Golden Gate Capital Acquires Sierra Systems

On January 5, 2007, Golden Gate Capital, a San Francisco-based private-equity firm, completed its acquisition of Vancouver-based Sierra Systems Group Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition was completed through a plan of arrangement in which Golden Gate Capital acquired, through its affiliate, Trinity International Holdings Ltd., all the shares of Sierra Systems in an all-cash transaction at a price of $9.25 per share. Financing for the acquisition and for general working capital was provided by Wells Fargo Financial Corporation Canada, as first lien lender, and Styx Partners, L.P., an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management LP, as second lien lender.

Lang Michener LLP represented Sierra Systems Group Inc. The team, led by Karl Gustafson, Q.C., included Ryan Black (corporate); Leo Raffin and Amandeep Sandhu (corporate securities); Peter Botz (tax); Peter Reardon (litigation); François Tougas and Steve Szentesi (competition) and Graham Matthews (banking). A special committee of Sierra Systems Group Inc.'s board of directors was represented by Lawson Lundell LLP with a team including Anthony Ryan and Nathan Daniels.

Golden Gate Capital was represented by Kirkland & Ellis LLP in San Francisco. The team was led by Stephen Oetgen and included Stuart Casillas, Nicole Pask, and Leah Palmer (corporate); John Friedrichs and Sonali Jindal (corporate and banking); Daneen Jachino (competition) and John Lynn and Grace Kao (intellectual property). Borden Ladner Gervais LLP acted as Canadian counsel to Golden Gate Capital with a team that included Paul Mingay and Kathleen Keilty (corporate and securities); Howard Silverman and Ken Andersen (banking); Larissa Tkachenko and Eva Krasa (tax); Stephen Antle (litigation); Colleen Spring-Zimmerman (intellectual property) and Adam Fanaki (competition).

Wells Fargo was represented in the US by Buchtaler Nemer with a team led by Robert Davidson and Tybalt Whitney. Styx was represented in the US by Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker LLP with a team led by John Hilson and Jennifer Hildebrant. Wells Fargo and Styx were represented in Canada by Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP with a team led by Daryl Clark and Bahar Hafizi (financial services), including Teresa Budd (securities), Scott Sweatman (pension and benefits) and Bryan Bailey and Kathleen Penny (tax).