A distinguishing factor of the Blakes M&A practice is our national private M&A team, dedicated exclusively to private M&A transactions. We advise both private and public companies and business owners on the acquisition and sale of Canadian and international companies and assets. We also advise buyout funds acquiring or selling a business.
Our private M&A team leads the market in Canada by having an industry-focused approach and multidisciplinary specialists covering key industries in each Canadian jurisdiction. For our clients, this means a better understanding of their business, strategic objectives and challenges, including in highly regulated areas such as energy, financial services, insurance, life sciences, food and beverage, power, and gaming, among others.
- Canadian counsel to Paramount on the US$1.6-billion sale of Simon & Schuster to KKR & Co. Inc.
- Financeit Canada Inc. in its acquisition of Simply Group Financial, SNAP Home Finance, and certain assets of EcoHome Financial.
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CI Financial Corp. in its acquisition of Coriel Capital Inc.
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Cornerstone Building Brands, Inc. in respect of its indirect acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of MAC Metal Architectural Inc.
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Saint-Gobain on its C$1.325-billion acquisition of Building Products of Canada Corp.
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Dar Group on its acquisition of a majority stake in CopperTree Analytics Inc.
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Ridgeback Resources Inc., a private equity portfolio company, on its C$525-million sale to Saturn Oil & Gas Inc.
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BlackRock Alternatives on its acquisition of a majority stake in Environmental 360 Solutions.
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R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company on the sale of its Canadian operations to DATA Communications Management Corp.
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Royal Bank of Canada on its C$13.5-billion acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada.
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Joshua Fireman and Company Inc. and its U.S. subsidiary, Fireman & Company, on their sale to Epiq Systems, Inc., a technology-enabled services leader to the legal industry.
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Simpson Oil Limited on the sale of 25% of SOL Investments SEZC for 20-million common shares of Parkland Fuel, valued at approximately C$700-million.
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Canadian counsel to Litera Microsystems on its acquisition of Kira Systems
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Electrical Components International, Inc., a portfolio company of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., on its acquisition of Promark Electronics Inc.
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Canadian counsel to KPS Capital Partners on the sale of TaylorMade Golf to Centroid Investment Partners
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Mackenzie Financial Corporation (an IGM Financial Inc. subsidiary) on its acquisition of Greenchip Financial Corp.
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Canadian counsel to Nasdaq on its US$2.75-billion acquisition of Verafin, an industry leader specializing in enterprise financial crime management solutions.
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AST Investor Services Inc. (Canada) on its C$165-million acquisition by TMX Group Limited.
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Canadian counsel to Real Assets Advisers in the proposed €445-million sale of KKR’s 33.33 per cent equity stake in ACCIONA Energía Internacional to AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets and ACCIONA S.A.
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KIK Custom Products Inc. on the sale of its personal care business to Voyant Beauty, LLC.
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Lululemon Athletica Inc. on its US$500-million acquisition of Mirror and new one-year US$300-million revolving credit facility.
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Equinix, Inc. on its C$1.04-billion acquisition of 25 data-centre facilities across Canada from Bell Canada.
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Canadian counsel to Coty Inc. on its strategic transaction with KKR for Coty’s Professional and Retail Hair business valued at US$4.3-billion.
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Kognitiv Corporation on its C$525-million acquisition of Aimia Inc.’s Loyalty Solutions business.
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Nutrien Ltd. on its proposed acquisition of 100 per cent of the equity of the Tec Agro Group, a leading agricultural retailer and owner of one of the largest branded soybean seeds businesses in Brazil.
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Canadian counsel to Kalkomey Holdings, LLC on its merger with CHP KE Group Holdings A, L.P., a subsidiary of Cove Hill Partners.
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Industrial Alliance Financial Services Inc. on the sale of its subsidiary iA Investment Counsel Inc. (operating under the brands T.E. Wealth and Leon Frazer & Associate) to Canadian Western Bank.
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Hub International Limited on its acquisition of the benefits consulting practice of Morneau Shepell Inc.
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Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners in connection with its acquisition of Xplornet Communications Inc., Canada’s largest rural-focused broadband service provider. This was the largest private equity transaction in Canada in 2020.
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Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan on its €196-million sale of a German logistics portfolio consisting of 150-million square metres to Apeiron Capital Limited.
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Canadian counsel to Dell Technologies Inc. on its US$2.075-billion sale of RSA Security LLC to a consortium of investors led by Symphony Technology Group and including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and AlpInvest Partners.
Practice Areas
- Capital Markets
- Commercial Real Estate
- Competition & Antitrust
- Corporate & Commercial
- Employment & Labour
- Environmental
- Financial Services
- Foreign Investment
- Intellectual Property
- Litigation & Dispute Resolution
- Oil Sands
- Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation
- Restructuring & Insolvency
- Shareholder Activism
- Tax
- Technology