News and Updates | Lavery Lawyers

August 8, 2023

Lavery involved in the construction of the new Île-aux-Tourtes bridge

Following a qualification process, the Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable du Québec (MTMD) issued a call for tenders in 2022 for the construction of the new Île-aux-Tourtes bridge pursuant to the project delivery method known as design-build-finance (DBF). Since this was a DBF, the financing of this project had to be included in the proposals made by the selected candidates. Lavery represented the successful consortium made up of Dragados Canada Inc., Roxboro Excavation Inc. and Construction Demathieu & Bard Inc. Our role required expertise in the following areas: (a) Governance and corporate law (b) Project financing (banking and securities) (c) Public procurement (d) Construction law (e) Commercial agreements (f) Taxation Lavery represented the consortium from the call for proposals to the financial close, including the drafting phase leading up to the awarding of the contract to the consortium. The financing was the most complex part of this transaction. Under the hybrid approach retained for that project, a major credit facility to be granted by a bank syndicate had to be set up, as well the private placement of two tranches of bonds. This involved adjusting the rights and obligations of creditors on both sides within a sophisticated intercreditor agreement. The financing also required parent company guarantees, including from French and Spanish corporations, which required us to find common ground to accommodate the typical requirements of a North American financing and the specific corporate and commercial features applicable in France and Spain. To meet this challenge, we put together a multidisciplinary team, divided up the work in accordance with our professionals’ diverse expertises, and dedicated a team member exclusively to interactions with the MTMD, its lawyers and the issuers of performance bonds typical for this kind of projects. Sound project management practices were essential to the success of this team effort. It is a privilege for Lavery to have participated in this essential project allowing the people of Quebec to obtain a new bridge linking the regions of Montérégie and Montréal. The Lavery team was led by Josianne Beaudry, Nicolas Gagnon, Édith Jacques, David Tournier and André Vautour, and included Véronik Bonneville-Pesant, Katerina Kostopoulos, Jean-François Maurice, Joseph Gualdieri, Siddhartha Borissov-Beausoleil, Alexandre Turcotte, Luc Pariseau, Charles Hugo Gagné, Mickaël Pageau, Jean-Vincent Prévost-Bérubé and Yohann Lévy.

Lavery helps Cultures Gen V become Quebec’s largest greenhouse grower

On July 4, 2023, Cultures Gen V, one of Quebec’s leading greenhouse growers, announced the acquisition of Serres Royales. The acquisition furthers Cultures Gen V’s business strategy, which aims to improve Quebec’s food self-sufficiency by expanding sustainable greenhouse growing and offering consumers a wider variety of superior quality products. This transaction makes Cultures Gen V the largest diversified greenhouse grower in Quebec, adding 9 hectares of tomatoes to its current acreage, for a total of 36 hectares. Lavery was privileged to represent Cultures Gen V in the transaction. Not only did the firm implement the group’s pre-transaction refinancing, it also negotiated and closed the transaction. The Lavery team was led by Étienne Brassard with the assistance of Gabrielle Ahélo and France Camille De Mers and the collaboration of Béatrice Bull, Pamela Cifola, Éric Gélinas, Jessica Parent, Chantal Desjardins, James Duffy, Valérie Belle-Isle, Sonia Guérin, Joseph Lauzon-Potts, Arielle Supino, Bernard Trang, Katerina Kostopoulos, Charlotte Dangoisse, David Tournier, Ana Cristina Nascimento, Joëlle Montpetit and Nadine Giguère.

Lavery recruits two partners and expands its expertise in business law and intellectual property

Lavery is delighted to welcome two new partners, David Tournier and Benoit Yelle, to the Business Law and Intellectual Property groups respectively. They bring cutting-edge expertise in these fast-growing sectors and a practice approach based on technological innovation. David Tournier joins the Business Law group and will focus on corporate financing. His extensive experience in private practice, in particular, bank financing, infrastructure projects, insolvency and private equity, has led him to deal with lenders and borrowers in the context of syndicated and cross-border loans, acquisition and project financings (including PPPs). David has a wide-ranging portfolio, having represented both start-ups and multinationals, as well as investors involved in engineering, green industrial projects and new technology, which is one of his passions. "Lavery has a reputation for excellence in the provincial and national markets. When combined with its independence, this reputation puts it in a good position to serve a wide range of clients in different areas of business law. The lawyers from the firm that I already knew showed me the human side of this great organization, and easily convinced me to join their wonderful team," said David Tournier. His experience in well-known law firms and as a company director will undoubtedly benefit our clients. Benoit Yelle joins the Intellectual Property group. A registered patent agent in Canada and the United States with a background in computer engineering, Benoit has developed an expertise over the years in everything from mechanical inventions to quantum technologies, hand tools, medical devices, network protocols, telecommunications, mobile applications and quantum computing. Within the Lavery network, he will focus his practice on drafting and prosecuting patent and industrial design applications. Thanks to his considerable experience in analyzing the patentability and commercial potential of invention disclosures, Benoît worked as a patent engineer and agent for a multinational telecommunications company. "Lavery's Intellectual Property group needs no introduction. We share a common vision on how best to practice IP. It also seemed to me that Lavery was the most innovative and best-suited platform to leverage current and future changes to the practice of law. I think I found the right place to harness my passion for innovation!" said Benoit Yelle. By becoming a partner and patent agent at Lavery, Benoit will be able to adapt his approach and provide services that help achieve his clients' objectives.