199 Bay St, Suite 4000, Commerce Court West, Toronto, ON
Year called to bar: 1993 (ON)
Brian is a key Partner in Blakes’ leading Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment Group, recently named Competition Regional Firm of the Year - Americas by Global Competition Review. His guidance is sought after by Canadian and foreign corporations, SOEs and law firms for his connectivity and experience in dealing with the business and legal community and all levels of government. Brian has been recognized as one of the most influential lawyers in Canada, and has received numerous accolades, including the Zenith Award in Law, and Lawyer of the Year, and is consistently top rated in all of the major legal ranking services. Brian is also the Chair of Strategic Business Initiatives for Blakes and a member of its Executive Committee. In this role, Brian identifies and works to implement strategic business initiatives on behalf of the Firm across Canada and internationally.
On June 21, 2017, Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC (Odyssey), a leading middle-market private-equity firm completed the sale of its shares of the parent company and certain subsidiaries of Safway Group (Safway) to Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services, Inc. (Brand).
On February 16, 2017, Catalent Pharma Solutions Ltd. announced the completion of its purchase of all of the shares of Accucaps Industries Ltd. from Apotex Holdings Inc. for an undisclosed price.
On July 10, 2015, Holcim Ltd and Lafarge S.A. completed their global merger and launched LafargeHolcim, a world leader in the building materials industry. The new LafargeHolcim shares will be traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange as well as the Euronext in Paris. In April 2014 both companies had announced their intention to merge. All relevant anti-trust approvals were received within the expected timeframe following a proactive dialogue with the respective authorities in Canada and elsewhere.
On May 20, 2015, BCE Inc. (BCE) and Rogers Communications Inc. (Rogers) completed their acquisition of GLENTEL Inc. (GLENTEL), a Canadian-based multi-carrier mobile products distributor.
BCE Inc. completed its privatization of Bell Aliant Inc. and the integration of its Atlantic Canada affiliate into BCE’s national operations, following its successful offer to purchase all of the outstanding publicly-held Bell Aliant common shares for a combination of cash and BCE common shares valued at approximately $3.95 billion.
