John Leopardi, Montréal | Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

About John

John practises primarily in the areas of Canadian domestic and cross-border income tax law, with a particular focus on advising on domestic and cross-border corporate taxation in respect of public and private mergers and acquisitions, private equity investment, pension fund investment, corporate reorganizations and structuring inbound and outbound investments. John also advises domestic and foreign entities operating in the resource industry, including in respect of public and private financings structured to take advantage of Canadian and Quebec tax resource incentives in the mining area.

John's practice also includes representing taxpayers throughout tax audits and disputes at all the stages in the Canadian federal and Quebec tax appeal process.

John is fluent in English, French and Italian.

Expand all

Select Experience

Recent representative matters include advising:

Advised Eclipse Automation, a provider of customized manufacturing automation and robotics solutions headquartered in Ontario, Canada, on its sale to Accenture
Valsoft Corporation Inc., a Canadian-based company specializing in the acquisition and development of vertical market software businesses in respect of the C$100-million minority equity investment from Viking Global Investors
Inverness Graham, a private investment firm, for its EIKO Global portfolio in respect of a portfolio acquisition and merger with Premise Led Inc., a Canadian-based lighting manufacturer
DW Healthcare Partners, a healthcare-focused private equity firm, in its investment in Bio Agri Mix, LP, Canada's largest manufacturer and distributor of medicated feed additives and water-soluble medications for livestock
Valsoft Corporation, a Canadian leader in the vertical market software sector, in connection with several Canadian and foreign acquisitions of vertical market software businesses
Babylon Health in its transactions with Telus Health
A U.S. private equity fund in connection with its acquisition of BioVectra Inc.
A U.S. private equity fund in connection with its acquisition of Rideau Recognition Solutions
Altium Packaging Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Consolidated Container Company, on its acquisition of Plastique Micron Inc.
H.I.G. Capital, LLC, via its affiliates, in the acquisition of the Recochem Inc. group of companies
ICM Partners whereby ICM, along with partners Bell Media Inc. and Evenko/Club du Hockey du Canadiens, acquired control of the Just for Laughs Group
Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. in its acquisition of Atoka Cranberries Inc. from The Bieler Group
Nuera Enterprises Canada Inc. in respect of for its purchase of certain assets of AB Electrolux and its affiliated companies
A global defense company in relation to the sale of its commercial flight training unit to CAE Inc.
Savaria Corporation, a TSX listed company, in connection with its "bought deal" financing consisting of 3,450,000 common shares of Savaria at a price of $16.60 per share for gross proceeds of $57,270,000
CDP Investissement Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, in its acquisition of the share capital of First Lion Holdings Inc., an insurance broker
A private equity fund in its acquisition of a provider of specialty outsourced services to the railway and transit sectors in North America
A TSX-listed company operating in the mining sector in the first cross-border business combination with a NYSE-listed mining company by way of plan of arrangement to occur under the Quebec Business Corporations Act
A syndicate of agents in the initial public offering of a limited partnership created for the purpose of investing in shares of resource companies in the oil and gas, mineral and renewable energy sectors
A large privately held group of technology companies on the disposition of substantially all of their Canadian and foreign assets
A NYSE-listed consumer products company in its acquisitions of a variety of complementary Canadian-based businesses
Several different clients in connection with Canadian and Quebec taxation disputes including transfer pricing dispute matters

Professional Activities

John is a frequent writer, speaker and moderator at different venues, principally regarding domestic and cross-border income tax matters.

He is a member of the Canadian Tax Foundation, the International Fiscal Association, the (Québec) Fiscal and Financial Planning Association, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the Canadian and New York bar associations, and the Italian Chamber of Commerce.

John is a council member of the International Fiscal Association Canada. He was president of the Quebec tax branch of the Canadian Bar Association for three mandates from 2019 through 2022 and remains a committee member. John is also a committee member of the Bar of Montreal.

He is also a director of two Canadian private companies that are subsidiaries of a prominent international full-service NASDAQ-listed clinical search organization, as well as a director of two other Canadian private companies that are subsidiaries of a foreign company specializing in the manufacture of lighting designed by world-renowned architects.

John is a member of the United States Tax Court and completed his articles of clerkship with the Tax Court of Canada in Ottawa.