Chicago Investor Purchases Vancouver Grizzlies

Chicago investor Michael Heisley, Chairman and CEO of Heico Holdings, LLC, announced on May 11, 2000 the completion of his acquisition of the Vancouver Grizzlies, one of two Canadian franchises in the National Basketball Association, from Orca Bay Basketball Enterprises of Seattle, Washington. The purchase price was US$165 million.

Canadian counsel for the purchaser was Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP of Toronto, whose team consisted of Bruce Leonard (commercial), Max Gotlieb (national and international tax), Renate Herbst (banking) and Frank Monteleone (Investment Canada). Vancouver aspects of the purchase were handled by John Rogers and Allan Lester of Cassels Brock’s affiliated office, Douglas Symes & Brissenden. The purchaser’s Chicago team came from McDermott, Will & Emery, headed by Stanley H. Meadows (corporate) and involved Helen R. Friedli (corporate), Michael Perlberg and Gary Karch (tax), and Michael Boykins (banking). Acting for the vendor were the Vancouver office of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP whose team included Peter Kalbfleisch (corporate) and David Fruitman (competition) in Toronto. Financing for the purchase was provided in part by Société Générale of New York, which was represented by Byran Gibson of the Vancouver office of McCarthy Tétrault.