Publications
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Steps to a successful venture capital financing round
An entrepreneur who invests time and energy raising the funds necessary to launch a startup, usually from family and friends (love money), will necessarily want their startup to grow exponentially. Achieving exponential growth requires always more capital, and so the entrepreneur will need to find (…)
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Five good reasons to list your company on the stock exchange and opt for equity financing
In 2020, the pandemic disrupted the Quebec economy and the trend continued in 2021. After a difficult year for local businesses, there is an opportunity for business owners to rethink their business model as they develop their recovery plan. In this context, an initial public offering and equity (…)
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Court upholds deductibility of carrying charges
The Tax Court of Canada (the “Court”) recently upheld the deductibility of carrying charges incurred in connection with an issuance of shares. In so doing, the court upheld the tax benefits arising from a common financing practice. In addition, the Court reiterated the principle in tax matters (…)
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What solutions for Startups Affected by COVID‑19 in Their Search for Financing?
The impact of COVID-19 is particularly strong on start-ups in need of short-term financing and venture capitalists, whose contribution is essential to support the growth of these companies and who must make investment decisions in a context of widespread uncertainty. Like others, we have noticed (…)
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Cash flow management by investment fund managers: considerations when setting up subscription credit facilities
Subscription credit facilities have become a popular tool to increase flexibility in managing an investment fund’s cash flows. However, these instruments are not always well understood by all parties. The popularity of these facilities has also led investors associations, such as the Institutional (…)
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Managing potential conflicts of interest in investment funds
The high level of information asymmetry between investment fund managers and their investors1 can give rise to significant conflicts of interest which must be adequately managed. This article discusses the main conflicts of interest encountered in standard private equity, venture capital and hedge (…)
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Substantial upcoming tax impact on investment funds’ management compensation
On September 8, 2017, the Minister of Finance introduced unexpected legislative and regulatory proposals regarding partnership distributions to a general partner, which will now be subject to GST/HST. On the other hand, the Québec government has yet to propose similar changes, but we believe it will (…)
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Latest developments in the Canadian infrastructure market / The privatization of Canadian airports: Why, how and what is at stake? / Canada Infrastructure Bank Act: highlights
TABLE OF CONTENTS Latest developments in the Canadian infrastructure market Ontario introduces a balanced budget which includes $30 billion in infrastructure investments Nova Scotia introduces its second balanced budget and increases investments in highways New LNG production (…)
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Latest developments in the Canadian infrastructure market / The Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement: impacts on the infrastructure industry / Biomethanization: a fast-growing market in Québec
TABLE OF CONTENTS Latest developments in the Canadian market Fengate acquires a solar project portfolio from Canadian Solar TerraForm Power increases the financing of its Canadian solar power portfolio SaskPower launches a call for tenders for 200 MW of wind energy Boralex closes the (…)
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CRS: Be ready for July 1st, 2017
CRS entry into force: July 1st, 2017 The Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”) will impose new obligations on financial institutions, including investment funds, as of July 1st, 2017. These rules are an addition to the existing Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), which applies to Canadian (…)
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Artificial Intelligence and the 2017 Canadian Budget: is your business ready?
The March 22, 2017 Budget of the Government of Canada, through its “Innovation and Skills Plan” (http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/budget-2017-en.pdf) mentions that Canadian academic and research leadership in artificial intelligence will be translated into a more innovative economy and (…)
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The latest news from the Canadian infrastructures market / Major trends in the infrastructures market for 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS The latest news from the Canadian infrastructures market Defense Construction Canada issues Request for Expressions of Interest for an energy performance contract Boralex completes financing of the Yellow Falls hydro project in Ontario Boralex and AWEC announce a new (…)
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Changes to the Taxation of Switch Funds
Effective January 1, 2017, new rules will govern the taxation of mutual fund corporations structured as “switch funds”. Investors switching between funds will no longer be able to do so without incurring taxable capital gains. This article summarizes the impact of such changes. Description of (…)
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October news on the Canadian infrastructure market
Creation of a Canadian infrastructure bank On October 20, 2016, the Advisory Council on Economic Growth published its report entitled “Unleashing Productivity Through Infrastructure”. One of the report’s recommendations is to create a Canadian Infrastructure Development Bank whose objective (…)
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Overview of the Canadian Public-Private Partnerships market
The Public-Private Partnership delivery model (“PPP” or “P3”) is now well established in Canada, where more than 177 of such projects were closed between 1993 and 2015 (source: InfraAmericas). The great majority thereof (166) have been closed since 2004, and the current trend indicates the number (…)
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Renewable energies: the trend is toward hybrid financing
For about two years now, most renewable energy projects, particularly wind farm projects, have been financed using a so-called “hybrid” model, i.e. a combination of medium-term bank debt and long-term financing or private placements. The term “hybrid” is derived from the vocabulary of the (…)
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Pension plans and their investment rules: investing in alternative investment funds in full compliance
Numerous pension plans today are among the largest investors of capital in private equity, venture capital and hedge funds.1 In many cases, such pension plans hold assets valued in the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars (or even more) consisting of various categories and sub-categories of (…)
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Use of “private” mutual fund trusts for employee’ investments through an RRSP
An increasing number of employers are looking at the possibility of creating investment vehicles to allow their employees to make investments in the employer corporation or a portfolio managed by the employer that will qualify for inclusion in, inter alia, registered retirement savings plans (RRSP), (…)
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Positive advice of the European Securities and Markets Authority to the extension of the European passport to the managers of alternative investment funds in Canada
Martine Samuelian and Virginia Barat, JEANTET On July 18, 2016, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a favourable advice for a future extension of the European passport concerning Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs)1 in Canada. This advice, which is based on (…)
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Options available to Canadian managers under the European AIF marketing rules
Martine Samuelian and Virginia Barat, JEANTET This article is supplementing the May 2016 issue of the Lavery Capital newsletter, number 9, which discusses the potential extension of the European passport regime (the “Passport”) – established under EU Directive no. 2011/61/EU (the “Directive”) – to (…)
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Impact of the possible extension of the European passport regime on Canadian fund managers
Martine Samuelian and Virginia Barat, JEANTET Since July 22, 2013, investment fund managers (“managers”) in Canada who wish to raise funds from investors located in member states of the European Union (the “EU”) have had to consider Directive 2011/61/EU1 (the “Directive”), dealing with managers of (…)
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The Quebec Government reaffirms its support for venture capital funds
On March 17, 2016, Finance Minister Carlos Leitão tabled the Quebec Government’s 2016-2017 budget in the National Assembly. The budget contains several measures intended to foster job creation and economic growth, with a special emphasis on innovation, environmentally friendly practices, and digital (…)
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Proposal towards standardized disclosures of fees and expenses information by private equity funds
Last January, the Institutional Limited Partners Association (the “ILPA”), a voluntary association promoting the interests of private equity limited partners, issued a “Fee Reporting Template” along with a guide (collectively, the “Template”) which forms part of the ILPA’s “Fee Transparency (…)
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IIROC White Paper — Proposed changes to the current structure for distributing mutual funds in Canada
On November 25, 2015, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) published a White Paper for consultation. It is seeking comment on two proposals which, if approved and implemented, would change the current structure for distributing mutual funds in Canada. A “restricted (…)
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The TSX Venture Exchange reaches out to the VC community
The TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSX-V”) has released a white paper which describes how it intends to become an attractive public market for early-stage companies from fast-growing sectors such as technology, clean technology, renewable energy and life sciences (the “high-growth sectors”) and how it (…)
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Crowdfunding: Enhanced capital raising opportunities for startups
Equity crowdfunding will soon have a new framework in which to operate in Canada and this is excellent news for investors and startups alike. On November 5, 2015, the Canadian Securities Administrators announced that regulatory authorities in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (…)
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The Canada Public Sector Pension Investment Board launches a lawsuit against Saba Capital: Lessons for Fund managers when valuing illiquid securities
On September 25, 2015 the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (the “PSP Investment Board”) filed a lawsuit before the New York State Supreme Court against Saba Capital, the hedge fund managed by Boaz Weinstein (the former co-chief of the credit business at Deutsche Bank AG), for allegedly (…)
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Intellectual property due diligence in an investment context
A due diligence analysis of intellectual property rights is an important step when acquiring or making a significant investment in a business. It is particularly important in the case of a technology business, where IP rights are assets that account for almost all the value in a business. A due (…)
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Major changes enable registered charitable organizations to invest in limited partnership units
The federal budget presented on April 21, 2015 (the “Budget”) contains important measures enabling registered charitable organizations and private and public foundations (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Registered Organizations”) to invest their funds in units of a limited partnership. (…)
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Proposal for new TSX listing requirements for ETFs, closed-end funds and structured products: codification of existing practices
On January 15, the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”) published proposed amendments to the Toronto Stock Exchange Company Manual (the “Manual”). More specifically, a completely new section will be added to the Manual (Part XI) for determining the minimum listing requirements to be met by (…)
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FATCA for investment funds – Be ready for May 1, 2015!
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, has been an integral part of Canada’s tax system for over a year. Originally legislated under U.S. law, FATCA allowed the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) to obtain information from financial institutions about the financial accounts of U.S. citizens (…)
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Private equity fund economics in Canada: An overview of the essentials
Private equity fund economics play an important role in attracting investors to a given fund. Indeed, investors want to know how expenses will be shared, what fees are applicable and how profits will be allocated. The summary below provides a brief overview of the most common fund arrangements with (…)
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Rules on mark-to-market properties — A pitfall to avoid
The Income Tax Act (Canada) contains specific rules which apply to certain properties held by financial institutions known as the mark-to-market properties rules (hereinafter “MTMP”). These complex rules are often poorly understood and can result in unexpected tax consequences in various situations (…)
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Establishment of a new $375 million venture capital fund and recapitalization of the Anges Québec Capital fund
The Budget Plan unveiled by the Quebec Government as part of the Budget Speech of last June 4 includes many initiatives to increase venture capital financing. The 2014 2015 Budget presented by the Minister of Finance, Carlos Leitão, provides for several measures to make $560 million available to (…)
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What precautions should a proposed director take prior to accepting to act as a corporate director? / What are the duties of a member of a board of directors?
This Need to Know Express is part of a series of newsletters which each answers one or several questions in a practical and concrete way. These bulletins have been or will be published over the next few weeks. In addition, a consolidated version of all the Need to Know Express newsletters published (…)
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Proposed General Anti-treaty Shopping Rule : Private Investment Funds Will Need to Play it Safe
LAVERY: A LEADER IN MONTREAL IN THE PRIVATE EQUITY, VENTURE CAPITAL AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY Creating and setting up private equity and venture capital funds are complex initiatives requiring specialized legal resources. There are very few law firms offering such services in Quebec. Lavery (…)
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Is a director required to be a shareholder or member of the legal person? / Who is eligible to become a director?
This Need to Know Express is part of a series of newsletters which each answers one or several questions in a practical and concrete way. These bulletins have been or will be published over the next few weeks. In addition, a consolidated version of all the Need to Know Express newsletters published (…)
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Registration Requirements of Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Managers in Canada: A Favourable Regulatory Framework
LAVERY: A LEADER IN MONTREAL IN THE PRIVATE EQUITY, VENTURE CAPITAL AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY Creating and setting up private equity and venture capital funds are complex initiatives requiring specialized legal resources. There are very few law firms offering such services in Quebec. Lavery (…)
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Bill 1 : New Requirements for Public Calls for Tenders
LAVERY: A LEADER IN MONTREAL IN THE PRIVATE EQUITY, VENTURE CAPITAL AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY Creating and setting up private equity and venture capital funds are complex initiatives requiring specialized legal resources. There are very few law firms offering such services in Quebec. Lavery (…)