199 Bay St, Suite 5300, Commerce Court West, Toronto, ON
Year called to bar: 1994 (ON)
Paul Collins is senior counsel and former head of the competition and foreign investment group in the Toronto office. He practises corporate and commercial law, focusing on the area of competition law, providing both transactional and general compliance advice, as well as advice regarding marketing and advertising law. He is also a leading advisor for foreign investors in connection with the Investment Canada Act. His practice puts him in constant contact with the federal Competition Bureau and the investment review division of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. He is past chairman of the executive committee of the Canadian Bar Association competition law section. From May 2010–May 2012, he served as a senior deputy commissioner with the Competition Bureau where, as the head of the mergers branch, he was instrumental in the bureau’s review of high-profile corporate transactions and the development of key bureau policies arising from the significant amendments to the Competition Act introduced in 2009.
On October 3, 2018, The Bank of Nova Scotia (“Scotiabank”) completed the acquisition of MD Financial Management from Canadian Medical Association (“CMA”) for a purchase price of $2.585 billion.
On December 10, 2018, Empire Company Limited completed the acquisition of Farm Boy, one of Canada’s fastest growing and most successful food retailers, from Berkshire Partners and Farm Boy’s management shareholders based on an enterprise value of $800 million.
In separate closings on August 1 and August 16, 2018, Bayer AG, a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture, completed one of the largest antitrust enforcement divestitures in history by selling their agricultural businesses and assets for US$9 billion to German chemical company BASF SE.
On August 3, 2018, an affiliated entity of Teranet Inc., CM Solutions Inc., acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of D+H Collateral Management Corp., a division of Finastra Holdings Inc.
On January 31, 2018, Xylem Inc., a leading global water technology company, completed the acquisition of Pure Technologies Ltd. for $9.00 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of $509 million. The transaction, initially announced on December 11, 2017, was effected by way of a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta).
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).
Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”) acquired all of the outstanding shares of Toronto-based DH Corp. (TSX: DH) (“D+H”), a leading provider of technology solutions to financial institutions globally, by way of a plan of arrangement for $25.50 per share in cash, for a total enterprise value of approximately $4.8 billion, including the assumption of D+H’s debt.
On September 23, 2016, Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) completed its acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), creating the world’s largest hotel company. The US$13-billion merger combines Marriott brands, including Ritz-Carlton, Courtyard and Residence Inn, with W Hotels, Westin, Sheraton and other Starwood brands.
On July 29, 2016, Give & Go Prepared Foods Corp. (“Give & Go”) completed the acquisition of Create-a-Treat Ltd., NAFTA Foods and Packaging Inc., and related entities (together, “NAFTA CAT”).
On October 17, 2016, Vail Resorts, Inc. completed its $1.4-billion acquisition of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. by way of plan of arrangement for cash and share consideration.
On June 1, 2016, pursuant to an agreement and plan of merger dated January 18, 2016, (the “Merger Agreement”) between Waste Connections, Inc. (formerly known as Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. (“Progressive Waste”)), Water Merger Sub LLC (“Merger Sub”) and Waste Connections US, Inc. (formerly known as Waste Connections, Inc.) (“Old Waste Connections”), Merger Sub merged with and into Old Waste Connections (the “Merger”), with Old Waste Connections surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Progressive Waste.
OMERS Private Equity (OPE), the private equity arm of OMERS, one of Canada’s largest pension funds, completed the sale of its portfolio company, Give & Go Prepared Foods Corp. (Give & Go), to an affiliate of US private-equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (THL).
On May 20, 2016, Lowe’s Companies Inc. (Lowe’s) completed its friendly acquisition of Rona Inc. (Rona) by way of a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Québec) for $3.2 billion.
On February 1, 2016, TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (TreeHouse) (NYSE: THS) completed its US$2.7 billion acquisition of ConAgra Foods’ (ConAgra) (NYSE: CAG) private brands operations, which was initially announced on November 2, 2015.
On January 15, 2016, Sprott Asset Management completed its successful hostile takeover bid to acquire all of the outstanding units of Central GoldTrust in exchange for units of Sprott Physical Gold Trust on a net asset value to net asset value basis. The transaction was valued at over $1 billion.
On December 4, 2015, Global Jet Capital, a company providing leasing and lending solutions for large-cabin, long-range private jets, completed its acquisition of the aircraft lease and loan portfolio of GE Capital Corporate Aircraft in the Americas representing approximately US$2.5 billion of net assets.
On October 28, 2015, Apollo Global Management LLC, in partnership with Platform Specialty Products Corporation, completed its take-private acquisition of the OM Group, Inc. for US$34 per share in cash for a total of approximately US$1.03 billion.
On July 2, 2015, Data & Audio-Visual Enterprises Wireless Inc., operating as “Mobilicity”, was acquired by an affiliate of Rogers Communications Inc. in a transaction valued at $465 million. Mobilicity, a Canadian wireless telecommunications carrier, commenced creditor protection proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in September 2013. The transaction offered significant value to Mobilicity’s creditors and allowed Mobilicity to emerge from creditor protection as a going concern. The transaction ensures certainty of service for Mobilicity customers on the Rogers network and also results in Rogers gaining significant spectrum capacity in new markets which provides faster speeds and better quality for all Rogers customers. The transaction was subject to government and court approvals and was completed on July 2, 2015.
On June 18, 2015, Alltech, Inc. completed its acquisition of all of the outstanding common shares of Ridley Inc., by way of a plan of arrangement, for approximately $521 million. Before its acquisition, Ridley was publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and was one of the largest commercial animal nutrition businesses in North America. With the completion of the acquisition, the combined company is a global leader is animal health and nutrition with annual revenues in excess of US$1.6 billion and a presence in 128 countries with 77 manufacturing facilities and approximately 4,200 employees globally.
Arthur J. Gallagher Canada Limited, a subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG), completed its acquisition of Noraxis Capital Corporation from Roins Financial Services Limited, which also owns the RSA Canada group of companies (RSA). The aggregate purchase price for the business, including minority interests and subject to adjustment, was approximately $500 million. Noraxis management shareholders continue to hold approximately 11 per cent of the business.
Ashland Inc. successfully completed the divestment of its global Ashland Water Technologies (AWT) business unit to a fund managed by private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in a transaction valued at approximately US$1.8 billion. Net proceeds from the sale totaled approximately US$1.4 billion, which will be used to return capital to shareholders in the form of share repurchases.
News Corp., through its subsidiary HarperCollins Publishers, acquired Harlequin Enterprises Limited from Torstar Corporation for $455 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments.
Element Financial Corporation acquired the assets and operations of PHH Arval, PHH Corporation's North American fleet management services business, for a purchase price of US$1.4 billion in cash. Element also assumed PHH's obligations under the PHH fleet securitization programs in the US and Canada.
Stikeman Elliott is acting as Canadian counsel to Castings Acquisition Corp., an affiliate company of The Carlyle Group, a major private investment fund based in Washington, D.C., in its proposed acquisition (by way of plan of arrangement), of all of the outstanding common shares of Tritech Precision Inc. and all of the outstanding Class A common shares of Trimin Enterprises Inc.
