The powerhouse practice at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP remains a market leader, leveraging the bench strength of national offices in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa and abroad in London and New York, to advise major domestic and multinational corporates and financial institutions involved in high-value public and private M&A. The practice is led by a trio of M&A experts in Toronto: Rory ffrench, who specializes in such sectors as healthcare, infrastructure and tech; Cheryl Satin, who also brings expertise to divestitures, private equity investments, joint ventures and corporate reorganizations; and Catherine Youdan, who advises on complex capital markets matters. Ross Bentley continues to be a key figure in Calgary, bringing experience to advising clients in the aviation, energy and agribusiness sectors, on such matters as domestic and international mergers, takeover bids and plans of arrangement. Michael Gans draws on over 25 years of practice to manage complex M&A, related party transactions and internal investigations. Jeffrey Lloyd brings authority to major negotiated and unsolicited transactions involving clients in industries ranging from real estate and media to telecoms and financial services. Linda Tu acts for a broad base of public and private companies, boards of directors, special committees and underwriters across the retail, tech, renewables, agriculture and cannabis spaces. All lawyers, unless noted, work in the Toronto office.

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Key clients

  • Royal Bank of Canada / RBC
  • Advent International Corporation
  • AstraZeneca
  • Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Teck Resources
  • Bell Media / BCE
  • Strathcona Resources
  • Apollo Global Management
  • IAA
  • Enerplus Corporation
  • Pembina Pipeline Corporation
  • Paramount Global
  • Suncor Energy
  • Saint-Gobain Corporation
  • Recochem
  • Stonepeak
  • Carbon Engineering
  • Desjardins
  • Northview Residential REIT
  • TC Energy Corporation
  • Sandbox AQ
  • Magnet Forensics

Work highlights

  • Advised Royal Bank of Canada on its C$13.5bn acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada.
  • Advised Advent International Corporation on its proposed $6.3bn acquisition of Nuvei Corporation, a Canadian fintech payment platform.
  • Advised AstraZeneca on its $2bn acquisition of Fusion Pharmaceuticals.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Rory ffrench, Cheryl Satin, Catherine Youdan

Other key lawyers

Ross Bentley, Michael Gans, Jeffrey Lloyd, Linda Tu, Chad Schneider, Shlomi Feiner, Kurt Sarno