We are proud to announce that two deals that Dentons advised on were recognized at the 2022 Canadian Law Awards. The Mergers and Acquisitions group advised on Brookfield’s Acquisition and Privatization of Inter Pipeline, which won the M&A Deal of the Year, and the Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy group advised on the Groupe Dynamite CCAA and Chapter 15 Restructuring, winner of the Insolvency & Restructuring Deal of the Year.

M&A Deal of the Year – Brookfield Acquisition and Privatization of Inter Pipeline

Our Canadian M&A deal team, led by Bill Jenkins and Jessica Myers, advised Inter Pipeline's board of directors onits responsetoBrookfield Infrastructure's unsolicited takeover bid for Inter Pipeline after unsuccessful private approaches, which resulted in an auction process and a higher price for Inter Pipeline shareholders. 

Before commencing its bid, Brookfield had accumulated an undisclosed 20% economic interest in Inter Pipeline comprised of just under 10% share ownership and a 10% economic interest through total return swaps. On application by Inter Pipeline, the Alberta Securities Commission issued a precedent-setting decision remedying Brookfield's novel use of such swaps in pursuit of a hostile takeover bid.

Our Canadian Litigation and Dispute Resolution team, led by Gordon Tarnowsky, Q.C. and Rachel Howie, FCIArb, acted as counsel to the Special Committee of the Board of Inter Pipeline on the litigation related to this matter and it was also named an Excellence Awardee in the Commercial Litigation Case of the Year category.

The multidisciplinary collaboration between our litigation and M&A practices combined perspectives and expertise to create tailored solutions to meet the clients’ needs.

Insolvency & Restructuring Deal of the Year – Groupe Dynamite CCAA and Chapter 15 Restructuring

Our cross-border team comprised of Roger P. Simard, Ari Sorek, Charlotte Dion, Joel Cabelli, and Patrick Maxcy represented the National Bank of Canada on the insolvency of 335 stores in Canada and US under the Dynamite and Garage brands.

Over the course of the proceedings, Dynamite was able to develop a CCAA plan of compromise and arrangement (the Plan) that was approved by its creditors and sanctioned by the court. The Plan was soon after recognized under Chapter 15 and has now been implemented resulting in Dynamite successfully completing its restructuring under the CCAA.

The annual Canadian Law Awards presented by Key Media celebrate excellence in the legal profession and recognize the nation's leading law firms, in-house legal teams, individuals, deals, and cases over the past year.

These awards speak not only to the bench strength of our Canadian practices but also exemplify the benefit of cross-practice collaboration and our continued commitment to our “one-firm” approach to client service. Thank you to our clients for continuing to trust us with their most important matters.