Five firms dominating M&A activity in Canada in recent years

Stikeman Elliott, McCarthy Tétrault, Blakes, Davies, and Torys – which are among the country’s most active law firms – made their mark in the mining, banking, and technology sectors with deal values ranging from $12 billion to $26 billion.

Stikeman Elliott LLP

One of the notable deals that Stikeman Elliott is involved in is Teck Resources’ $12.25 billion (US$8.9 billion) sale of its entire coal business, Elk Valley Resources (EVR), to Swiss commodities trading giant Glencore plc and two Asian steelmakers, Japan’s Nippon Steel and South Korea’s POSCO.

Stikeman Elliott is acting as legal counsel to Teck with a team led by Sean Vanderpol with corporate department head Jonah Mann, head of the competition and foreign investment group Michael Kilby, pension and benefits group head Natasha vandenHoven, and labour and employment partner Kris Noonan.

The deal is expected to close by the third quarter of 2024, at the earliest, due to the expected length of the necessary government review.

In the banking sector, Stikeman Elliott is acting as legal advisor to Nuvei Corporation in its $8.5 billion (US$6.3 billion) sale to Advent International. The transaction is backed unanimously by Nuvei’s board, advised by financial and legal experts, and involves a statutory plan of arrangement, requiring various shareholder approvals and is expected to be finalized by early 2025.

McCarthy Tétrault LLP

McCarthy Tétrault, led by partners Eva Bellissimo and Shea T. Small, advised Newcrest Mining in its sale to Newmont Corporation in a deal completed on November 6, 2023. The acquisition bolsters Newmont's position as a gold mining leader, bringing 10 Tier 1 operations supporting future gold and copper production. Post-transaction, Newmont and Newcrest shareholders own 69 percent and 31 percent of the combined entity, respectively.

A more recent deal that McCarthy Tétrault is involved in mdf commerce’s $255 million buyout by US investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP (KKR). The transaction follows a series of privatizations of technology companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

McCarthy Tétrault and Foley & Lardner are serving as Canadian and US legal counsel, respectively, to mdf commerce, while Scotiabank is acting as the exclusive financial advisor. Desjardins is providing an independent fairness opinion to the mdf commerce Board of Directors. McCarthy Tétrault is assisting mdf commerce with a team led by Hadrien Montagne and Vincent Laurin.

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Blakes acted as legal counsel to the Royal Bank of Canada in a deal representing the largest bank acquisition in Canadian history. RBC’s $13.5 billion acquisition of HSBC's Canadian business resulted in RBC welcoming 4,500 employees and 780,000 clients from HSBC Bank Canada.

The Blakes team was led by Corporate and M&A Partner Cheryl Satin. Duncan Bellamy from Allen & Overy LLP acted as RBC’s lead UK counsel, with assistance from Mahmood Lone (Litigation), Nigel Parker (IT) and Arjun Bhalla (Corporate/M&A).

Blakes also makes its presence known in another landmark deal as the firm acted as legal counsel to AstraZeneca in its $2.4 billion acquisition of Fusion Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The transaction aims to transform cancer treatment by advancing precision medicine.

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Davies, with a team led by Vincent Mercier and Brett Seifred, advised Shaw Communications in its $26 billion merger with Rogers Communications. The blockbuster transaction melds two of Canada’s most prominent communication companies in the largest-ever completed deal in the Canadian telecommunications industry and the largest-ever Canadian dollar issuance by a corporate issuer in Canadian market history.

Shaw has retained TD Securities Inc. as its exclusive financial advisor and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP and Wachtell, Lipton Rosen & Katz as its legal advisors. CIBC World Markets Inc. is acting as the independent financial advisor to the Special Committee and Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP is the independent legal advisor to the Special Committee. The Shaw Family Living Trust has retained Dentons Canada LLP as its legal advisor.

Torys LLP

Torys is also involved in the merger of Shaw Communications and Rogers Communications. Torys partners Richard Willoughby, John Emanoilidis, Rima Ramchandani, and David Steele acted as legal advisors to the Rogers Control Trust. Rogers has retained BofA Securities and Barclays as its financial advisors and Goodmans LLP as its legal advisor.

In the mining sector, Torys advised Alamos Gold in its $440 million acquisition of Argonaut. The deal resulted in the creation of one of Canada's largest, lowest-cost gold mines. Included in the acquisition is Argonaut's Magino mine in Ontario, a site that is expected to significantly increase Alamos’ gold production.

See the full list of Canada’s most active law firms for deals at CL+, a legal competitor analysis tool and subscriber-only service. As of the time of writing, Stikeman Elliott has 148 deals in the CL+ database. McCarthy Tétrault has 122, Blakes has 118, Davies has 100, and Torys has 85.