Torys, Osler also serve as Canadian legal advisors in deals this week
Blake, Cassels & Graydon was involved in three M&A deals this week, including the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board’s acquisition of HomeEquity Bank and Novacap Investments’ sale of Hallcon to US companies GCM Grosvenor and Blue Wolf Capital. Torys also advised the Ontario Teachers’ deal, while Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt joined Blakes as Canadian legal advisors in the sale of Alexco Resource, owner and operator of one of the highest-grade silver deposits in the world, to Hecla Mining Company.
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board acquired HOMEQ Corporation, the parent company of HomeEquity Bank, a Canada-based bank offering reverse mortgage solutions, from private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners Management.
Blake, Cassels & Graydon acted as legal counsel and TD Securities Inc. as financial advisor to Ontario Teachers.
Blakes team consisted of lead partners Paul Belanger and Cheryl Satin and joined by Vivian Kung, Carly Hicks, Sam Kim, Breanna Young (Corporate/M&A); Paul Belanger, Bonny Murray, Adam Jackson, Patrick Sobchak (Financial Services); Iris Antonios, Alysha Li (Litigation); Holly Reid, Laura Blumenfeld, Alysha Sharma (Employment); Christopher Hunter, Shaivi Bhatt, Ankita Kapur (IP); Elizabeth Boyd, Maggie Carmichael, Jeremy Forgie, Adam Ngan (Pensions); Jennifer Cherniak, Jay Geers, Rachel Lehman (Real Estate); Ellie Marshall (Privacy & Cybersecurity); Wendy Mee (Privacy & IT); Robert Percival, Daniel Quainoo (IT); Jeffrey Shafer (Tax); Gillian Singer, Victoria Turner, Micah Wood (Competition).
Torys acted as counsel to HomeQ and Birch Hill with a team that included Guy Berman, Stephen Neil, Sarah Strong, Marco Pontello (corporate/M&A), Blair Keefe, Eli Monas (financial services/regulatory), Dany Assaf, Ian Li (competition) and Jerald Wortsman (tax).
Ontario Teachers' Senior Managing Director Jeff Markusson said, “We look forward to supporting HomeEquity Bank's growth and believe in its incredible potential. They have impressive growth prospects, a compelling value proposition, a high-quality management team and share our vision of enhancing the lives of retired Canadians.”
HomeEquity Bank President and CEO Steven Ranson said, “We're incredibly proud of Ontario Teachers' confidence and investment in our business and vision. We will continue working hard to serve the needs of Canadian homeowners age 55+ with innovative financial planning solutions. I would also like to thank Birch Hill for fully supporting HomeEquity Bank's goals and success for the past nine years.”
Novacap Investments Inc. is selling Hallcon Corporation, a provider of mission-critical transportation services and infrastructure, to Chicago-based global alternative asset management solutions provider GCM Grosvenor and New York-based Blue Wolf Capital Partners.
Novacap’s in-house legal team was led by Maxime Charbonneau while Hallcon was represented by Blake, Cassels & Graydon as legal counsel and Houlihan Lokey as financial advisor.
Blakes team consisted of Patrick Menda (lead lawyer, M&A), Anthony Lanouette-Marier, Louis-Philippe Lacasse, Evan Krakower and Élykia Makwanda (M&A); Rebecca Dawe (Financial Services); Jordan Schubert (Employment & Labour); and Lindsay McLeod (Benefits).
Greenberg Traurig acted as legal counsel and TD Securities served as financial advisor to GCM Grosvenor and Blue Wolf.
“We are very excited to partner with GCM Grosvenor and Blue Wolf as we accelerate the growth of our services in new geographies and expand our EV charging network across North America. Their commitment to supporting the construction of critical EV infrastructure makes them the right partners for Hallcon, and we look forward to leveraging their relationships, resources, and expertise as we execute on our growth strategy,” said Hallcon President and CEO John R. Stoiber.
Blue Wolf Managing Partner Jeremy Kogler said, “Blue Wolf is pleased to partner with Hallcon, a leading platform in the outsourced transportation space. The Company has significant opportunity ahead to enhance its leadership position and drive growth as customers electrify their fleets. Hallcon has a reputation for best-in-class service and reliability, which is evidenced by the Company’s long-standing relationships with its blue-chip customer base. We look forward to joining the Company and GCM Grosvenor in the next phase of growth.”
GCM Grosvenor Executive Director James DiMola said, “Hallcon is led by a management team of experienced operators who are well-equipped to help customers navigate the shift to electric vehicles, and our investment partner Blue Wolf shares our vision for value creation and growth. In addition, the Company’s highly skilled workforce of drivers and dispatchers are integral to Hallcon’s success, and they do tremendous work to ensure that its customers are safe and satisfied.”
Alexco Resource Corp., owner and operator of one of the highest-grade silver deposits in the world Keno Hill Silver District, agreed to sell to Idaho-based Hecla Mining Company.
Blake, Cassels & Graydon acted as legal counsel and Cormark Securities served as financial advisor to Alexco.
Blakes team was led by Steven McKoen and supported by Michelle Audet, Christina Huber, Dafydd Samuel, Edmond Yan (Securities/M&A); Caolan Lemke (Corporate/M&A); Sean Boyle (Litigation); Cassandra Brown (Competition); Samantha Rossman, Ping Tomczyk (Financial Services); Kevin Zimka (Tax).
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt acted as Canadian counsel and K&L Gates as US counsel to Hecla, while BMO Capital Markets served as financial advisor.
Osler’s team consisted of Alan Hutchison, Jeremy Fraiberg, Martha Martindale, Nicole Cargill, Patrick J. Sullivan, and Lauren Sutherland.
“At Hecla, we have followed the Keno Hill project closely for a number of years, as it is one of the very few deposits that fit seamlessly into Hecla’s strategy of owning and operating high-grade properties in tier one jurisdictions,” said Hecla President and CEO Phillips S. Baker Jr. “As the United States’ largest silver producer, producing over 40 percent of silver mined in the US, it is natural that Hecla acquires Keno Hill which could also make Hecla Canada’s largest silver producer. Silver is a critical element to decarbonize the economy and the need for domestic supply is growing. Acquiring Keno Hill allows Hecla to further meet this need with a secure high-grade silver development and exploration project that has a small environmental footprint.”
Alexco Chairman and CEO Clynton Nauman said, “By partnering with Hecla, an industry leader in high-grade narrow vein silver mining, we further position Keno Hill to achieve its full potential. As a much larger business, Hecla has the organizational expertise and financial strength to build Keno Hill to the level and capacity required, while being able to continue to invest in exploration across the district.”
The transaction is anticipated to close in September 2022.
