This section keeps you up-to-date on the latest news and upcoming public appearances of Lavery professionals.
News
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Lavery represents the syndicate of underwriters in the $143.7 million bought deal financing of units of Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust
On December 22, 2011, Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust closed a public offering of 6,594,100 units for gross proceeds of $143.7 million. The Units were sold to a syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial Inc. and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., including Desjardins Securities Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. The syndicate of underwriters was represented by a team from Lavery consisting of Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant, Guillaume Lavoie and Geneviève Fournier (corporate and securities), and Philip Nolan (tax). Cominar is the largest commercial property owner in the Province of Québec.
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Lavery Represents the Syndicate of Underwriters in the $112 Million Bought Deal Financing of Units of Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust
On October 20, 2011, Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust closed a public offering of 5 207 000 units for gross proceeds of $112 million.The Units were sold to a syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial Inc. and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., including RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd.The syndicate of underwriters was represented by a team from Lavery consisting of Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant and Guillaume Lavoie (corporate and securities), and Philip Nolan (tax).Cominar is the largest commercial property owner in the Province of Québec.
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Lavery represents IAMGOLD Corporation in a private placement of flow-through shares in the amount of $43.3 million
On February 24, 2011, IAMGOLD Corporation closed a private placement of flow-through shares at the price of $25.48 per share for a total amount of $43.3 million.IAMGOLD was represented by a team from Lavery consisting of Michel Servant and Guillaume Lavoie (corporate and securities) and Philip Nolan (tax).IAMGOLD is a leading mid-tier mining company producing approximately one million ounces annually from six gold mines (including current joint ventures) on three continents.
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2010: Another Active Year for Lavery’s Securities Law Team
Montreal, February 23, 2011 – Lavery is pleased to announce that its Business and Securities Law team was involved in a number of notable transactions valued at over $1.7 billion in 2010 which included the following transactions: Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust completed a $86.25 million public offering of convertible unsecured subordinated debentures. Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant, Philip Nolan and Guillaume Lavoie advised the syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial Inc. and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. Pharmaxis Ltd., a publicly-traded Australian company, acquired Topigen Pharmaceutical Inc., a clinical-stage Canadian biopharmaceutical company, in a share exchange transaction. Benoit Morel, Luc Pariseau, Phillipe Asselin and Catherine Rioux advised Pharmaxis Ltd. in this transaction valued at approximately $25 million. Industrial Alliance, Insurance and Financial Services Inc., completed a $200 million public offering of common and preferred shares. The shares were sold to a syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and RBC Dominion Securities Inc. Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant, Philip Nolan and Guillaume Lavoie acted on behalf of Industrial Alliance. TSO3 Inc. completed a $16 million public offering of common shares. The shares were sold to a syndicate of underwriters led by Canaccord Adams and Versant Partners Inc. Claude Lacroix, René Branchaud, Josianne Beaudry and Marie-Eve Clavet represented TSO3 Inc. Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust completed a $115 million public offering of units. The units were sold to a syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial Inc. and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant, Philip Nolan and Guillaume Lavoie advised the underwriters. Richmont Mines Inc. completed a $16.5 million public offering of common shares. The shares were sold to a syndicate of underwriters led by Desjardins Securities Inc. René Branchaud and Josianne Beaudry represented the underwriters. OMERS Private Equity Inc. acquired Logibec Groupe Informatique Ltd. for a consideration of approximately $235.5 million. Lavery acted as Quebec counsel to OMERS with a team comprised of Michel Servant, François Renaud, Benjamin Gross, Édith Jacques, Catherine Maheu and Guillaume Lavoie. IAMGOLD Corporation completed a $41.5 million private placement of flow-through shares. Michel Servant, Philip Nolan and Guillaume Lavoie acted for IAMGOLD. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. executed a share purchase agreement with LJVH Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Littlejohn & Co., LLC, in connection with its acquisition of Van Houtte Inc. for a cash purchase price of $915 million. Lavery acted as Quebec counsel on behalf of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. Lavery’s team consisted of Carl M. Ravinsky, Melanie Chartrand, Jean Tessier, Sive Burns, Chantal Joubert, Catherine Rioux, France Legault, Catherine Maheu, Yvan Biron and Sophie Prégent. Golden Goose Resources Inc. and Kodiak Exploration Ltd. agreed to combine business operations by way of a plan of arrangement. Benoît Morel, Josianne Beaudry, Philippe Asselin and Jocelyne Gagné represented Golden Goose Resources Inc. in this share exchange transaction valued at over $20 million. “Our Business and Securities Law team was once again very active throughout 2010,” declared Marc Rochefort. “Lavery is major player in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions in Quebec and, given the current climate, we look forward to an equally active year in 2011.”
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Lavery represents the syndicate of underwriters in the $86.25 million bought deal financing of convertible unsecured subordinated debentures of Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust
Montreal, February 25, 2010 – On January 12, 2010, Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust closed a public offering of $86.25 million aggregate principal amount of Series E 5.75% Convertible Unsecured Subordinated Debentures.The Debentures were sold to a syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial Inc. and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., including RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., Canaccord Financial Ltd., CI Capital Markets Inc. and Genuity Capital Markets G.P.The syndicate of underwriters was represented by a team from Lavery consisting of Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant and Guillaume Lavoie (corporate and securities), and Philip Nolan (tax).Cominar is the largest commercial property owner and manager in the Province of Québec.
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Lavery Spearheads the Purchase of the Montreal Canadiens by the Molson Brothers and Their Partners
Since the spring of 2009, Lavery has played a key role in the purchase of the Montreal Canadiens, the Bell Centre and its related businesses by a group of investors headed by the Molson brothers. The Molson brothers initially retained Lavery’s services to help them prepare an offer to purchase all the Gillett family’s holdings in the Montreal Canadiens and the Bell Centre businesses. The first phase of the mandate involved the due diligence review of the entities targeted by the proposed purchase, including the hockey club, the Bell Centre real estate complex and the Gillett Entertainment Group. Lavery was also involved in setting up the Molson led partnership that would make the offer to the Gillett family. Once the Gillett family had accepted the Molson group offer to purchase, Lavery became the advisor to the group and started working on the partnership agreement, at the same time as negotiating the credit facilities with the lenders and the purchase agreement and other related documents with the Gillett family representatives. When the Molson group decided also to purchase all the interests held by Molson Coors Brewing Company put up for sale by the Gillett family, Lavery’s instructions were extended to preparing and negotiating this second offer to purchase with Molson Coors' representatives, followed by the preparation of this second purchase agreement and related documentation. The team from Lavery also had to ensure that the Quebec Government had all the information necessary to adopt the order-in-council authorizing Investissement Québec to participate in financing the purchase. At the same time, other members of the Lavery team held regular talks with representatives of the National Hockey League to enable them to obtain the consent of the League’s Board of Governors for the proposed transactions. "We are very proud to have made a major contribution to such an important transaction in the North American professional sports industry. The members of our team successfully led all the legal aspects of an extremely complex acquisition file on behalf of all the members of the purchasing group headed by the Molson brothers," said Jacques Paul-Hus. The following lawyers from Lavery were involved in completing: Richard Dolan, Gérard Coulombe, Jacques Paul-Hus, Francis Desmarais, André Paquette, Marie-Andrée Gravel, André Vautour, Sébastien Vézina, Guillaume Lavoie and Valérie Boucher (corporative/commercial); Chantal Joubert and Nicole Messier (real estate); Catherine Maheu and Josiane L’Heureux (labour and employment); Josée Dumoulin (pensions and benefits); François Renaud, Pierre Denis and Benjamin Gross (financing); Luc Pariseau (tax).
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Lavery Represents Industrial Alliance in $100 Million Bought Deal Financing of Preferred Shares
On October 15, 2009, Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. closed a public offering of 4,000,000 Non-Cumulative Class A Preferred Shares Series E for gross proceeds of $100 million. The Preferred Shares were sold to a syndicate of underwriters led by Scotia Capital Inc. and RBC Dominion Securities Inc., including National Bank Financial Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., TD Securities Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., Casgrain & Company Limited, Dundee Securities Corporation, HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., Industrial Alliance Securities Inc. and Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. Industrial Alliance was represented by a team from Lavery consisting of Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant, Benoit Mallette and Guillaume Lavoie (corporate and securities), and Philip Nolan (tax). Founded in 1892, Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. is a life and health insurance company that offers a wide range of life and health insurance products, savings and retirement plans, RRSPs, mutual and segregated funds, securities, auto and home insurance, mortgage loans and other financial products and services. Industrial Alliance is among the 100 largest public companies in Canada.
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Lavery represents the syndicate of underwriters in $115 million bought deal financing of 6.50% Convertible Unsecured Subordinated Debentures of Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust
On September 22, 2009, Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust closed a public offering of $115 million aggregate principal amount of Series D 6.50% Convertible Unsecured Subordinated Debentures.The Debentures were sold to a syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial Inc. and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., including RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., Canaccord Capital Corporation, Blackmont Capital Inc. and Genuity Capital Markets G.P.The syndicate of underwriters was represented by a team from Lavery consisting of Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant and Guillaume Lavoie (corporate and securities), and Philip Nolan (tax).Cominar is the largest commercial property owner and manager in the Province of Québec.
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Lavery Represents the Syndicate of Dealers in Gaz Métro's $100 Million Offering of First Mortgage Bonds
On June 18, 2009, Gaz Metro inc. completed an offering of $100 million of 4.93% Series L First Mortage Bonds, which were assigned an A rating by Standard & Poor's Rating Services and DBRS Limited.The Series L Bonds were offered by a syndicate of dealers led by BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., and including Desjardins Securities Inc, National Bank Financial Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., RBC Dominion Securiteis Inc., TD Securities Inc., Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. and Casgrain & Company Limited. Lavery represented the syndicate of dealers with a team that included Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant and Guillaume Lavoie (Corporate and Securities) and Philip Nolan (Tax).With nearly $3,6 billion in assets, Gaz Métro is Québec's leading natural gas distribution company.
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Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust completes a $57.5 million public offering of 4,792,050 units
On April 21, 2009, Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust (“Cominar”), one of the largest commercial property owners and managers in the Province of Québec with a real estate portfolio of 215 high quality properties, completed a public offering of 4,792,050 units, after full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option in respect thereof.The offering was completed on a bought deal basis through a syndicate of underwriters co-led by National Bank Financial Inc. and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., and included RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., Canaccord Capital Corporation, Blackmont Capital Inc. and Genuity Capital Markets G.P., for total net proceeds to Cominar of approximately $54.9 million, after deducting the underwriters’ fee and the estimated expenses of the offering.The underwriters were represented by Lavery, de Billy, L.L.P., with a team that comprised Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant and Guillaume Lavoie (corporate finance and securities) and Philip Nolan (tax).
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Lavery, de Billy represents Industrial Alliance in $100 Preferred Shares Offering
LAVERY, DE BILLY L.L.P. represented Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. in its $100 million offering of Non-Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Class A Preferred Shares Series C that closed on November 25, 2008. The Lavery, de Billy team was composed of Marc Rochefort, René Branchaud, Michel Servant and Guillaume Lavoie (corporate/securities), and Philip Nolan (tax).The syndicate of underwriters was led by Scotia Capital Inc. and included National Bank Financial Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc. Desjardins Securities Inc., Industrial Alliance Securities Inc., Dundee Securities Corporation, HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc. and Laurentian Bank Securities Inc.Founded in 1892, Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. is a life and health insurance company that offers a wide range of life and health insurance products, savings and retirement plans, RRSPs, mutual and segregated funds, securities, auto and home insurance, mortgage loans and other financial products and services.
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Lavery, de Billy represented the syndicate of dealers in Gaz Métro inc.’s $150 million offering
LAVERY, DE BILLY L.L.P., represented the syndicate of dealers in the Gaz Métro inc.’s $150 million offering of 5.40% Series L First Mortgage Bonds closed on October 14. The Lavery, de Billy team was composed of Marc Rochefort, Michel Servant and Guillaume Lavoie (corporate/securities), and Philip Nolan (tax).On October 14, 2008, Gaz Métro inc. announced the closing of its $150 million of 5.40% Series L First Mortgage Bonds (the “Series L Bonds”) guaranteed by Gaz Métro Limited Partnership (“Gaz Métro”).The dealers’ syndicate was led by BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., and included Desjardins Securities Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., TD Securities Inc., Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. and Casgrain & Company Limited.The Series L Bonds, bearing interest at the rate of 5.40% per annum, will mature on April 15, 2013. Standard & Poor’s Rating Services and DBRS Limited have each assigned an “A” rating to the Series L Bonds.Gaz Métro is a leading Quebec energy company and one of Canada’s largest natural gas distributors. Gaz Métro serves some 171,000 customers through an underground pipeline network of almost 10,000 km.