199 Bay St, Suite 4000, Commerce Court West, Toronto, ON
Year called to bar: 2001 (ON)
Paul is the National Practice Group leader for the Blakes Tax Group. Paul practises primarily in the areas of corporate and partnership income taxation. He advises on domestic and cross-border income tax planning, including public and private mergers & acquisitions, private equity investments, pension fund investments, corporate reorganizations, financings, and the taxation of mutual funds, partnerships and other investment vehicles. Cross-border inbound structuring is a significant component of Paul's practice. Paul also has experience assisting clients with the resolution of Canadian federal and provincial tax audits and appeals at all stages. He has written articles and spoken at different venues regarding cross-border and domestic tax issues. He and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Bar Association, the International Fiscal Association, the International Bar Association, and is a governor and a member of the executive committee of the Canadian Tax Foundation.
On March 14, 2019, Aleafia Health Inc. (TSX: ALEF) completed its acquisition of Emblem Corp. (TSXV: EMC) by way of a plan of arrangement under the provisions of the Canada Business Corporations Act in an all share transaction valued at approximately $172.3 million at the time of the deal’s announcement. Pursuant to the arrangement, Aleafia acquired all of the common shares of Emblem, to form a new wholly-owned subsidiary continuing as “Emblem Corp.” Following the transaction, Aleafia graduated from the TSX Venture Exchange and commenced trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Invesque Inc. (TSX:IVQ.U) (“Invesque”) completed an offering of US$50 million aggregate principal amount of 6.00% convertible unsecured subordinated debentures of Invesque due September 30, 2023.
On November 30, 2018, Essar Steel Algoma Inc. (“ESAI”) concluded its comprehensive restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act by way of the sale of substantially all of its assets to Algoma Steel Inc. (“ASI”).
On June 25, 2018, Frontera Energy (the Issuer) completed an offering of US$350 million principal amount of unsecured senior notes due in 2023, the proceeds of which were used to repurchase US$250 million of the company’s outstanding senior secured notes due in 2021 pursuant to a tender offer.
On February 1, 2019, a company owned by Vertu FX Limited Partnership (“Vertu”), BDC Capital Inc. (“BDC”) and certain members of the Firmex executive management team completed the acquisition of Firmex Holdings Inc.
On December 29, 2017, Mr. Don E. Wall (Don Wall), PHI Inc. (PHI) and HNZ Group Inc. (HNZ), a Toronto Stock Exchange-listed provider of helicopter transportation and related support services, completed a statutory plan of arrangement pursuant to which, among other things, Don Wall, through a beneficially wholly-owned acquisition company, acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares and variable voting shares of HNZ for $18.70 in cash per share, and PHI subsequently acquired HNZ’s offshore business conducted in New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. The total consideration paid to former holders of HNZ shares was approximately $233 million
On May 24, 2017, Swander Pace Capital, a leading private equity firm specializing in investments in consumer product companies, completed the sale of its significant equity stake in Kicking Horse Coffee to the Lavazza Group, who, with this transaction, holds an 80-per-cent interest in the company, which was valued at $215 million.
On June 5, 2017, Delek Group Ltd. (Delek), through its wholly owned subsidiary, DKL Investments Limited (the Offeror) completed its acquisition of Ithaca Energy Inc. (Ithaca). The transaction was structured as a supported takeover bid pursuant to the terms of a Support Agreement between Delek and Ithaca dated February 6, 2017.
On October 1, 2016, R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (“RRD”) completed its spin-off of LSC Communications, Inc. (“LSC”) and Donnelley Financial Solutions, Inc. (“DFS”) by way of a distribution to its stockholders of approximately 80.75 per cent of the common stock of each spin-off company.
On May 1, 2017, all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Halogen Software Inc. (“Halogen”) were acquired by Saba Software Inc. (“Saba”), Vector Capital and its affiliates (“Vector”), and Michael Slaunwhite, Halogen’s founder, executive chairman and largest shareholder.
On October 3, 2016, Element Financial Corporation completed a butterfly reorganization by way of plan of arrangement pursuant to which the business was split into two separate companies: Element Fleet Management Corp. and ECN Capital Corp.
On October 21, 2016, McKeil Marine (“McKeil”) and TorQuest Partners (“TorQuest”) finalized TorQuest’s investment in McKeil, in partnership with existing management and shareholders, to support the company’s next phase of growth. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.
On March 21, 2016, a group led by Norwest Venture Partners and including Georgian Partners and BMO Financial Group acquired a significant equity interest in Medgate Inc.
On December 31, 2015, Centric Health Corporation completed the divestment of its physiotherapy, rehabilitation and medical assessment businesses to an affiliate of Audax Private Equity, a member of the Audax Group, for $245 million plus up to $5 million in contingent consideration.
Johnson Electric Holdings Limited, a global leader in electric motors and motion subsystems, announced on October 27, 2015, that it had completed the acquisition of Stackpole International, a leading supplier of engine and transmission pumps and powder metal components, primarily for automotive applications.
On May 20, 2015, BCE Inc. (BCE) and Rogers Communications Inc. (Rogers) completed their acquisition of GLENTEL Inc. (GLENTEL), a Canadian-based multi-carrier mobile products distributor.
