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About Ross

Ross practises securities and corporate law with a focus on domestic and cross-border merger and acquisition transactions and corporate finance.

As counsel to acquirors, targets, boards and special committees, Ross has acted on many high profile domestic and cross-border take-over bids, plans of arrangement and mergers and has acted for several issuers on high profile proxy contests.

Ross has extensive experience in a wide variety of equity and debt offerings, including project financing and offerings of investment grade, subordinated and high-yield debt. He also assists issuers in establishing shelf financing programs both for domestic offerings as well as cross-border offerings under the Canada/US multi-jurisdictional offering system.

Ross has acted for issuers, underwriters and selling shareholders on offerings involving issuers in the airline, pipeline and energy infrastructure, agribusiness, energy services, energy exploration and development, chartered banking and railroad sectors.

He also regularly advises issuers, boards and special committees in connection with corporate governance matters and issuers in respect of continuous disclosure obligations, stock exchange matters and general corporate matters. Ross has experience advising clients on ESG matters, including in respect of corporate governance and compliance, disclosure, and sustainable finance.

Select Experience

Examples of recent transactions include lead roles advising:

Mergers & Acquisitions

  • TC Energy Corporation on its proposed separation into two independent, investment-grade, publicly listed companies through the spinoff of TC Energy's Liquids Pipelines business

  • Canadian Utilities Limited on its exchange offer to minority Class B shareholders

  • Cenovus Energy Inc. on its C$711-million acquisition of warrants from Hutchison Whampoa Europe Investments S.à r.l. and L.F. Investments S.à r.l.

  • WestJet in connection with its C$5.0-billion acquisition by Onex Corporation

  • Cenovus Energy Inc. on its C$17.7-billion acquisition of assets from ConocoPhillips

  • Agrium Inc. on its US$38-billion merger of equals with Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.

  • TransCanada Corporation on its US$13-billion acquisition of Columbia Pipeline Group Inc.

  • Cenovus Energy Inc. on the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary Heritage Royalty Limited Partnership to Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan for C$3.3-billion

Activism

  • Agrium Inc. on its successful proxy contest with dissident shareholder JANA Partners LLC

  • The Forzani Group Ltd. on its successful proxy contest with dissident shareholders Crescendo Investments II, LLC and Crescendo Investments III, LLC

Financing

  • ‌The Calgary Airport Authority on its C$2.075-billion inaugural bond issuance and bond exchange

  • Canadian Pacific Railway Company on its offering of US$500-million of senior unsecured notes

  • Cenovus Energy Inc. on its C$3-billion offering of common shares in connection with the acquisition of assets from ConocoPhillips

  • TransCanada Corporation on its C$4.4-billion offering of subscription receipts in connection with the acquisition of Columbia Pipeline Group Inc.

  • TC Energy Corporation and its subsidiaries on more than C$30-billion of other financing transactions comprised of offerings of preferred shares, senior notes, subordinated trust notes and common shares

  • Agrium Inc. on over C$6.5-billion of financing transactions comprised of offerings of US$5.3-billion of senior notes in aggregate and an offering of C$1.375-billion of common shares

Awards & Recognition

Ross has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the following publications:

  • Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2024 (Band 3 – Corporate/M&A)

  • The 2024 Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada (Corporate Commercial Law, Corporate Finance & Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions) 

  • The Legal 500 Canada 2024 (Capital Markets, Corporate and M&A)

  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2024 (Corporate Finance & Securities, Corporate Commercial Law, Mergers & Acquisitions)

  • The Best Lawyers in Canada – 2021–2024 (Corporate Governance Practice, Corporate Law, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities Law, Structured Finance Law)

  • ‌Best Lawyers: "Lawyer of the Year" (2022, 2024: Corporate Governance Practice, Calgary; 2023: Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law; 2016, 2018, 2020: Securities Law, Calgary)

  • Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers – Independently Rated Lawyers – 2021, 2024 (As nominated by senior in-house counsel)

  • The Legal 500 Canada 2023 (Capital Markets, Corporate and M&A, International Expertise)

  • Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business – 2022–2023 (Band 2 – Corporate/M&A)

  • Who's Who Legal: Global (2023: Corporate Governance, Energy – Oil and Gas; 2022–2023: Capital Markets – Debt & Equity, M&A)

  • Who's Who Legal: Canada (2021–2023: Capital Markets; 2021–2022: M&A)

  • Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business – 2021–2023 (Corporate/Commercial) 

  • IFLR1000: The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms – 2021–2023 (Mergers & Acquisitions – Market Leader)

  • The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada 2022 (Corporate Finance & Securities Law)

  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2022 (Corporate Finance & Securities, Corporate Commercial, Mergers & Acquisitions – Most Frequently Recommended)

  • Who's Who Legal: Thought Leaders – 2021–2022 (M&A)

  • The 2017 Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Corporate Lawyers in Canada (Corporate Finance & Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions)

Professional Activities

Ross is a former member of the Listing Advisory Committee to the Toronto Stock Exchange, a former member of the board of directors of YMCA Calgary, and formerly served as the chair of the board of directors of West Island College in Calgary.

Education

Admitted to the Alberta Bar – 1995
LLB, University of Alberta – 1994
MBA, University of Alberta – 1993
BComm, University of Alberta – 1989

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