After several years of economic instability, positive trends began to emerge in 2024. As moderate economic recovery slowly set in, stabilizing interest rates contributed to slowing inflation. Though the economic situation is still fragile, our Corporate & Commercial Law group handled a wide range of transactions throughout the year. From small and medium-sized enterprises to multinational corporations, we covered every area of the market, sometimes conducting transactions worth several billion dollars. Our team has continued to grow, leveraging its agility and expertise to support clients through numerous strategic operations. Some of these were very sophisticated owing to their multijurisdictional and multidisciplinary nature. Our experienced team applied its in-depth knowledge, best-in-class service, and decisive ability to predict market trends to meet our clients’ legal and business needs, offering them clear and personalized advice, and helping them adapt easily to various regulatory changes.
In 2024, our transactions totalled over C$21 billion in value, a glowing testament to our team’s talent and expertise. Among our crowning achievements of the year was playing a key role in the largest recapitalization of a private company in Canadian history, valued at over C$13.5 billion. Here are some of our standout transactions in the fields of capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, the commercial sector, and business takeovers.
Capital Markets
- Assisted the Garda World Security Corporation management team in amending its credit agreement to extend the maturity date from 2026 to 2029 and to increase its Term Loan B by US$200 million to US$2.327 billion. This amendment was entered into with a syndicate of North American lenders led among others by New York City-based JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
- Assisted Garda World Security Corporation with the private placement of US$550 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes. The 8.25% senior notes, due in 2032, were distributed by a syndicate of underwriters and joint bookrunner managers, including BofA Securities, Inc., TD Securities (USA) LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., and UBS Securities LLC.
- Advised LSL Pharma Group Inc., a Canadian integrated pharmaceutical company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, during its most recent series of combined financings, which involved a private placement of units and the settlement of debts in units, which company insiders participated in. The total amount of the financings was initially announced at C$8 million but increased to C$10.2 million upon the closing of the second and final tranche of the financing.
- Represented Garda World Security Corporation in a North American private placement of senior unsecured notes due in 2032 in an aggregate principal amount of US$1 billion at a rate of 8.375%, and in the finalization of its redemption of senior unsecured notes due in 2027 with an outstanding principal amount of US$604.4 million.
- Advised Citadelle, Maple Syrup Producers’ Cooperative on two debt financing arrangements granted by the Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec and Farm Credit Canada.
- Assisted Garda World Security Corporation throughout its efforts to reduce the interest rates for its Term Loan B of US$2.315 billion by 0.75% per year. This contractual amendment was entered into with a syndicate of North American lenders led by New York City-based JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
- Represented the Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec in relation to debt financing worth C$28.65 million for IngeniArts Technologies inc.
Mergers & Acquisitions
- Acted as legal counsel to Garda World Security Corporation, Doctor No Parent Limited, and Stéphan Crétier, Founder, Chairman, President, and CEO of Garda World, in their binding agreement with BC Partners and various financial investors, including HPS Investment Partners who is leading a group of minority investors, to acquire a portion of the shares held by BC Partners. This complex multijurisdictional transaction was assessed at over C$13.5 billion— the largest recapitalization in Canadian history.
- Assisted the multinational Garda World Security Corporation in signing an amalgamation agreement and a shareholder agreement regarding the acquisition of Stealth Monitoring, a leading North American provider of cutting-edge fixed and mobile video surveillance solutions, for C$737.5 million.
- Assisted the shareholders of Entreprises Marchand & Frères in selling their shares to VINCI Construction.
- Advised Victoriaville & Co. inc., one of the largest manufacturers of wooden caskets and distributors of funeral products in North America, in its acquisition of certain assets of U.S.-based Haven Line Industries.
- Assisted a company specializing in the development, operation, and maintenance of renewable power plants with the sale of its assets and of a portfolio of Québec-based projects for a total value of C$5 million.
- Assisted Crisis24 Group in its acquisition of OnSolve LLC, a leading U.S.-based provider of critical event management and mass communication services, for a consideration of over C$410 million, in collaboration with legal advisors from different jurisdictions, including in the United States and India.
- Advised the largest provider of industrial process automation solutions in eastern Canada in acquiring a renowned distributor of industrial pumps.
- Assisted Environmental 360 Solutions Ltd., a leading environmental management company, in various business acquisitions in Québec, including Entreprise location toilettes chimiques Aiken Inc., Service Cité Propre Inc., H2O Traitements Industriels Inc., and MDR Traitements Industriels Inc.
- Assisted Softway Medical Solutions Inc. in its acquisition from Logiciels Purkinje Inc. of contracts to provide electronic medical record software to two Québec hospitals.
- Advised Sesami Cash Management Technologies Corporation, a global cash management platform, in its acquisition of Consillion Group, an independent global provider of cash management solutions with offices in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, for C$37.5 million.
- Represented Go HR Inc. in its acquisition of all shares of 360 Humanify Management Inc., a recruitment and consulting agency.
Real Estate
- Assisted a Montréal real estate developer in implementing a legal structure and contracts relating to the construction of 240 social housing units for a total value of C$52 million.
- Assisted a port authority in securing surface and emphyteutic rights with respect to port facilities for a total value of C$8 million.
- Assisted Développement Marais inc. in establishing its legal structure and acquiring 145,000 commercial square feet in the Québec City region for C$9.5 million.
- Advised the owners of Hôtel Rimouski in negotiations with the City of Rimouski relative to a series of transactions to add rooms to the hotel, expand the Centre de Congrès, and to open a Loto-Québec gaming room.
- Assisted the owner of an industrial plant in the sale of said plant in the Delson region for C$9.5 million, including initial tax planning.
Commercial Sector
- Assisted a leading global business in the food, restaurant, butchery, and nutrition industry in merging two of its previously acquired entities and refinancing debt.
- Assisted Can-Explore inc. in negotiating and setting up distribution agreements with GapVax (United States) and CIPP Chile S.A. (South America) regarding the ZIPCAM 360, a sewer inspection tool.
Business Succession
The transactions below are just a few examples of what our team accomplished in 2024 in the area of business succession.
- Represented Mr. Keven Rodrigue in acquiring all shares of Fortin Steel.
- Assisted with every step of the family takeover of Québec City-based Brûlerie Rousseau inc.
- Advised a group of shareholders regarding the sale of their machining company, for C$13.5 million, to an external buyer, including the initial reorganization and the sale of all issued and outstanding shares.
- Represented Mr. Gabriel Langlois in his acquisition of all shares of a dental clinic.
Information :
Mélissa Rina Shriqui
T +1 438 844 7800
M +1 514 951 0553