CLE Online

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:05)

Sven O. Milelli — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver

SPACs: Driving M&A in 2021 (9:05 – 10:00)

• brief overview of Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs) transactions
• key cross-border considerations
• recent developments

Gordon N. Cameron — Bennett Jones (US) LLP, New York
Christian P. Gauthier — Bennett Jones LLP, Vancouver
Zachary Judd — Latham & Watkins LLP, Chicago

BREAK (10:00 – 10:10)

Escrow, Earnout, and Holdback Trends in Private M&A (10:10 – 11:10)

• escrow
• earnouts
• holdbacks

J-P Bogden — Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Vancouver
Rianna Ritchie — Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (11:10 – 11:20)

Practice Update: Special Committees (11:20 – 12:20)

• impact following implementation of CSA Notice 61-302 and enhanced disclosure
• recent Canadian decisons—lessons learned from Catalyst Capital/iAnthus Capital

Sven O. Milelli — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver
Denise Nawata — Farris LLP, Vancouver

LUNCH BREAK (12:20 – 12:50)

Foreign Investment Review/Competition Law Update (12:50 – 1:50)

• overview of the application of the Competition Act and Investment Canada Act to M&A transactions
• strategic considerations for merger planning and risk assessments 
• current trends in Canadian merger control reviews (e.g., efficiencies, non-notifiable mergers, international cooperation)
• developments in national security review of investments, including heightened scrutiny of SOEs and Canadian businesses in critical industries

Jason Gudofsky — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Toronto
Kate McNeece — McCarthy Tetrault LLP, Toronto

BREAK (1:50 – 2:00)

COVID and Busted Deal Litigation: Implications for M&A Practice (2:00 – 3:00)

• Canada's first busted deal decision—Fairstone Financial Holdings v. Duo Bank of Canada
• the Delaware Chancery Court's decisions in AB Stable VIII LLC v. Maps Hotels and Resorts One LLC et al. and Snow Phipps Group LLC v. KCAKE Acquisitions Inc.
• salvaging busted deals through re-negotiation
• drafting takeways for MAC clauses and ordinary course covenants

David Di Paolo — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Toronto
Fred R. Pletcher — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (3:00 – 3:10)

Plans of Arrangement in the Insolvency Context (3:10 – 4:10)

• Calfrac Well Services—a case study in how plans of arrangement in the insolvency context are reshaping how plans can be used

Gordon R. Chambers — Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Vancouver
John T.C. Christian — Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Vancouver 

Closing Remarks (4:10 – 4:15)

Sven O. Milelli — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver