We are delighted to announce that the 2020 edition of Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business has named Torys “Corporate Law Firm of the Year”.

At the awards gala on September 17, Chambers and Partners spoke about the various drivers that led to Torys winning the award this year: our record of involvement in some of the largest M&A transactions in 2018; our cross-border capabilities; the growth of our Calgary corporate practice; and our next generation M&A partners who are leading some of the most significant deals in the country.

Large, high-profile deals

Torys acted on some of Canada’s largest and most complex transactions. Below are just a few examples of some of the large deals our corporate practice was involved with in the last 12 months:

• Choice Properties REIT in its transformational C$6 billion combination with Canadian REIT to form Canada’s largest real estate investment trust.
• Husky Injection Molding Systems, Berkshire Partners and OMERS Private Equity in the US$3.85 billion sale of Husky to Platinum Equity LLC.
• Scotiabank in its US$2.2 billion (C$2.9 billion) acquisition of a 68.19% stake in BBVA Chile from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.
• Scotiabank in its C$2.585 billion acquisition of MD Financial Management Inc. from the Canadian Medical Association.

Cross-border work

Torys has a strong and active presence in public and private markets that extends beyond Canada’s borders. The following deals highlight our market-leading capabilities and expertise in cross-border corporate work:

• Thomson Reuters in its US$17 billion sale of a 55% interest in its Financial & Risk business to private equity funds managed by The Blackstone Group and its US$9 billion substantial issuer bid/tender offer and return of capital transactions.
• Brookfield Property Partners in its acquisition of GGP Inc.
• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in its C$1.75 billion acquisition of a 49% equity interest in a portfolio of select renewable power assets in North America and Europe from Enbridge Inc., including the establishment of a joint venture partnership, and related ownership and management arrangements.
• Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Ullico in the US$1.1 billion acquisition of Student Transportation Inc., one of North America's largest and most trusted providers of school bus transportation services.

Growing Calgary practice

Our leading team of Calgary lawyers are backed with the experience needed to advise clients in their most significant domestic and international matters. The deals below demonstrate the scope of our corporate work, particularly in the energy and oil and gas sectors:

• Enbridge in its C$4.31 billion sale of its Canadian natural gas gathering and processing business in the Montney, Peace River Arch, Horn River and Liard basins in British Columbia and Alberta to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.
• Vermilion Energy in its C$1.4 billion acquisition of Spartan Energy Corp. by way of plan of arrangement.
• Africa Oil, as part of a consortium led by The Vitol Group, in the US$1.407 billion acquisition of a 50% ownership interest in Petrobras Oil and Gas B.V., with indirect interests in three deepwater oil fields located over 100 km offshore Nigeria.
• Precision Drilling in its proposed C$1.03 billion acquisition of Trinidad Drilling Limited.

“We are proud of the accomplishments of our people across offices who together helped us achieve this wonderful recognition”, said Les Viner, Managing Partner, Torys.

Congratulations to everyone at Torys for this outstanding achievement and thank you to our clients who put their trust in us to drive their corporate work forward.

Learn more about the work we do in our M&A Practice and how we advise our clients in this practice area.