On May 27, 2016, EDF EN Canada Inc. (EDF EN), a market leader in renewable energy and subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles Group, completed the sale of a 50-per-cent interest in the 74-megawatt (MW) Mont-Rothery Wind Project located in the province of Québec (the Project) to MD1 Wind, LP (MD1), a limited partnership formed by a consortium (the Consortium) regrouping Régime de rentes du Mouvement Desjardins, Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company, Certas Home and Auto Insurance Company and The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company. EDF EN Canada will remain involved in the Project through its wholly owned subsidiary EEN CA Mont-Rothery L.P., which is a 50-per-cent co-owner of the Project. EDF EN Canada Development will provide management services and EDF Renewable Services will continue to provide a portion of the current operations and maintenance services as well as 24/7 remote monitoring.
The Project’s construction started in 2014 and reached commercial operation in December 2015. The Project comprises a total of 37 wind turbines.
EDF EN was represented by an in-house team led by Julie Chabot (Head of Legal, Québec) that included Marc McClean (Director, Legal) and Miriam Robitaille (Legal Counsel), and also by Stikeman Elliott LLP with a team that included Maxime Turcotte, Dominique Rolland and Valérie Trudeau (M&A), Erik Richer La Flèche, Sterling Dietze, Maxime Jacquin, Léa Bénitah-Bouchard and Carla L’Écuyer (project finance), Jean-Guillaume Shooner and Nathaniel Lacasse (tax) and Jeffrey Brown (competition). Dentons Canada LLP acted as development counsel to EDF EN, including title and permitting matters, with a team led by Charles Côté-Lépine (real estate).
The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company was represented by an in-house legal team led by John Wallace (Managing Director, Senior Counsel and Practice Group Leader, Fixed Income, North American Investment Law). Régime de rentes du Mouvement Desjardins was represented by an in-house legal team led by Patrick Chillis (Director, Legal Affairs). Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company and Certas Home and Auto Insurance Company were represented by an in-house legal team led by Véronique Steffan (Legal Counsel, Legal Affairs). The Consortium was represented by Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP with a team consisting of Philippe Bourassa and Fabien Lanteri-Massa (M&A), Aude Godfroy, Mahnaz Jan Ali and Rebecca Dawe (project finance), Yannick Beaudoin and Jeff Talbot (real estate), Anne-Catherine Boucher (environment), Kathleen Penny and Peter Lee (tax), and Jason Gudofsky and Kevin MacDonald (competition).