Lexpert magazine features articles and columns on developments in legal practice management, deals and lawsuits of interest in Canada, the law and business issues of interest to legal professionals and businesses that purchase legal services.
Issue link: https://digital.carswellmedia.com/i/641619
40 LEXPERT MAGAZINE | MARCH 2016 Kravis Roberts & Co. LP, which formed a new entity named Veresen Midstream LP, in the US$515.9-million acquisition of natural gas gathering and compression as- sets from Encana Corp. All told, RBC advised the target in 24 of 34 transactions. 2015 CANADIAN BANK OF THE YEAR ( BY DEAL VALUE ) Bank of Montreal e deal team at BMO Capital Markets worked on 27 deals last year with a collec- tive value (including net debt) of $36 bil- lion. at was enough to capture 39.5 per cent of the Canadian deal market share and earn the bank the top spot for financial ad- visors by deal value. e $24.7-billion transfer of the Ca- nadian liquids pipelines business held by Enbridge Pipelines Inc. and Enbridge Pipelines Athabasca Inc., along with some Canadian renewable energy assets to En- bridge Inc., pushed the BMO team across the finish line in the value category. But among its other transactions, BMO ad- vised Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan on the $2.6-billion acquisition of Heritage Royalty Limited Partnership, a former sub- sidiary of Cenovus Energy Inc. ey were on the team for Shred-It International Inc. in the $2.3-billion sale to Stericycle Inc., the medical-waste management company. ey advised Crescent Point Energy Corp. in the $1.2-billion acquisition of Legacy Oil + Gas Inc. — one of the first major ac- quisitions in the Canadian oil patch since the collapse in oil prices. BMO Capital Markets was the advisor of choice for the acquirer on 17 of its 27 deals last year, counselling familiar compa- nies such as Torstar Corp., Crescent Point Energy Corp. and Tahoe Resources Inc. on getting their deals done. 2015 VALUE CREATION AWARD Gildan Activewear Inc. Gildan Activewear Inc. lends new meaning into the term active with a series of deals over the past four years that have sent the company's share price on a tear. Among its transactions, Gildan spent US$88 million in 2012 to acquire Anvil Holdings, a company that supplies high-val- ue organic, recycled and sustainable shirts. It followed that up by buying the remaining 50 per cent stake in CanAm Yarns, a part- nership established in 2003 to supply it with yarn for use in knitted apparel. In early 2013, Gildan bought the North Carolina manufacturing facility in Salis- bury from PGT for US$8 million and the assets of New Buffalo Shirt Factory Inc. for approximately US$7 million. In 2014, the Montréal-based company acquired the as- sets of Doris Inc., North America's third- largest branded ladies legwear marketer, for US$11 million. It rounded out the spate of acquisitions with last year's US$100 million purchase of Comfort Colors, a leading North American supplier of dyed T-shirts and sweatshirts. e deals were not all individual block- busters but the collective impact on the company's stock price has been exactly that. A share that traded for $9.58 (adjusted for a 2:1 split) on the Toronto Stock Exchange Dec. 31, 2011, was worth $39.34 on Dec. 31, 2015 for an increase of 311 per cent. 2015 MID MARKET DEAL OF THE YEAR Clearwater Seafoods purchases Macduff Shellfish Group for $195-million Nova Scotia-based Clearwater Seafoods was committed to investing in expanding its menu of premium wild and sustainably harvested seafood when it reached a deal to buy Macduff Shellfish Group for £94.4 million, or roughly $195-million. Macduff, an integrated seafood com- pany, is the UK's largest producer of wild shellfish with Europe's largest scallop fish- ing fleet at 14 vessels and production plants in Mintlaw and Stornoway, Scotland. It's a transformational acquisition that boosts Clearwater's scale and provides the Canadian company broader access to re- tailers in international markets especially in the UK, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Clearwater – which also harvests, pro- cesses and distributes seafood products worldwide – says the acquisition will ex- pand its supply of wild seafood by 20 per cent, giving it access to over 6.7 million kilograms of shellfish including scallops, langoustine, whelk and crab in the key European market Under the terms of the friendly deal, Macduff will retain its name and operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clearwater with the two businesses sharing resources and best practices. e purchase price in- cludes a $134-million cash payment and the assumption of about $8 million in seasonal working-capital debt as well as un- secured deferred consideration to be paid over the next five or six years. | 2015 DEALMAKERS | PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK