CDP Capital Closes CMBS Offering

N-45° First CMBS Issuer Corporation, a member of CDP Capital - Mortgages and a wholly owned subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, closed a $559.7 million ($36.4 million was privately placed) commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) offering in the Canadian market consisting of pay-through bonds. The securitized pool includes 63 mortgage loans secured by 59 different real properties located in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and B.C., all of which were originated and/or renewed by CDP Capital - Mortgages, which is the sole contributor to the pool. The deal closed on June 19, 2003.

The issuer and the promoter, Hypothèques CDPQ Inc., another member of CDP Capital - Mortgages, was represented by in-house counsel Madeleine Amyot and Jasmine Hinse, and by Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP with a team led by Pierre-Denis Leroux (business) in Montreal, and including Stéphane Lalande and Stephanie Grondin (real estate) and Michael Bantey and Eric Poole (securities) in Montreal and Silvana D’Alimonte (real estate) and Leslie Morgan and Alisa Ruvinsky (taxation) in Toronto.

CDP Capital - Real Estate Advisory, formerly Cadim Inc., provided financial advice and was represented by in-house counsel Sylvie Drouin and Irene Papavasil.

The underwriting syndicate, led by Scotia Capital Inc. and including Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. and Canaccord Capital Corporation, was represented by Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Montreal with a team led by Rick Shannon (securities), and assisted by Rhonda Friesen and Sophie De Koninck (securities), Pierre Côté (financial services) and Brian Schneiderman and Virginia Chan (taxation).