Background
Gus Karantzoulis is a partner in our Toronto office. Gus was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 2002. He graduated from the Faculty of Law and the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in 2000 with an LLB and MBA. Prior to that, he received his Bachelor of Commerce (with High Distinction) from the University of Toronto. Gus also speaks Greek.
Areas of Practice
· Gus is a member of BLG's Financial Services Group with an emphasis on secured lending, financing of public infrastructure (P3) projects, project finance, securitizations and bond offerings
· Other practice areas also include deferred sales charge mutual fund financings, restructurings of deferred sales charge financing vehicles and general corporate and commercial law matters
Rankings and Recognitions
· Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012 (Banking and Finance)
· Martindale-Hubbell BV® Distinguished™ Peer Review Rated
Professional Experience
· Advising governments, sponsors, lenders and underwriters in connection with the financing of public infrastructure projects in Canada
· Advising project developers, sponsors and lenders on the financing of major projects including wind farms, ethanol plants, cogeneration facilities, hydro-electric facilities and ethylene plants
· Advising Canadian and foreign financial institutions and borrowers with respect to establishing and maintaining term and operating credit facilities in domestic and multi-jurisdictional, and in single-lender and syndicated, contexts. Particular experience in syndicated credit facilities, lending to income trusts, cross border financings and acquisition financings
· Representing participants in structured finance and securitization transactions. Particular experience in securitizations of commercial mortgages (CMBS), residential mortgages (RMBS) and rental portfolios
· Advising mutual fund managers and financial institutions in connection with the financing of sales commissions of deferred sales charge mutual funds and the restructuring of deferred sales charge financing trusts and limited partnerships
· Advising on general corporate and commercial issues for domestic and cross border businesses, including advising on and implementing acquisitions and divestitures, corporate reorganizations, limited partnerships, wind-ups and amalgamations
Recent Transaction Experience includes:
· Acting for a joint-venture consortium, one of the three shortlisted bidders to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Ontario to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a four-lane, 11-km (11 tunnel) highway project in Southern Ontario (Windsor-Essex Parkway);
· Acting for a municipal electricity distribution and energy services corporation in connection with its proposal to develop a unique and high-efficiency Integrated Energy System facility for a new hospital in the Province of Ontario to be delivered using Infrastructure Ontario's Alternative Finance and Procurement (AFP) model
· Acting for a syndicate of Bank Lenders and Bond Underwriter in providing commitments for senior construction financing and underwritten bond financing to a short-listed consortium sponsor in support of a bid to Infrastructure Ontario for a major social infrastructure alternative financing and procurement (AFP) project
· Advising The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, as Agent and lead lender, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada and Ontario Pension Board Investments Inc. in connection with the approximately $175 Million project financing provided to Raleigh Wind Power Partnership and its sponsor, Invenergy Wind North America LLC, for its Raleigh Wind Energy Project (a 78 MW name plate capacity wind generation project located in or near the Regional Municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario)
· Advising Northland Power Inc. and its affiliates in connection with the financing of its various power projects
· Advising Royal Office Finance Limited Partnership and Canadian Leaseback Limited Partnership in connection with the issuance of Senior Secured Bonds in the aggregate principal amount of $1.2381 Billion with a rating of AAA from Standard and Poors to assist in the acquisition and 25-year leaseback of seven federal office properties located across Canada - the first transaction whereby the acquisition of a large real estate portfolio closed concurrently with a private placement bond financing
· Advising Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Canada Housing Trust TM No. 1 in connection with the Canada Mortgage Bond securitization program and the fully underwritten offerings (to date) of over $190 Billion in Canada Mortgage Bonds since program launch in 2001
· Advising a syndicate of financial institutions in connection with the establishment of $175,000,000 of first-lien, senior secured credit facilities in favour of Cara Operations Limited and the simultaneous issuance by Cara Operations Limited of $200,000,000 of second-lien, senior secured high-yield notes
· Advising The Bank of Nova Scotia and a syndicate of lenders in connection with the $525 Million financing of Cara Operation Limited's going private transaction
· Advising The Bank of Nova Scotia and a syndicate of lenders in connection with the $170 Million financing of the initial public offering of Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund and the $425 Million financing of Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund's acquisition of the Famous Players movie theatres
· Advising Modular Space Corporation (formerly Resun Corporation) in connection with the acquisition financings (senior revolving credit facility and second lien term loan credit facility) of the North American modular space business of General Electric Capital Corporation
· Advising a syndicate of Canadian credit unions in connection with the $118 M acquisition financing by AgriFinancial Canada Corp., a subsidiary of C.A. Bancorp Inc., of the AgriCard and Agrifinance businesses of Canadian Cooperative Agricultural Financial Services
· Advising The Bank of Nova Scotia in connection with the financing of the initial public offering of Second Cup Royalty Income Fund
· Advising a financial institution mutual fund manager in connection with the structuring and establishment of a private commercial mortgage-backed securitization transaction and substantial investment in commercial mortgage-pass through certificates
· Advising Realty Financial Advisors Inc. (RFA) on its underwriting of the B piece and unrated tranches of over $2.3 Billion in commercial mortgage-backed securities offered by Claret Trust, Column Canada Issuer Corporation, Solar Trust, Merrill Lynch Financial Assets Inc., Schooner Trust and Real Estate Asset Liquidity Trust
· Advising GreenField Ethanol Inc. (formerly known as Commercial Alcohols Inc.) in connection with its $405 Million senior secured credit facilities to assist, in part, with its proposed construction of two new 200 million litre per year fuel ethanol plants in Hensall, Ontario and Johnstown, Ontario and its $60 Million unsecured subordinated financing provided by a Quebec based development capital fund to assist with the construction of its fuel ethanol plant in Varennes, Quebec
· Advising UE Waterheater Income Fund in connection with the $400 Million senior secured financing of its initial public offering and acquisition of the water heater rental business owned by Union Energy Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of EPCOR Utilities Inc., a $400 Million secured note offering, the $140 Million takeover of Voxcom Income Fund, a security monitoring business and the $1.74 Billion sale of substantially all of its assets (including the redemption and defeasance of public secured notes) to a subsidiary of private equity firm, Alinda Capital Partners LLC
· Advising Clarington Corporation in connection with the approximately $200 Million acquisition of Clarington Corporation by Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.
· Acting as Canadian counsel to an investor group led by Apollo Management, LP in connection with a US$600 Million cross-border acquisition financing of Linens 'N Things, one of the leading, national, large-format retailers of home textiles, housewares and decorative home accessories
Professional and Community Activities
· Member of the Canadian Bar Association
· Member of the American Bar Association, Business Law Section
· Commercial Mortgage Securities Association
· Member of the Hellenic Canadian Lawyers Association