Canada Housing Trust Closes $3.1B Bond Offering

On December 18, 2002, Canada Housing Trust No. 1, a special purpose trust, closed a $3.1 billion offering of 4.40 per cent Canada Mortgage Bonds, series 4, due March 15, 2008 and guaranteed by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP represented CMHC and was special counsel to the trust. The BLG team included Rosalind Morrow (securities and derivatives), Stephen Redican and Gus Karantzoulis (banking and structured finance), Larissa Tkachenko and Jonathan Willson (tax) and Matt Campbell (securities) in Toronto, and civil law services were provided by Daniel Gendron in Montreal. BLG assisted CMHC in-house counsel Douglas Tyler and Reem Hindieh, and also Ted Fujisawa, executive director, CIBC, administrator to the trust. Gregory Shaw, Robert Harvey and John Hwang of Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York advised CMHC and the trust on U.S. legal matters.

The underwriters, led by The Toronto-Dominion Bank, CIBC World Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. and Scotia Capital Inc., were represented by Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, with a team that included Carol Pennycook and Andrea Daly in Toronto and Guy Lander and Scott Tayne in New York.