Chris Hewat How to pronounce this name. (he, him) Partner | Toronto

Representative transactions include advising:

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Magnet Forensics Inc. on its sale to Thoma Bravo for C$1.8-billion

• LG Bedrock Holdings LP on the C$398-million buyback of its common shares of Stelco Holdings Inc.

• D2L Inc. on the spin-out of its D2L Wave upskilling technology into a new independent standalone company, SkillsWave Corporation ("SkillsWave"), and the sale of indirect majority ownership in SkillsWave to John Baker, the CEO and Founder of D2L Inc.

• Kognitiv Corporation on its acquisition from Aimia Inc. of its Aimia Loyalty Solutions business, and related fiancing

• The Special Committee of Callidus Capital Corporation in its going private transaction by way of plan of arrangement with Braslyn Ltd.

• FLIR Systems, Inc. on its US$200-million acquisition of Aeryon Labs Inc.

• The Descartes Systems Group Inc. on its C$330-million acquisition of Visual Compliance

• The Toronto-Dominion Bank on its acquisition of artificial intelligence firm Layer 6 Inc. and acquisition of institutional asset manager Greystone Managed Investments Inc.

• BlueCat Networks Inc. on its sale to Madison Dearborn Partners LLC

• The Special Committee of Patheon Inc. on its sale to a joint venture established by its significant shareholder JLL Partners and Koninklijke DSM N.V. for US$2-billion

• The Brick Ltd. and its Special Committee on its sale to Leon's Furniture Limited for C$700-million

• Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. on its acquisition of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. for C$4.9-billion, and its contested acquisitions of Freewest Resources Inc. for C$240-million and Spider Resources Inc. for C$107-million

Capital Markets

• D2L Inc. on its C$150-million initial public offering of subordinate voting shares

• Magnet Forensics Inc. on its C$115-million initial public offering of subordinate voting shares and C$74-million secondary offering of subordinate voting shares

• The underwriters for Shopify Inc. on its US$150-million cross-border initial public offering and subsequent follow-on offerings

• Open Text Corporation on its US$585-million cross-border equity offering and concurrent US$250-million offering of senior unsecured notes

• The Descartes Systems Group Inc. on its US$147-million cross-border equity offering

Private Equity

• Kognitiv Corporation on its C$48.5-million financing consisting of convertible notes and senior debt facility

• Lindsay Goldberg on its controlling interest in Stelco Holdings Inc., and its participation in Stelco's C$230-million initial public offering and subsequent secondary offerings

• Open Text Corporation as lead industry sponsor in the venture fund of funds established under the federal Venture Capital Action Plan

• Redknee Solutions Inc. on the equity investment of US$83.2-million by ESW Capital, LLC

• D2L Inc. in connection with its C$85-million Series B financing

Chris is recognized as a leading lawyer in the following publications:

• The Best Lawyers in Canada 2025 (Corporate Governance Practice, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities Law, Technology Law)

• Chambers Canada Legal Guide 2025 (Corporate/Commercial – Ontario)

• Chambers Global Legal Guide 2025 (Corporate/M&A)

• Lexpert's Leading 500 Cross-Border Lawyers: A Guide to Doing Business in Canada 2025 (Corporate Commercial Law, Corporate Finance & Securities)

• The Legal 500 Canada 2025 (Capital Markets)

• Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers 2025 – Independently Rated Lawyers (As nominated by senior in-house counsel)

• The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2025 (Corporate Commercial Law, Corporate Finance & Securities, Private Equity, Mergers & Acquisitions, Technology Transactions)

• Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A 2025

• IFLR1000: The Guide to the World's Leading Financial and Corporate Law Firms 2024 (Capital Markets: Equity, M&A, Private Equity)

• Lexology Index: M&A and Governance 2024 (M&A, Corporate Governance)
  

• Lexology Index: Capital Markets 2024 (Debt & Equity)

• Lexology Index: Canada 2024 (Capital Markets, Corporate Governance, M&A)

Admitted to the Ontario Bar – 1987
LLB, MBA, Western University – 1985
BA, Queen's University – 1981