Kim Harle, Toronto

About Kim

Kim's practice includes a broad range of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, pension fund investment, and other transactional work. She has advised Canadian and multinational deal sponsors in many sectors, including technology, energy, chemical, retail, publishing, financial services, consumer products, pulp and paper, and real estate.

Kim has significant experience providing advice on private equity investments by institutional investors and on investment funds generally. She regularly advises pension funds and other investor clients on their private equity, infrastructure, hedge fund, real estate and other investments, both in Canada and abroad.

In addition to her transactional work, Kim provides practical ongoing general corporate and commercial advice to her clients. Kim worked as in-house legal counsel with a publicly traded equipment financing company for a year and a half, gaining valuable experience practising law in an in-house environment.

Kim was a member of the Blakes Executive Committee for 6 years.

Select Experience

Transactions representative of Kim's experience include advising:

Private Equity Experience

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) on direct investments in Ducati (motorcycles), KGS-Alpha Capital Markets (U.S. fixed income broker-dealer), St. James's Gateway (an English mixed-use real estate development) and two Czech shopping malls
Teachers Private Capital in connection with its acquisition of Dynea North America (now known as Arclin), a resins/overlays business, from a Finnish private equity group
Leading U.S. private equity firms in connection with their Canadian investments
On several other direct investments by pension plans, including investments in the U.S., South America and Europe

Fund Experience

Various pension plans and other institutional investors on their private equity, real estate, hedge, fixed income, emerging markets and infrastructure fund investments

Mergers and Acquisitions

GrainCorp in connection with the Canadian components of its approximately C$750-million acquisition of the United Malt business
Algonquin Power in connection with its California electric utility joint venture with Emera Inc. and related equity financing
A multinational conglomerate in connection with its acquisition of a medical device business
CIBC in connection with the global restructuring of Visa and Visa's subsequent initial public offering

Awards & Recognition

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

The Best Lawyers in Canada 2025 (Corporate Law, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law)
Chambers Canada Legal Guide 2025 (Investment Funds)
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2024 (Private Equity)
Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers 2022 – Independently Rated Lawyers (As nominated by senior in-house counsel)
Chambers Canada Legal Guide 2021 (Investment Funds: Fund Formation – Client comment: "She is practical and commercially-minded, operating with a mindset of seeking practically attainable solutions to issues in ways that protect our interests.")