Bernadette Saumur is a partner in our Business Law Group in Toronto. Her practice is focused on private mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and general corporate matters. Bernadette acts regularly for domestic Canadian banks, insurance companies, financial institutions and other multinational entities.
Ms. Saumur has extensive experience in private mergers, acquisitions and divestitures in the financial services sector, including acting on the following recent transactions:
Acquisition of Brokerage:
· a Canadian Schedule I bank's acquisition of a brokerage
Acquisition of Investment Bank:
· a Canadian Schedule I bank's acquisition of an investment bank
Acquisition of Wealth Management Company:
· a subsidiary of a Canadian Schedule I bank's acquisition of a wealth management company
Acquisition of Banks/Trust Company:
· a Canadian Schedule I bank's proposed acquisition of a U.S. bank
· a Canadian Schedule I bank's acquisition of a Canadian bank
· a Canadian Schedule I bank's acquisition of a mortgages portfolio and a Canadian trust company
Acquisition of Mutual Fund Business:
· a Canadian insurance company's proposed acquisition of a mutual fund management business
Acquisition of Loan Portfolios
· a Canadian Schedule I bank's acquisition of an automotive loan portfolio and auto finance business
· a Canadian Schedule I bank's acquisition of a mortgages portfolio and a Canadian trust company
· a Canadian Schedule I bank's proposed acquisition of a credit card portfolio
Acquisition/Divestiture of Other Financial Services Sector Businesses:
· a global financial services company's divestiture of its Canadian leasing business
· a Canadian Schedule I bank's and Canadian investment bank's divestiture of its data and index licensing business
· a global financial services company's acquisition of a credit and collection business
Ms. Saumur has acted in the past on lending and secured transactions, including acting for bank syndicates and non-bank lenders, in addition to borrowers, on domestic and cross-border loan transactions, including traditional and structured lending, project finance, asset-based lending, acquisition financing, bilateral and syndicated transactions.
Ms. Saumur has also acted in the past on securitization and structured finance transactions, including acting for issuers, sellers, liquidity providers, credit enhancers and underwriters in various securitization and structured finance transactions involving a variety of asset classes, including residential and commercial mortgages, credit card receivables, leases and trade receivables.
Ms. Saumur received her BA (Commerce) from the University of Toronto in 1993. She received her LLB from the University of Windsor in 1998, spending her final year at Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Ontario bar in 2000.