Laidlaw, QC, John D.
Cox & Palmer
(506) 633-2710
jlaidlaw@
coxandpalmer.com
Mr. Laidlaw's diverse skills
and expertise as a leading
corporate lawyer provides
clients with practical and
eff ective solutions to their
complex business needs.
Lastman, Dale H.
Goodmans LLP
(416) 597-4129
dlastman@goodmans.ca
Chair of Goodmans LLP.
Practises corporate and
securities law with respect to
public off erings, M&A and
business restructurings. Dir-
ector of Maple Leaf Sports
& Entertainment Ltd.,
RioCan and the CAMH
Foundation. Alternate
NHL and NBA Governor.
Leopold, John W.
Stikeman Elliott LLP
(514) 397-3111
jleopold@stikeman.com
Mr. Leopold is a corporate
partner and co-chair of the
M&A group. Specializes
in commercial, M&A and
corporate fi nance. Acts
for private-equity funds
and public and private
companies with a focus on
cross-border transactions.
Lampe, Jonathan
Goodmans LLP
(416) 597-4128
jlampe@goodmans.ca
Mr. Lampe is a member
of the fi rm's Executive and
Co-Chair of its corporate/
securities group. Former
OSC General Counsel, he
advises domestic and inter-
national clients on M&A,
strategic relationships,
fi nancings and governance
and regulatory matters.
Lee, Desmond
Osler, Hoskin
& Harcourt LLP
(416) 862-5945
dlee@osler.com
Mr. Lee's practice focuses
on capital markets trans-
actions and investment
dealer regulation. He has
extensive experience acting
for issuers and underwriters
on securities off erings in
the diversifi ed, real estate,
power and mining sectors.
Levin, Jon
Fasken Martineau
DuMoulin LLP
(416) 865-4401
jlevin@fasken.com
Mr. Levin, one of Canada's
leading business lawyers, is
highly rated by Chambers,
International Financial
Law Review, Euromoney,
Who's Who Legal, Lexpert®
and Best Lawyers, and is
named as one of Canada's
top 30 dealmakers and
leading 500 lawyers.
involved in talking to creditors or compa-
nies about others," he says. "It's the typical
story when commodity prices drop. Com-
panies struggling to service lots of debt,
with little or no light at the end of the tun-
nel, will become distressed."
Most people are also expecting a defi nite
uptick in
M&A activity, says Greenfi eld,
who heads the fi rm's energy practice group.
Some see the US$8.3-billion sale of Talis-
man Energy Inc. to Spain's Repsol SA as the
beginning of a trend.
"Talisman faced the same issue every-
body faces: low commodity prices. In ad-
dition to that, I think they had a relatively
high debt load for their size and they also
had spending commitments that were fi xed,
like in the North Sea.
"Talisman said in its fi lings it had been
selling assets and was facing a more diffi cult
environment to continue to sell assets, and
its ability to raise equity was also going to be
challenging. ! ere will be other companies
facing those same problems."
Chambers also sees an increase in dis-
tressed-deal activity.
"I was just talking to someone in Calgary
the other day and it was his view that 2015
was going to be a great year for law fi rms in
the oil patch because of all these restructur-
ings that are going to have to happen. It's
2016 he's scared about because when the
music's stopped, and you've picked up the
chairs that have fallen over, then what?
"! e interesting thing to me is we're now
going to test the limits. Commodity prices
are down, some of those companies that
took on streaming obligations are going to
go under, now we're going to test all that
boilerplate on the back of the agreements
that the lawyers argue over, and see how it
all works."
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