LEXPERT'S TOP 10 DEALS of the year list, published annually since January 2004, is unique and distinct from league tables prepared by accountants, investment banks and financial analysts, and ranked for the most part by size of the transaction. This list is based on an extensive canvass conducted in October and November 2017 by Lexpert of Canadian M&A, Securities and Corporate Finance lawyers.
There were several criteria this year, including the fact that the deal must be announced between Nov. 1, 2016 and Nov. 1, 2017, and closed or expected to close by Jan. 3, 2018. Transactions with particularly long gestation periods also qualify. Canadian legal content of the deal must be significant. 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. Lexpert also co-sponsors, with Deloitte, The Globe and Mail and Thomson Reuters (Markets), the Canadian Dealmaker Awards. We will report on these awards in the March issue of the Magazine, at which time it will be interesting to compare the winners with the Lexpert Top Deals. Certain of the deals are bound to overlap, while others do not. Top Deals tends more toward “lawyers’ deals” in the sense that they comprise compelling legal issues.
There were several criteria this year, including the fact that the deal must be announced between Nov. 1, 2016 and Nov. 1, 2017, and closed or expected to close by Jan. 3, 2018. Transactions with particularly long gestation periods also qualify. Canadian legal content of the deal must be significant. 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. Lexpert also co-sponsors, with Deloitte, The Globe and Mail and Thomson Reuters (Markets), the Canadian Dealmaker Awards. We will report on these awards in the March issue of the Magazine, at which time it will be interesting to compare the winners with the Lexpert Top Deals. Certain of the deals are bound to overlap, while others do not. Top Deals tends more toward “lawyers’ deals” in the sense that they comprise compelling legal issues.
