How to Distinguish Oneself in an Auction Process Using Recent Legal Trends

Maxime Turcotte is a partner in the Corporate Group. His practice is primarily focused on providing corporate advice in the context of mergers & acquisitions (private and public), corporate finance & projects. He has also acquired extensive experience in the area of renewable energy, infrastructure and utilities.

Maxime is Chair of the Montreal office’s CLE Committee and a member of the Gender Balance Initiative Committee. He was a lecturer in Public M&A for the Universite de Montreal’s Faculty of Law and in 2018, he co-authored Canada Promotes Good Corporate Citizenship With New Remediation Agreement Program and Enhanced Integrity Regime.

Some of the larger transactions he has piloted include:

• Kingdom Hotels in its US$5.5B privatization of Fairmont Hotels pursuant to an auction process,
• IAMGOLD Corporation in connection with its US$3B merger with Cambior Inc.,
• Apax Partners in connection with its $1.3B acquisition of Hub International Limited by way of plan of arrangement and WSP Global Inc. in its acquisition of Parsons Brinckerhoff from Balfour Beatty PLC for US$1.24B in cash,
• Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, in its C$845M sale of Concession A25, L.P., the concessionaire of the A25 PPP (P3) Toll Road, to the Transurban Group,
• Nordion Inc. in its US$727M acquisition by Sterigenics, a global leader in sterilization services and a portfolio company of GTCR LLC, a leading private equity firm based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Maxime’s pursuit of quality, creativity and efficiency has allowed him to be recognized in multiple industry leading publications including:

• The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2019 as a leading lawyer in Corporate Finance & Securities, Corporate Commercial Law, Mergers & Acquisitions, Infrastructure and Energy (Electricity).
• International Financial Law Review’s IFLR1000: The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms 2019 as a Rising Star in Banking and Project Finance.
• Lexpert 2019 Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Lawyers in Canada in the area of Mergers & Acquisitions.
• The Best Lawyers in Canada 2019 in Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities.

Sophie Lamonde is a partner and head of the Montreal office’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group as well as a member of the firm’s Partnership board. Her practice is directed primarily to the areas of mergers & acquisitions and private equity, with a particular focus on cross-border transactions. Sophie’s experience includes advising several Canadian and foreign clients in acquisitions, divestitures, reorganizations and general commercial negotiations. She works with businesses in various industries, including retail, manufacturing, contract research, technology and media.

Some of her most recent notable work includes Astral Media’s sale of all of its issued and outstanding shares to BCE by way of a plan of arrangement for C$3.4B, and Airbus SE in its partnership with Bombardier Inc. and Investissement Quebec on the C Series aircraft programme.

Sophie’s practical and decisive advice on the airbus SE deal has gotten her recognition from clients who praise her "capacity to advise on cross-border deals involving the US". Sophie’s described as "technically extremely competent and very smart." for her work co-leading the firm’s assistance to Airbus with its partnership with Bombardier.

She has also been honored as a recipient of some of the industry’s leading accolades, such as:

• The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2019 as a leading lawyer in Private Equity, Corporate Commercial Law, Corporate Finance & Securities, Corporate Mid-Market and Mergers & Acquisitions.
• Lexpert 2019 Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Lawyers in Canada in the area of Mergers & Acquisitions.
• The Legal 500 Canada 2019 as a next generation lawyer in Corporate and M&A.

Sophie is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and the American Bar Association, where she participates actively in the Committee on Mergers & Acquisitions as well as the Committee on Venture Capital and Private Equity of the ABA Section of Business Law. She is a member of the Associates Committee and the Montreal office’s Gender Balance Initiative. Sophie is a member of the board of directors of the PalliAmi Foundation and the board of directors of Reseau Capital. Sophie has also lectured in Business Law at the Faculty of Law of McGill University and participated in numerous panels and conferences on mergers and acquisitions. She also co-authored a legal publication, New Private M&A Deal Points: Details You Need to Know!, in 2018.