HP Canada Acquires Interest in INTRIA-HP

On November 1, 2002, Hewlett Packard (Canada) Co. (HP Canada) acquired 51 per cent interest in the INTRIA-HP joint venture from CIBC. HP previously owned 49 per cent interest in INTRIA-HP, and now owns 100 per cent. This transaction represented a strategic investment by HP Canada in IT infrastructure services resources and skills and strengthens HP Canada’s ability to provide comprehensive outsourcing services to its clients, and allows CIBC to focus on its core business while coninuing to provide HP’s services to its customers.

Coincident with the acquisition, HP Canada and CIBC entered into a seven-year outsourcing arrangement under which HP Canada will provide comprehensive IT infrastructure services to CIBC, valued at approximately $2 billion over the term. Under the outsourcing agreement, HP will manage a significant portion of CIBC’s IT infrastructure, and will provide related technology procurement, asset management and application support as part of the services.

McCarthy Tétrault LLP assisted in-house counsel Georgia Sievwright and Barbara Caplan, HP Canada; Ross Katchman, HP Company; and Richard Pearse, INTRIA-HP. The McCarthy Tétrault team included David Woollcombe, Ian Palm and Bernadette Saumur (mergers and acquisitions, corporate), Gabrielle Richards, Brian Pel and Steven Baum (tax), Barry Sookman (IT), Oliver Borgers (regulatory), Oliver Hobday and Patrick Squire (real estate), Paul Boniferro and Karen Sargeant (employment), Greg Winfield (pensions) and Danielle Bush (trademarks). Fae Shaw of McInnes Cooper advised HP Canada on Nova Scotia law matters.

CIBC was represented by in-house counsel Mike Case (IT), Kevin Gormely (corporate) and Mark Crestohl (employment), assisted by Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. The Blakes team assisting Gormely on the acquisition included Gordon Currie, Andre Perey, Brenda Mothersill and Chris Goodridge (mergers and acquisitions, corporate), Leslie Morgan (tax), Paul Belanger (regulatory), Robert Kwinter (competition and trade), Silvana D’Alimonte and Bob Macdonald (real estate) and Allan Gelkopf (commodities tax). Robert MacKeigan, Q.C., Daniel Gallivan, Q.C., Jonathan Gale, Q.C., Jennifer Parsons and Robert Arkin of Cox Hanson O’Reilly Matheson advised CIBC on Nova Scotia law matters. The Blakes team assisting Case on the outsourcing transaction included Minami Ganaha, Alfred Macchione, Parna Sabet and Greg Segal.