Andrew Spiro Partner | Toronto

Recent representative matters include advising:

• Mubadala Capital on its C$4.7 billion acquisition of CI Financial Corp.

• Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. on its acquisition of Stelco Holdings Inc., a transaction representing an enterprise value of C$3.4 billion

• H&R REIT on its spin-off of its Primaris properties, including all of H&R's enclosed malls, to a new stand-alone, publicly traded REIT

• Pet Valu, a portfolio company of Roark Capital, in connection with its initial public offering

• WPT Industrial REIT in connection with its US$3.1-billion acquisition by Blackstone REIT

• Starlight Investments in connection with the proposed going private transaction with Northview Properties REIT by way of unitholder- and court-approved arrangement valued at C$4.8-billion announced in February 2020

• UnitedHealth Group on its subsidiary OptumRx's US$12.8-billion combination with Catamaran Corporation

• Hudson's Bay Company in connection with its C$2-billion privatization transaction with a shareholder group led by the Company's Executive Chairman

• Starlight U.S. Multi-Family (No. 5) Core Fund in connection with its US$1.4-billion acquisition by Tricon Capital Group

• Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (CREIT) on its C$3.9-billion combination with Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust

Andrew is recognized as a leading tax lawyer in the following publications:

• Chambers Canada Legal Guide – 2026–2027 (Tax)

• The Best Lawyers in Canada – 2018–2027 (Tax Law)
  

• The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2026 (Corporate Tax, Investment Funds & Asset Management – Investment Funds – Tax)

• Chambers Global Legal Guide 2026 (Tax)

• The Legal 500 Canada 2026 (Tax)

• Lexpert Special Edition: Finance 2026

• Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A 2025

• Lexpert Special Edition: Insolvency and Restructuring 2025

• ITR World Tax 2025 (Notable Practitioner – General Corporate Tax, Tax Controversy)

Andrew is the chair of the Lex Mundi Practice Group, and is a member of the International Fiscal Association, the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Canadian Bar Association and the Ontario Bar Association.

• Co-author : Reportable Transactions in Real Life
  Report of Proceedings of the Seventy-Sixth Tax Conference, 2024 Conference Report (Toronto: Canadian Tax Foundation, 2025)
• Co-author : Mandatory Disclosure Is Here: Now What?
  Perspectives on Tax Law & Policy, 2023.
• Co-author : The Evolving Role of Tax Insurance in Canadian Transactions
  Report of Proceedings of the Seventieth Tax Conference, 2018 Conference Report (Toronto: Canadian Tax Foundation, 2019)
• Co-author : Ontario Retroactively Eliminates Land Transfer Tax Exemption for REITs, Other Pooled Investment Vehicles
  Blakes Bulletin on Commercial Real Estate and Tax, February 19, 2016.
• Co-author : 2015 Federal Budget - Selected Tax Measures
  Blakes Bulletin on Tax, April 2015.
• Co-author : Welcome News from the CRA in the Continuing Saga of Cross-Border Convertible Debt
  International Tax Newsletter, Wolters Kluwer CCH, No. 73, p. 5, December 2013.
• Co-author : Canada Signs Tax Treaty with Hong Kong
  International Tax Review, March 2013
• Co-author : Canada Moves to Enact Backlog of Proposed Income Tax Amendments
  Blakes Bulletin on Tax, November 2012.
• Co-author : Stapled Securities Targeted/SIFT Relief for Subsidiary Entities
  Blakes Bulletin on Tax, August 2011.
• Author : Co-Tenancy, Partnership or Incorporation: Structuring Alternatives for Canadian Real Estate Investments
  Taxation Issues in Real Estate Transactions - Law Society of Upper Canada, November 23, 2010.
• Author : Co-Tenancy, Partnership or Incorporation: Structuring Alternatives for Canadian Real Estate Investments
  Taxation Issues in Real Estate Transactions - Law Society of Upper Canada, November 23, 2010.
• Co-author : 2009 Federal Budget Presented by Government
  Practical U.S./International Tax Strategies, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 15-18, January 15, 2009; also published in Blakes Bulletin on Tax, January 2009 and in North American Free Trade & Investment Report, p. 6, February 15, 2009 edition.
• Co-author : Technical Explanation to Protocol Offers Limited Guidance on Limitation on Benefits
  Blakes Bulletin on Tax, July 2008.
• Co-author : Reduced compliance burden for cross-border investment in private equity
  International Tax Review, April 2008.
• Co-author : February 26, 2008 Canadian Federal Budget Summary
  Blakes Bulletin on Tax, February 2008.

• Speaker : The Canadian Treatment of Foreign Taxes
  Canadian Tax Foundation, 66th Annual Tax Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, November 30 - December 2, 2014.
• Speaker : Recent Developments in the Taxation of Derivatives and Financial Products
  11th Taxation of Financial Products of Derivatives Course, Federated Press, September 10 - 11, 2014.
• Panellist : Critical Issues in Corporate Taxation
  Infonex, Toronto, Ontario, February 26, 2013
• Panellist : An Update on Current Tax Issues in Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Financing
  St. Louis International Tax Group Breakfast Meeting, St. Louis, Missouri, December 1, 2011.
• Panellist : An Update on Current Tax Issues in Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Financing
  Blakes Tax Seminar, New York, New York, April 28, 2011.
• Chair : Three Years Later: The Fifth Protocol to the Canada-U.S. Income Tax Convention
  Toronto Young Practitioners Group Meeting, Canadian Tax Foundation, Toronto, Ontario, January 26, 2011.
• Chair : Three Years Later: The Fifth Protocol to the Canada-U.S. Income Tax Convention
  Toronto Young Practitioners Group Meeting, Canadian Tax Foundation, Toronto, Ontario, January 26, 2011.
• Panellist : Taxation Issues in Real Estate Transactions
  Law Society of Upper Canada Continuing Professional Development, Toronto, Ontario, November 23, 2010.
• Panellist : Taxation Issues in Real Estate Transactions
  Law Society of Upper Canada Continuing Professional Development, Toronto, Ontario, November 23, 2010.
• Chair : Tax Planning for Recessionary and Post-Recessionary Periods
  Toronto Young Practitioners Meeting, Canadian Tax Foundation, Toronto, Ontario, April 28, 2010.

Admitted to the Ontario Bar – 2005
LLB, University of British Columbia – 2004
Canadian Securities Course – 2000
BComm (Hon.), Queen's University – 1999