of a greenfield methanol and dimethyl ether project in La Brea, Trinidad;
- The Issuer in a TT$400MM issue of Fixed Rate Mortgaged Backed Bonds by Endeavour Holdings Limited;
- KfW and KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH in its participation as lender in a US$1.1B shareholder acquisition of the remaining shares of Methanol Holdings (Trinidad) Limited financed by fixed and floating rate bond issues with consequential amendments required to existing loan facilities;
- RBC Merchant Bank (Caribbean) Limited as Arranger and Massy Holdings Limited as Issuer, as Counsel to the Issue of a TT$1.2B Unsecured Fixed Rate Bond Issue to, inter alia, re-pay existing debt and fund future strategic acquisitions and expansions;
- Intercommercial Bank Limited as Counsel to the Issue of an up to $100M Subordinated Bond Issue to effect a capital restructuring;
- Sagicor Financial Corporation in a US$50M Short Term Guaranteed Note Issue;
- Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited in its takeover and acquisition of the remaining 50% stake of Intercommercial Bank Limited, a licensed bank operating in Trinidad & Tobago;
- various public companies and connected parties with developing and implementing internal insider trading policies and conducted training in respect of insider trading;
- A regional franchisee of an international restaurant chain in acquiring four (4) locations in Trinidad for the restaurant; and
- A local financial institution with the leasing of space for its various branch offices.
Rankings and Accolades – Chambers Global 2020-2023: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business
Melissa Inglefield is featured in this directory with a Band 3 ranking among the corporate/commercial lawyers in Trinidad & Tobago. A sample of the commentaries reported by Chambers Global include:
Melissa Inglefield advises on an array of finance transactions and capital markets issuances. Her name is well known to fellow professionals, who judge her to be one of Trinidad’s most impressive younger lawyers. “Melissa has a wonderfully calm demeanour; matched with her competence and diligence, she is a dream to work alongside for our challenging transactions.” – 2023
“Melissa presents complicated concepts and structures in an easily digestible format.” “I found her to be very accessible. She offered alternative approaches in dealing with issues and also provided solid technical advice.” – 2022
From 2020-2021 Melissa was ranked Up-and-Coming among the corporate/commercial lawyers in Trinidad & Tobago:
Melissa Inglefield as “someone who has demonstrated impeccable work product, has a good approach and is very commercially minded.” She advises on an array of finance transactions and capital markets issuances, and her name is well known to fellow professionals, who judge her to be” a very good and solid younger lawyer.” – 2021
Up-and-coming lawyer Melissa Inglefield is praised for “her thoroughness – she clearly does very good and wide-ranging research.” She maintains a focus on banking and securities regulation, and additionally handles secured lending and capital markets transactions. One source said: “Her opinion work is of a very high level.” – 2020
Professional Memberships
Publications
Author: “Acquisition of Control” featured in the T&T Guardian newspaper in April 2023
Author: “Share Purchase Acquisitions in T&T” featured in the T&T Guardian newspaper in September 2022
Author: “Take-over bids” – featured in the T&T Guardian newspaper on May 22, 2022
Author: “Courting legal business relations” – featured in the T&T Guardian newspaper on February 6, 2022
Author: “Role and responsibilities of a Director” – featured in the T&T Guardian newspaper on Sept. 29, 2021
Author: “Forms of Financing-Traditional is not always trump” – featured in the T&T Guardian newspaper on April 25, 2021
Author: “The Path to Becoming Listed” – featured in the T&T Guardian newspaper on December 6, 2020;
Author: Contractual Notice Requirements – It’s in the details… featured in the T&T Guardian newspaper on September 13, 2020;
Author: You Gotta Have (GOOD) Faith, Faith, Faith… Or Do You?, Hamel-Smith Forum Vol. 11 Issue 5, August 2020 and also featured in the T&T Guardian newspaper;
Contributed to the Lex Mundi Chapter on the topic of COVID-19 Insolvency, Bankruptcy and Restructuring with a Focus on Latin America and the Caribbean, May 18, 2020;
Author: A Company Medical – How Healthy Is Your Company? Hamel-Smith Forum, Vol. 10 Issue 6, April 2019 and also featured in the T&T Guardian newspaper
Co-Author: Revisiting Cross Border Secured Financing Part II: The Security Package, Hamel-Smith Forum, Vol. 10 Issue 3, January 2018
Co-Author: The Securities (Amendment) Act, 2014: A Step Forward, Hamel-Smith Forum, November 2014
Co-Author: Access to the Foreign Market – The Securities Act, 2012!, Hamel-Smith Forum, October 2013
Co-Author: Issuers and Investors Beware: The Securities Act 2012 is Here, Hamel-Smith Forum, March 2013
Co-Author: Negligent Valuations… You Stand To Lose, Hamel-Smith Forum, October 2011
Presentations
2014: Provided training to several local entities on the repercussions of insider trading restrictions (contained in the Securities Act, 2012).
2013: Assisted with the preparation of a presentation for a local financial institution regarding the the Securities Act, 2012.
2012: Conducted Mortgage training at a local financial institution.
Workshops/Seminars
2021: Certificate of Participation – Finance for Directors Masterclass (The Board’s Role in Financial Stewardship and Financial Oversight), April 16, 2021;
Education
2010: Legal Practicing Certificate (L.P.C), The College of Law of England & Wales
2009: LL.B (Hons), The University of Manchester, UK