In the past 10 years, Blakes has been involved in 1,380 public and private M&A transactions, with an aggregate dollar value of nearly C$1.3-trillion. According to Bloomberg, Blakes is the No.1 law firm in global M&A deals by deal value and the No.1 law firm in Canada by deal count for the period, 2014-2023.
We also work closely with our Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment group, Canada’s top-ranked competition law practice, to provide the best possible advice on matters relating to merger reviews and foreign investments into Canada. Our expertise in tax structuring, employee benefits, litigation, real estate, intellectual property and information technology issues, together with industry knowledge gained in serving a diverse client base, ensures we can provide highly effective and specialized guidance to financial services clients.
Insurance
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Intact Financial Corporation on its C$12.3-billion acquisition, together with Tryg A/S, of RSA Insurance Group Plc and related private placements of C$4.45-billion of subscription receipts.
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A shareholder of Canada Protection Plan on the sale of its life insurance distribution business to Foresters Financial.
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Standard Life plc on the sale of its Canadian business to Manulife for C$4-billion.
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Intact Financial Corporation on its C$2.6-billion acquisition of the Canadian insurance businesses (life and P&C) of AXA SA.
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Aegon N.V. on the sale of its Canadian business to Wilton Re Ltd, a subsidiary of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, for C$600-million.
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Intact Financial Corporation on its sale of AXA Canada’s life insurance business to SSQ Life Insurance Company Inc. for C$300-million.
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Canadian Western Bank on the sale of its property and casualty insurance subsidiary Canadian Direct Insurance Inc. to Intact Financial Corporation for C$197-million.
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Desjardins Group on the sale of its pet insurance business to Economical Mutual Insurance Company.
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VRG Capital Corp. on the sale of Jones Brown Inc. to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
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VRG Capital Corp. in connection with its backing of a management buyout of Jones Brown Inc., and the subsequent acquisition of Pearson Dunn Insurance.
Brokerage
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Hub International Inc., Canada’s largest insurance brokerage, on the C$4.4-billion sale of Hub from Apax Partners LLP to Hellman & Friedman LLC.
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Hub International Inc. on various insurance brokerage acquisitions including, the acquisition of Seymour Alper Inc., Integro (Canada) Ltd., the insurance business of Cypher Systems Group, and Proteus Performance Management Inc.
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Performance Management, a provider of specialized pension plan governance and investment consulting.
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Verico Financial Group, a Vancouver-based provider of mortgage-loan brokerage services, on the sale of an equity interest to B2B Bank, a unit of Laurentian Bank of Canada.
Payment Cards
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Global Payments Inc. in its acquisition of the merchant acquiring business and portfolio of 40,000 merchants of Desjardins Group.
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Bank of America/MBNA Canada on the acquisition of MBNA Canada’s credit card portfolio by TD Bank Group in a transaction valued at C$8.5-billion.
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Canadian Tire Corporation on its agreement with Scotiabank regarding a strategic partnership that will see Scotiabank acquire a 20 per cent equity interest in Canadian Tire’s financial services business for C$500-million in cash.
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PayPal Holdings, Inc. on its US$400-million acquisition of Hyperwallet Systems Inc.
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Heartland Payment Systems on the sale of its share of Collective Point of Sales Solutions, a Canadian payment processor, to Elavon, Inc.
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BofA Canada Bank in the sale of its Shoppers Drug Mart credit card portfolio to the Royal Bank of Canada.
FinTech
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FleetCor on the acquisition of Associated Foreign Exchange, Inc. (AFEX), and on its acquisition of Cambridge Mercantile Corp., a business-to-business payments company, for approximately US$650-million.
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Stored Value Solutions, a subsidiary of FleetCor Technologies, Inc., on its acquisition of Buyatab Online Inc., as part of its expansion in the emerging digital-gifting space.
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TD Bank Group on its acquisition of Layer 6 Inc., a Toronto-based artificial intelligence innovator and pioneer serving the financial services industry.
Commercial Leasing
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Element Financial Corporation on its acquisition of PHH Arval, PHH Corporation’s North American fleet management unit, for C$1.4-billion in cash.
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CIT Financial on the C$1-billion sale of its Canadian equipment financing and corporate financing activities to Laurentian Bank of Canada.
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ECN Capital Corp. on the approximately C$900-million sale of its Canadian Commercial and Vendor Finance assets to Canadian Western Bank.
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Element Financial Corporation on its acquisition of GE Capital’s Canadian fleet portfolio and related operational resources for consideration of approximately C$570-million.
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The Bank of Nova Scotia on the sale of the business and assets of Roynat Lease Finance, a division of its subsidiary Roynat Inc., to Meridian Credit Union Limited.
Consumer Lending
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MCAP Financial Corporation on its C$1.5-billion mortgage purchase from Home Trust Company.
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Banco Santander S.A. on its acquisition of Carfinco Financial Group Inc. for C$298-million.
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Friedman Fleischer & Lowe LLC on its acquisition of a minority stake in SNAP Financial Group, a Vancouver-based provider of consumer and commercial lending services, for C$60-million.
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CIT on the sale of its personal computer financing business to Dell.
Wealth and Asset Management
- Royal Bank of Canada on its C$13.5-billion acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada.
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AST Investor Services Inc. (Canada) on its C$165-million acquisition by TMX Group Limited.
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The Toronto-Dominion Bank on its C$792-million acquisition of Greystone Capital Management Inc.
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CI Financial Corp. on its C$780-million acquisition of Sentry Investments Corp.
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Macquarie Group on the C$132-million sale of its Canadian retail business, Macquarie Private Wealth Inc., to Richardson GMP Limited.
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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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Jarislowsky, Fraser Limited and its Board of Directors in connection with its sale to Scotiabank.
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UBS Global Asset Management (Canada) Inc. on the sale of its Canadian fixed income, equity and balanced account business to Fiera Capital Corporation.
Asset-Based Lending
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CIT Financial on the sale of its 50 per cent interest in CIBC Equipment Financing to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
Credit Unions
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Central 1 Credit Union, the largest shareholder of Credential Financial Inc., in the merger of Credential Financial Inc., Qtrade Canada Inc. and NEI Investments.
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Federation des caisses populaires de l’Ontario Inc. and Caisse Populaire des Voyageurs Inc. on the acquisition of six branches and agencies from Desjardins Credit Union Inc.
Corporate Trustee Services
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Canadian Western Bank on the sale of the stock transfer, corporate trust and employee plan services businesses of Valiant Trust Company to Computershare Limited for C$33-million.
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Equity Financial Trust Company on the sale of its corporate trust and transfer agency business to The TMX Group, Inc.
Multi-Jurisdictional Financial Services M&A
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A potential local buyer of public and private multi-jurisdictional banking assets in the Caribbean region.
Blakes Financial Services lawyers have been recognized as leaders in their field in the most recent editions of the following publications:
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Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business
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Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business
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The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (Blakes is “Most Frequently Recommended” in Banking & Financial Institutions every year since the directory’s inception in 1997)
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The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada
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Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada
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IFLR1000: The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial and Corporate Law Firms
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The Legal 500 Canada
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Who's Who Legal: Banking
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Who's Who Legal: Canada
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Who's Who Legal: Insurance & Reinsurance
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Who's Who Legal: Project Finance
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Who's Who Legal: Transport – Aviation Finance
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Legal Media Group’s Guide to the World’s Leading Banking, Finance and Transactional Lawyers
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The Best Lawyers in Canada
Practice Areas
People
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Tim AndisonPartner | Toronto
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Paul BelangerPartner | Toronto
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Justin DrakePartner | Toronto
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Michael ElderPartner | Toronto
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David FeldmanPartner | Toronto
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Brock W. Gibson, KCPartner | Calgary, Toronto
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Jake GilbertPartner | Toronto
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Vivian KungPartner | Toronto
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Hani MigallyPartner | Toronto
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Alex MoorePartner | Toronto
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Bonny MurrayPartner | Toronto
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Aaron PalmerPartner | Toronto
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Robert PercivalPartner | Toronto
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Tim PhillipsPartner | Toronto
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Cheryl SatinPartner | Toronto
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Brock W. Gibson, KCPartner | Calgary, Toronto
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Kathleen KeiltyPartner | Vancouver
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Philippe BourassaPartner | Montréal
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Alain MassicottePartner | Montréal
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Angelo NocePartner | Montréal
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Tim AndisonPartner | Toronto
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Paul BelangerPartner | Toronto
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Philippe BourassaPartner | Montréal
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Justin DrakePartner | Toronto
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Michael ElderPartner | Toronto
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David FeldmanPartner | Toronto
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Brock W. Gibson, KCPartner | Calgary, Toronto
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Jake GilbertPartner | Toronto
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Kathleen KeiltyPartner | Vancouver
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Vivian KungPartner | Toronto
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Alain MassicottePartner | Montréal
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Hani MigallyPartner | Toronto
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Alex MoorePartner | Toronto
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Bonny MurrayPartner | Toronto
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Angelo NocePartner | Montréal
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Aaron PalmerPartner | Toronto
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Robert PercivalPartner | Toronto
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Tim PhillipsPartner | Toronto
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Cheryl SatinPartner | Toronto