Our Securities and Capital Markets Group
Facing a landscape that is becoming increasingly regulated, parties need a market-savvy partner that understands both the legal and financial aspects of transactions. With one of the most experienced corporate and securities law groups in Canada, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) knows how to get the deal done. We act for many of Canada's largest public companies, self-regulatory organizations and investment dealers in a wide range of corporate finance transactions, mergers & acquisitions, and corporate governance and advisory matters.
Our lawyers regularly work collaboratively with other firms both in Canada and internationally, to provide practical and efficient advice on domestic and cross-border transactions.
As Canada's largest full-service law firm, we are able to draw on the expertise and experience of a team of more than 750 professionals to achieve our client's objectives on a timely and efficient basis. Our Securities and Capital Markets Group takes an industry team approach to your business challenge, pulling together professionals from relevant practice areas such as:
- tax
- competition and foreign investment
- pensions
- labour & employment
- insolvency & restructuring
- intellectual property and information technology
- real estate & development
- financial services
- government relations
- litigation
Always at the forefront of the industry, professionals in the Securities and Capital Markets Group have been consistently featured in the top international legal ranking publications, including the 2009 editions of Best Lawyers in Canada, PLC Which lawyer? and Chambers Global – Guide to the World's Leading Business Lawyers. Bloomberg ranked BLG No. 1 in Canadian Equity Offerings Manager Advisors (IPO) by volume and No. 1 in Canadian Retail Structured Products Issuer Advisors by deal count for year-end 2008 while Thomson Reuters ranked BLG No. 3 in Canadian Announced M&A deals by volume. Further, the 2009 edition of PLC Which lawyer? lists the Group as Recommended among Canadian law firms.
At BLG, we're committed to working with you, as part of your team, to achieve the best possible results.
Our clients include issuers, underwriters, investors, financial institutions, governmental agencies, market regulators and other market participants.
We provide practical and innovative solutions to help our clients successfully execute a wide range of public and private transactions, from traditional equity or debt offerings to transactions involving sophisticated financial instruments and pioneering financing techniques and structures.
Our recent Corporate Finance experience includes advising:
- Northland Power Income Fund, in its $161 million bought deal offering of 6.25% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures and trust units.
- Magma Energy Corp. in its $100 million initial public offering of common shares
- Co-operators General Insurance Company in its $115 million bought deal offering of preference shares
- BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., RBC Dominion Securities, Inc. and a syndicate of other underwriters in the $460 million bought deal offering of common shares by Cameco Corporation
- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. and Canada Housing Trust No. 1 in the offering of over $180 billion of mortgage backed securities
- Loblaw Companies Limited in its $350 million offering of medium term notes, $225 million offering of redeemable convertible second preferred shares and $300 million private placement of unsecured notes
- Cormark Securities Inc. and a syndicate of other underwriters in the $100 million bought deal offering of common shares by Uranium Participation Corporation
- Pan American Silver Corp. in its US $103 million offering of common shares
- Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. in the $290 million private placement of units by Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited
- Genuity Capital Markets, BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and Raymond James Ltd. in the $50 million rights offering to subscribe for 9% convertible debentures and a $100 million concurrent private placement of secured convertible debentures by TimberWest Forest Corp.
- PBS Coals Corporation in its $215 million private placement of subscription receipts
- Tethys Petroleum Limited in its US $50 million offering of ordinary shares
- Cormark Securities and a syndicate of other underwriters in the $200 million initial public offering of Sprott Inc.
- GMP Securities L.P. and a syndicate of other underwriters in the $138 million bought deal offering of units by Coalcorp Mining Inc.
- Finning International Inc. in its $600 million offering of medium term notes
- CA Bancorp and Canadian Realty Finance Corporation in the offering of $68 million of preferred shares
- Qwest Energy 2009 Flow-Through Limited Partnership in its $30 million initial public offering
- Birchcliff Energy Ltd. in its $130 million bought deal offering of common shares
- Husky Energy Inc. in its US $750 million offering of unsecured notes
- BMO Capital Markets, CIBC World Markets Inc. and a syndicate of other underwriters in the $115 million initial public offering of Innergex Renewable Energy Inc.
In addition to our transactional practice, we advise on all aspects of securities law compliance and disclosure.
We are also regularly involved with issues of market policy and regulation of securities dealers and participants in the securities industry. We act as counsel to the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, a national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada, and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada, a national self-regulatory organization for the mutual fund industry in Canada. We have also acted for The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited, Canada's principal securities depository and settlement system, since its inception. These mandates have provided us with a unique expertise in advising our clients on all regulatory matters.
BLG is a recognised leader in Mergers and Acquisitions.
We have the depth and breadth of expertise and experience in all market sectors to advise acquirors, targets and stakeholders in all aspects of public and private M&A transactions.
Our recent M&A experience includes advising:
- Loblaw Companies Limited in its $225 million agreement to acquire T&T Supermarket Inc. for cash and preferred shares
- Northland Power Holdings Inc. and the manager of Northland Power Income Fund in connection with the Fund's acquisition of Northland Power Inc., in a deal that was valued at $322 to $421 million and which resulted in the internalization of management.
- Compania Minera Carmen de Andacollo in its $300 million sale of a royalty interest in the Andacollo mine to Royal Gold Inc.
- PowerStream Inc. in its $800 million amalgamation with Barrie Hydro
- Teck Cominco Limited in its acquisition of assets of Fording Canadian Coal Trust valued at $14 billion (as tax counsel)
- PBS Coals Corporation in its $1 billion acquisition by an affiliate of OAO Severstal Resources by way of takeover bid and in its earlier $820 million reverse takeover of Penfold Capital Acquisition Corporation
- Hewlett-Packard Company in its $13.9 billion merger with Electronic Data Systems Corporation
- Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management in its $1.36 billion acquisition by Royal Bank of Canada
- CanElson Drilling in its $78 million merger with EMR Drilling Inc.
- CertainTeed Insulation Canada Inc. in its $81 million acquisition of the assets of OFI Income Fund
- Bonterra Energy Income Trust in its acquisitions of Silver Wing Energy Inc. and SRX Post Holdings Inc. and conversion from income trust to corporation, in transactions with an aggregate value of approximately $472 million
- Toronto Hydro Corporation in its $200 million sale of Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc. to Cogeco Cable Canada Inc.
- Eldorado Gold Corporation in the $70 million sale of Sao Bento Gold Limited to AngloGold Ashanti and in its $148 million acquisition of Frontier Pacific Mining Corporation by way of takeover bid
- A special committee of the board of Medisys Health Group Income Fund in its $48 million going private transaction by way of insider bid
- Northern Peru Copper Ltd. in its $455 million acquisition by China Minmetals Non-Ferrous Metals Co. Ltd., and Jiangxi Copper Company Ltd.
- Finning International Inc. in its $135 million acquisition of Collicutt Energy Services Ltd. by way of takeover bid
- NovaGold Resources Inc. in its successful defence against Barrick Gold Corp.'s $1.8 billion hostile takeover bid
- Global Copper Corp. in its $415 million acquisition by Teck Cominco Limited
- An independent committee of Countryside Power Income Fund in its $218 million acquisition by Fort Chicago Energy Partners
- Infor Global Solutions European Finance SARL in its $237 million acquisition of Workbrain Corporation
- UE Waterheater Income Fund and UE Waterheater Operating Trust in their $1.7 billion sale of assets to Alinda Capital Partners LLC
- Nautic Partners LLC in its acquisition of the assets of Canada Cartage Diversified Income Fund
- Golden Gate Capital in its US$1 billion acquisition of Geac Computer Corporation Limited
- ID Biomedical Corporation in its $1.7 billion acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline PLC
- Co-operators Group Limited in its $306 million acquisition of Addenda Capital Inc.
- Centurion Energy International Inc. in its $1.14 billion acquisition by Dana Gas PJSC
Our Corporate Governance and Advisory practice involves both advisory and transactional assignments. We provide advice to private, public and not-for-profit clients generally and, in particular, to boards of directors and trustees, committees of boards, management, shareholders and other stakeholders of public issuers.
We are regularly involved in assisting clients with corporate governance issues relating to board and committee mandates and processes, governance policies, investigations, reviews and reports, director and officer liability issues, conflict of interest matters, and going private and related party transactions. As well, our corporate governance advisory practice assists clients in identifying potential issues and arriving at appropriate arrangements to address concerns which arise.
Our Securities and Capital Markets Group also includes Canada's largest and most experienced investment management practice. Click here to visit BLG's Investment Management Group webpage.