34 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
ada's pharmaceutical supply chain. It also
expands McKesson's presence in the retail
pharmacy space with the addition of ap-
proximately 470 Rexall and Rexall Pharma
Plus corporate-owned stores to its existing
pharmacy banner business."
PATRICIA OLASKER
DAVIES WARD PHILLIPS
& VINEBERG LLP
The transaction
represents a significant
strategic acquisition
by McKesson in the
Canadian market. The
acquisition reflects
McKesson's view that
Canada's health-care
landscape is rapidly
changing, marked
by a move of primary
care into pharmacies."
"
Key Legal Players
Sprott Assett Management advisors:
Arthur Einav (in-house); Stikeman Elliott
LLP (M&A); Paul, Weiss, Riind,
Wharton & Garrison LLP (US matters)
Central GoldTrust advisor: Dentons
Canada LLP (M&A, securities)
Counsel to the Central GoldTrust's
special board committee: Bennett
Jones LLP (litigation)
Purpose Investments advisor:
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
9
McKesson's
Acquisition of Rexall
US-based health-care-services provider
McKesson Corp., which already has a
pharmaceutical footprint in Canada, has
acquired Canada's Rexall pharmacy chain
(and related companies) in a $3-billion
deal. McKesson, headquartered in San
Francisco, currently owns smaller drug-
stores in Canada and supplies drugs to
Rexall and other pharmacies. e inten-
tion was to acquire 470 Rexall stores. is
will add weight to Rexall as it competes
with Shoppers Drug Mart, now owned by
Loblaw Cos. Ltd.
Rexall was externally represented by
Dentons Canada LLP, with a team led by
Shawna Vogel.
Patricia Olasker, leading the Davies
Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP team for
McKesson, says: "e transaction repre-
sents a significant strategic acquisition by
McKesson in the Canadian market. e
acquisition reflects McKesson's view that
Canada's health-care landscape is rapidly
changing, marked by a move of primary
care into pharmacies. McKesson Corp.
has operated in Canada for about 100
years, both through McKesson Canada,
which operates a network of independent
pharmacies in Canada, and also directly
as a supplier of medicines, supplies and
information technologies to pharma-
cies, manufacturers, hospitals and other
health-care institutions. is acquisition
strengthens McKesson's position in Can-
In December, the transaction reached
another milestone when the Competition
Bureau signed off, pending the divestiture
of 28 drugstores across Canada.
Key Legal Players
McKesson advisors: Jennifer Zerczy
(in-house); Davies Ward Phillips
Vineberg LLP (M&A, antitrust, tax,
pension/employment, real estate,
environmental, regulatory, IP, litigation)
Rexall advisors: Dentons Canada LLP
(M&A); Bennett Jones LLP (competition)
10
Alimentation
Couche-Tard's
Bid for CST Brands
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. has had a
history of expanding through acquisition.
Sébastien ériault of Davies Ward Phil-
lips & Vineberg LLP, Couche-Tard's exter-
nal counsel, proudly described the compa-
ny's expansions to date in North America
and Europe.
| TOP DEALS |
Lexpert's Top 10 Deals list, published annually since January 2004, is
unique and distinct from league tables prepared by accountants, invest-
ment banks and financial analysts, which are ranked, for the most part, by
size of the transaction. This list, rather, is based on an extensive canvass
conducted in October and November 2016 by Lexpert of Canadian M&A,
securities and corporate finance lawyers.
There were several criteria this year, including the fact that the deal had
to be announced between Nov. 1, 2015 and Nov. 1, 2016. However, this
year we expanded our position on the closing date. While we preferred
deals set to close in 2016 or early 2017, we were not as strict on that clos-
ing. We particularly invite your comments on this decision. For the article
itself, we interviewed Canadian lawyers. However, we have attempted to
note the non-Canadian law firms on these deals, which were considerable
in number. Should this change in future editions?
Most importantly, the deal must stand for more than itself: represent a
trend, illustrate some aspect of the year's economic climate or be a portent
of things to come. There is no minimum size or preferred structure
— this
list's definition of "deal" is anything Canadian lawyers worked on that they
considered to be significant.
TOP 10 DEALS SELECTION PROCESS
