Cassels Brock advises a wide range of international private equity clients across the spectrum of industries — including consumer products, financial, IT and health care — and specializes in providing exceptional, cost-effective service. We offer client-centric advice to both Canadian and non-Canadian private equity funds who are investing in or acquiring Canadian companies. At the early stage of a transaction, we advise on the most effective way to structure the investment from tax, operational and financing perspectives. We remain focused on structuring and then bringing the transaction to a mutually agreed upon closure that satisfies both parties. In short, our role is to seamlessly integrate all stages and aspects of a private equity investment. We have a strong understanding of the complexities involved in private equity investing and we keep current on funding sources, deal flow and relevant legislative changes. The involvement of our restructuring expertise adds depth of experience and ideas for the private equity investment in troubled or early stage businesses.
At Cassels Brock, we approach private equity transactions on a basis suitable to the size and complexity of the deal. We know that “over lawyering” is not the right approach. We offer a team perspective to these transactions, drawing on the expertise of professionals throughout the firm who lend their specialized knowledge to the particular transaction. From taxation to securities to corporate and commercial law to financial services to intellectual property to competition/anti-trust law to foreign investment review and employment law, we ensure that all aspects of a transaction are considered when giving advice on structuring, conducting diligence and documenting the arrangement.
The Private Equity team at Cassels Brock will help you navigate your way through recent legislative changes affecting private equity investments and acquisitions across the country, including:
- Changes to s. 116 of the Canadian Income Tax Act removing barriers to investment in Canada’s technology sector
- New corporate governance rules in financial services sectors
- Tax rules affecting income trusts
- Increased scrutiny of foreign acquisitions of Canadian businesses under the Investment Canada Act
- New merger review process and increased sensitivity to overlapping directorships and minority ownership interests under the Competition Act
- Tax changes enhancing the ability to fund Canadian entities from foreign sources
- New licensing and registration requirements in financial services, securities and real estate sectors
Representative Examples of Our Work
- Acting together with lead US counsel to a global scale hedge fund, we have done numerous acquisitions transactions for the fund and its funding arms
- Acting on behalf of both the senior and subordinated lender in respect of a significant financing of the acquisition by a US-based private equity fund of a manufacturing business based in Atlantic Canada
- Acting on behalf of a number of renewable energy companies in respect of private equity investments
- Acting for a global investment bank and one of Canada’s largest investment banks in their capacities as co-lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, in respect of their financing of the $1.37 billion acquisition of an Income Fund by a private equity firm and management group
- Advising one of Canada’s largest wireless dealer networks in its acquisition of a number of independent wireless dealers, giving the network a platform of more than 60 retail and sales locations across the country
- After acting as Canadian counsel on a number of transactions for private hedge fund acquisitions of major targets in telecommunications, automotive and finance, we were selected to take on and act as Canadian counsel for the entities
- Acting on the exit of various hedge funds from several investments including completing public, private sale and restructuring divestitures
- Acting as counsel to a quick service restaurant franchisor on the Canadian portion of its securitization led by its private equity owners
- Acting for Canadian targets under acquisition, including a large industrial design and manufacturing enterprise, by US private equity firms
- Acting for a Canadian electronic land registration system in connection with the $1.6 billion hostile takeover bid by an infrastructure investment firm
- Acting for a large US commercial finance company on many private equity funding projects in Canada
- Providing a large variety of services to a growing, global hedge fund group, which includes private equity, hedge and fixed income funds, acting on its global expansion, including the start-up activities in several jurisdictions, dealing with the fund set up and sales, tax and corporate planning
- Acting for income funds on their going private and corporate conversion transactions
- Acting on behalf of a haircare product company and its shareholders in connection with the company’s acquisition by a leading global cosmetic corporation
