Chemtrade Logistics Acquires Chemicals Division

Toronto-based Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund completed an offering, on August 15, 2003, of 5.86 million subscription receipts at $14.75 per receipt for gross proceeds of approximately $86 million. The underwriting syndicate for the offering was led by CIBC World Markets Inc., and included Scotia Capital Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Canaccord Capital Corp., Westwind Partners Inc., First Associates Investments Inc. and Octagon Capital Corp..

On August 29, Chemtrade, certain of its affiliates and the Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and CIBC Inc. entered into an amended and restated credit agreement for amended senior credit facilities in the aggregate amount of approximately $115 million (the amended credit facility). The proceeds of the subscription receipt offering, combined with $40 million from the amended credit facility were used to fund the $117.3 million acquisition of the BC Chemicals division of Canadian Forest Products Ltd., which also closed on August 29. Canadian Forest Products Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vancouver-based Canfor Corp.. National Bank Financial was financial advisor to Canfor.

Chemtrade was represented by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in Toronto, with a team that included Jean Fraser, Linda Robinson, John Groenewegen, Alexis Gosselin, Brian Temins, Katy Waugh, Julie Godkin, Adam Grabowski and Peter Simeon (corporate), Laurie Barrett, Dale Seymour and Robert Antenore (financial services), Steve Sansom (competition), Sean Love (environmental), Anthony Devir and Deron Waldock (pensions), Landon Young (labour) and Judith Harris and Kim Wharram (tax). Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy acted for Chemtrade in BC, with a team that included Paul Richardson (corporate and real estate), Gordon Love (financial services), Geoffrey Lewis (pensions), Marylee Davies (labour), Lisa Skakun (corporate) and Ron Chin (environmental).

The underwriters were represented by Torys LLP in Toronto and New York, with a team that included Jamie Scarlett, Sonia Keshwar, Rena Shadowitz and Michelle Campbell (corporate) and Corrado Cardarelli, Ann Marie McGovern, Jeffrey Scheine and Pam Petree (tax).

The lenders were represented by Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, with a team that included Lilly Wong, Christopher Alam and David Kolesar (financial services) and James Fisher (environmental) in Toronto, and Joseph Giuffre, Stuart Breen and Jonathan Jones (financial services) in Vancouver.
Canfor was represented in-house by David Calabrigo, vice-president human resources, general counsel and corporate secretary; and by Lawson Lundell, with a team that included William Dickson, David Allard and Benjamin Slager (corporate), Paul Bradley (lending), Valerie Mann (competition) and Ed Wilson (real estate).