The Bidvest Group Limited

Acting for The Bidvest Group Limited, a South African publicly-traded company, in its acquisition of 100% of Citron Hygiene LP, a provider of washroom hygiene products and services in the U.S., Canada and UK, from Birch Hill Equity Partners and other investors.

Advance Auto Parts, Inc.

Acted as Canadian counsel to Advance Auto Parts, Inc. in its US$1.5-billion sale of Worldpac, Inc., a wholesale distributor of quality aftermarket replacement automotive parts, to The Carlyle Group Inc.. 

InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust

Acted for InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust with its C$107 million purchase of a multiresidential property located in Montréal, Québec.

Long Span Partners, LLC

Acted for the shareholders of Risk Control Technologies Inc., Toronto-based leading provider of risk management and loss control solutions to the insurance industry, in the sale of a 100% interest to Duck Creek Technologies Inc.

Oxford Properties Group and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Acted for Oxford Properties Group and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in its C$325-million sale of Les Galeries de le Capitale, a super regional enclosed shopping centre located in Quebec City, to Primaris Real Estate Investment Trust. 

The Blackstone Group

Acted for funds affiliated with Blackstone in its acquisition of Trystar, a premier provider of electrical equipment used for backup power solutions.

Direct Travel, Inc.

Acted as Canadian counsel to Direct Travel, Inc., in its sale to a group of investors, including Durable Capital Partners, Madrona Ventures, Top Tier Capital Partners, and Blackstone Credit & Insurance, led by Steve Singh.

Mondi plc

Acted for Mondi plc, a global leader in the production of sustainable packaging and paper, in its acquisition of the Hinton Pulp mill from West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (West Fraser) and its long-term partnership with West Fraser to access local, high-quality fibre from well-established wood basket, as well as with Mondi plc’s plans to invest €400 million in the expansion of Hinton.

The Aaron’s Company, Inc.

Acting for The Aaron’s Company, Inc., in its proposed sale to IQVentures Holdings, LLC in an all cash transaction valuing Aaron’s at approximately US$504 million.

Design World LLC d/b/a WTWH Media, LLC

Acted as Canadian counsel to Design World LLC d/b/a WTWH Media, LLC, a Mountaingate Capital portfolio company, in its acquisition via a wholly owned Canadian subsidiary of substantially all the assets of Engineering.com Incorporated, a media website operator focused on engineering related content.

Mountaingate Capital

Acted for Mountaingate Capital Management II, L.P. in its strategic investment in Bond Brand Loyalty Group, a leading marketing, customer experience and loyalty software management group.

Bruker Corporation

Acted for Bruker, a Nasdaq-listed provider of scientific instruments and analytical and diagnostic solutions, in its acquisition of Neurescence Inc., a Toronto-based innovative provider of optical functional neuroimaging.

Interfor Corporation

Acted for Interfor Corporation in its acquisition for over C$325-million of 100% of the equity interests of Kilmer Group-backed Chaleur Forest Products entities.

SPS Commerce, Inc.

Acted for SPS Commerce, Inc., an American retail cloud services company, in its US$49-million acquisition of InterTrade Systems Inc., a Canadian SaaS commerce technology solutions company, from mdf commerce inc.

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.

Acted for IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., a leader in the design, development and marketing of diagnostic test instruments to monitor animal health and analyze dairy products and water, in its acquisition of the assets of Pathogen Detection Systems, Inc.

Claridge Inc.

Acted for Claridge Food Group in its C$40-million investment in WeCook Meals, the leading ready-to-eat food processor in Québec and Ontario.

Birch Hill Equity Partners

Acted for Birch Hill Equity Partners in its joint acquisition (and related financing) with Investissement Québec of Québec-based Polycor Inc., the largest quarrier of natural stone in the world.

Interfor Corporation

Acted for Interfor Corporation in its $490-million acquisition of 100% of the equity interests of Kelso & Company-backed EACOM Timber Corporation.

Sobeys Inc.

Acted for Sobeys Inc. in the acquisition of a majority interest in Ricardo Media Inc. and in connection with the related shareholders, use of intellectual property and employment arrangements.

Tryg A/S

Acted as Canadian counsel to Tryg A/S in connection with its £7.2-billion joint bid with Intact Financial Corporation to acquire RSA Insurance Group plc.

Warner Media, LLC

Acted for Warner Media, LLC in its indirect acquisition, by way of plan of arrangement, of all of the issued and outstanding shares of You i Labs Inc., a leading provider of cross-platform development tools for television and media companies.

Hypixel Studios Inc.

Acted for the founders of video game studio Hypixel Studios Inc. in its sale to Riot Games, Inc. a game developer and publisher best known for League of Legends.

Family Shareholders of Dorel Industries Inc.

Acting for the controlling family shareholders, who partnered with Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. in the privatization of Dorel Industries Inc., a TSX-listed company, by way of plan of arrangement. 

Bank of Montreal

Acted as Canadian counsel to Bank of Montreal and a syndicate of lenders in connection with the refinancing of the (i) US$900 million term loan and the (ii) C$575 million revolving credit facility made available to certain wholly-owned subsidiaries of BRP Inc.

Joseph Ribkoff Inc.

Acted for a principal shareholder in the sale of Joseph Ribkoff Inc. to a group of investors led by Novacap Industries and Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.).

Mario Montminy et al.

Successfully represented Mario Montminy and others at the Federal Court of Appeal against the Canada Revenue Agency in a stock option deduction dispute. The court sided with the taxpayers on the eligibility of their deductions.

Claridge Inc.

Acted for Claridge Inc. in connection with its sale to C.H. Guenther & Son, Inc. of Les Plats du Chef, a Canada-based frozen meal and snack business.

Alstom Transport Canada Inc.

Acted for Alstom Transport Canada Inc. in connection with the supply of light rail vehicles for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, to Metrolinx, an agency of the Government of Ontario, for a value of $529 million.

The Sentient Group

Acted for The Sentient Group in the going-private transaction of Era Resources Inc. effected through a plan of arrangement.

BELLUS Health Inc.

Acted for BELLUS Health Inc. in connection with the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc., to Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc., including all the rights to the drug candidate ShigamabT.

Alre Properties Inc.

Acted for Alre Properties Inc. in connection with the sale to Fiera Properties Core Fund LP of a portfolio of nine commercial properties located in Québec and one commercial property located in Ontario.

Locemia Solutions ULC

Acted for Locemia Solutions ULC in connection with the acquisition by Eli Lilly and Company of substantially all of Locemia's assets associated with the research and commercialization of the first needle-free rescue treatment of severe hypoglycemia.

Merrimac Manufacturing Co. Inc.

Acted for Merrimac Manufacturing Co. Inc. and First Lasalle Equities Corporation in connection with the sale and leaseback to Skyline Commercial Real Estate Holding Inc. of five commercial properties located in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec.

Confidential Client

Acting before the Tax Court of Canada for one of Canada's largest businesses, having over 15,000 employees and operational divisions in multiple economic sectors, in a dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency with respect to SR & ED tax credits.

The Greenberg family

Acted for certain members of the Greenberg family, controlling shareholder of Astral Media Inc., in connection with the $3.38-billion acquisition of Astral Media by BCE Inc.

Accountants Study Group, “Potpourri of Recent Tax Measures”; Montréal, QC

Nov. 07, 2023

PAC Seminar 2023, “New Housing Measures: Underused Housing Tax and Prohibition on Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians”; Montréal, QC

June 13, 2023

New Rules and Reporting Requirements Coming for the Real Estate Sector

Dec. 23, 2022 - As 2022 comes to a close, we draw your attention to certain new and proposed legislation that the Canadian federal government has introduced and that will have important implications for Canadian residential real estate and the Canadian real estate sector more broadly. Specifically, we offer...

Canadian Tax Foundation, 74th Annual Tax Conference, “Family Offices – Tax and Other Considerations with Running an Effective Family Office”; Nov. 27-29

Nov. 27, 2022

Federal Budget 2022: Tax Highlights

Apr. 08, 2022 - On April 7, 2022 (Budget Day), the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Finance, delivered the Liberal Party’s federal budget (Budget 2022), the second budget since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the Trudeau government’s plan to “grow our...

Accountant Study Group, “Canadian Legislative and Technical Tax Update”; Montréal, QC

Jan. 18, 2022

Tax Executives Institute, Montréal Chapter, “Québec Tax Disclosure”; Webinar

Oct. 26, 2021

Association de planification fiscale et financière, Annual Conference 2021, “What you should know before changing the trustee or beneficiary of your trust”; Webcast

Oct. 08, 2021

The Family Office of Tomorrow: A Canadian Perspective, co-author

Aug. 01, 2021 - Bulletin for International Taxation, Vol. 75, No. 8 (IBFD)
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Was There a “Liquidation and Dissolution”? A (Corporate) Existential Question, co-author

June 01, 2021 - International Tax Newsletter, No. 118 (Wolters Kluwer)
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2021 Federal Budget: Tax Highlights

Apr. 20, 2021 - The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, delivered the Liberal Party’s first federal budget (Budget 2021) in over two years and the first since the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic. As part of a recovery plan for “jobs, growth and resilience,”...

Montréal: North America’s Video Gaming Studio Metropolis

Feb. 17, 2021 - In this article originally published in Tax Notes International, Davies lawyers Michael Kandev and Olivia Khazam review Montréal’s generous provincial tax incentives for video game industry developers and investors, as well as some of the principal tax issues related to mergers and...

Disclosure Rules for Nominee Contracts Come into Force in Québec

Oct. 02, 2020 - Bill 42, An Act to give effect to fiscal measures announced in the Budget Speech delivered on 21 March 2019 and to various other measures was assented to on September 24, 2020, bringing into force the new rules respecting the disclosure of nominee contracts to Revenu Québec (RQ ). The...

Canadian Tax Laws: A Review of 2019 and a Look Ahead to 2020

Jan. 30, 2020 - Each year at this time we look back at some of the more significant income tax developments in Canada affecting domestic and international business over the past year and look ahead to possible Canadian tax developments in the coming year. Review of Canadian Tax Developments in 2019 Tax...

Letter to the Editor: Recent Changes to Canada’s Income Tax Laws Affecting Cross-Border Trusts and Estates: An Update, co-author

Dec. 23, 2019 - Tax Notes International, Vol. 96, No. 12 (Tax Analysts)
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Recent changes to Canada’s Income Tax Laws Affecting Cross-Border Trusts and Estates, co-author

Oct. 28, 2019 - Tax Notes International, Vol. 96, No. 4 (Tax Analysts)
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Draft Legislation on the Taxation of Stock Options

June 19, 2019 - The federal government has released much anticipated draft legislation proposing changes to the rules relating to the taxation of stock options. The legislative proposals are expected to come into force on January 1, 2020, and to apply to option agreements entered into after 2019. The release, on...

Canadian and U.S. Tax Laws: A Review of 2018 and a Look Ahead to 2019

Jan. 31, 2019 - In our annual Tax Review and Outlook report, we look back at significant developments in the Canadian and U.S. tax landscapes in 2018 and offer our predictions on what to expect in 2019. Key Canadian Developments in 2018 Budget 2018 scaled back controversial initiative on taxation of...

Canadian Tax Laws: A Review of 2018 and a Look Ahead to 2019

Jan. 31, 2019 - Each year at this time we offer a look back at some of the more significant income tax developments in Canada affecting domestic and international business over the past year and a look ahead to possible Canadian tax developments in the coming year. Legislative Developments in 2018

Buy, Bump, and Run With a Twist, co-author

June 01, 2018 - Wolters Kluwer International Tax Newsletter, Report No. 100 (Wolters Kluwer Limited)
Reproduced with permission from International Tax Newsletter. Published by and copyright Wolters Kluwer Limited.
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CRA Confirms Interpretation of Cap B in Partnership Context

Feb. 01, 2018 - Canadian Tax Focus, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Canadian Tax Foundation)
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