Our Mergers & Acquisition lawyers handle a wide range of complex domestic and cross-border transactions, including unsolicited and supported take-over bids as well as business combinations through mergers and plans of arrangement. We also provide counsel in the areas of take-over defence and, increasingly, shareholder activism including requisitioned shareholder meetings and proxy contests.
Our clients include both public and private enterprises in virtually every industry such as resource, insurance, information technology, energy, consumer products, pharmaceutical, aviation, food and beverage, apparel and professional sports. We act for financial buyers, such as private equity and venture capital firms, as well as strategic buyers.
In advising on M&A transactions we draw upon the expertise in our corporate tax, competition, intellectual property, financial services, real estate, government relations and private equity groups to deliver comprehensive solutions tailored to the transaction and our clients’ goals.
Our experience includes:
- Acting for the acquirer on the combination of three public mining companies to create the 7th-largest gold mining company in the world
- Acting for a large multinational pharmaceutical company on its acquisition of two competitors, creating one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and the disposition of its non-core businesses
- Acting for a TSX-listed foreign company in connection with its US$2.7 billion acquisition of an AIM listed company
- Acting for a Canadian oil and gas company in connection with its $1.9 billion acquisition by a Chinese oil company
- Acting for a Canadian technology company in connection with its $700 million acquisition by a Canadian pension fund
- Acting for national sporting goods retailer in connection with its $238 million acquisition by a Canadian Pension Fund
- Acting for a Canadian food and beverage manufacturer in connection with its $320 million acquisition by a US corporation
- Acting for a Canadian telecommunications company in a successful defence to an unsolicited take-over bid
- Acting for a Canadian e-services company in its defence to an unsolicited take-over bid valued at $1.5 billion
- Acting for the purchaser on the acquisition of the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and Scotiabank Place in the CCAA restructuring of the Senators and the related arena receivership
- Acting for a national retail chain with respect to its acquisitions of auto parts retailers across Canada
- Acting for the US purchaser of the Ivaco Steel companies in a transaction valued at $400 million
- Acting for several large Canadian-based brand name manufacturers on various acquisitions, including a footwear manufacturer on its multi-jurisdictional acquisition of a major competitor
- Acting for one of the largest privately held engineering, network development and construction firms in their acquisition of a leading power transmission company
- Acting for a Canadian ice melting manufacturer and distributor in its purchase of all of the shares of its US competitor