TORONTO, Dec. 3 LAWFUEL – Law News, Law Jobs Network – Thomson …

TORONTO, Dec. 3 LAWFUEL – Law News, Law Jobs Network – Thomson Financial data today accredits McCarthy Tétrault with 101 announced mergers and acquisitions (M&A)deals – 28 more than
the firm’s closest competitor. This is the first time that a law firm has been given credit for over 100 announced Canadian M&A deals in one year. The firm also leads the Thomson Financial table with the most completed Canadian M&A deals to date, with 92 deals, 28 more than the firm’s closest competitor.

“We are honoured to have been involved in so many transactions this year. This level of activity provides us with the opportunity to assist clients in all industries and types of transactions, and keeps us at the forefront of legal developments in this area” said David Tennant, Co-Practice Group Leader, Business Law Group, McCarthy Tétrault. “Our clients have demonstrated unprecedented confidence in the breadth and depth of McCarthy Tétrault’s expertise in M&A transactions, and we celebrate this landmark accomplishment with all of them.”

McCarthy Tétrault has been involved in some of the most significant M&A deals in Canada in 2006. Three of the top deals (in order of dollar value) in which the firm has participated to date in include:

Falconbridge/Xstrata
In August 2006, Xstrata acquired all of the shares of McCarthy Tétrault client Falconbridge, marking the end of a year-long saga that resulted in the largest takeover in Canadian history and the world’s largest mining transaction to date. The deal ultimately valued Falconbridge at CDN$27 billion.

McCarthy Tétrault assisted Falconbridge in implementing a process
designed to ensure that any sale of the company would be at a price acceptable to Falconbridge shareholders. The firm also helped overcome regulatory obstacles in the US and Europe and successfully defended litigation challenges of board and management initiatives. Xstrata was ultimately the successful bidder.

The transaction is noteworthy for its size, the number of law firms
involved throughout the complex process and the multi-faceted aspect of the deal involving significant M&A, litigation, competition, tax and other contributions. The deal dominated the street for the first seven months of 2006.

Fairmont/Kingdom Hotels & Colony Capital
In late 2005, McCarthy Tétrault client Fairmont Hotels was the subject of an unsolicited bid by storied US raider Carl Icahn for control of the hotel company.

Fairmont chose to control its own destiny and embarked upon a
value-seeking mission, resulting ultimately in a friendly US$3.9 billion
transaction with Kingdom and Colony. The transaction was structured in a novel manner designed to eliminate a very significant U.S. tax exposure. In addition, the Company successfully rebuffed a legal challenge to the deal launched by Fairmont’s convertible debtholders.

The transaction was followed shortly by the significant sale of a
portfolio of well-known Canadian hotels to OMERS for approximately $2 billion, a transaction successfully executed by McCarthy Tétrault on behalf of Fairmont.

AMD Bid for ATI
In October 2006, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) completed a US$5.4 billion purchase of ATI Technologies, Inc., a Canadian icon in the high-tech sector.
This transaction combined one of the world’s largest microprocessor producers with a cutting-edge Canadian graphics chip designer and manufacturer.

A major challenge in the transaction was navigating through undertakings required to obtain Investment Canada approval to the transaction. ATI is one
of Canada’s top five R&D spenders and the government was anxious to ensure continued R&D in Canada post the transaction. The deal was implemented through a plan of arrangement.

Other Noteworthy Deals
Rounding out the top 10 include: Stelco restructuring, Rio Tinto’s equity investment in Ivanhoe Mines (US$1.5 billion), GE Money’s acquisition of HBC’s
financial services business (CDN$1.5 billion), Intrawest Corp.’s acquisition by Fortress Investments (CDN$2.34 billion), Pan African Energy Corp.’s
acquisition by Addax Petroleum (CDN$1.44 billion), and Cambior Inc.’s
acquisition of IAMGOLD Corporation (CDN$1.23 billion).

With close to 700 lawyers practising in Canada’s major financial centres, as well as London, U.K., McCarthy Tétrault delivers integrated business law, tax, real property, labour and employment, and litigation services nationally and globally. We advise on the largest and most complex transactions and cases
involving Canadian and foreign interests, actively listening to our clients to
understand their needs, their business and their industry. We provide a
single, client-focused team that capitalizes on our size and scale to deliver customized legal services that help clients achieve their goals. Authoritative legal directories rank McCarthy Tétrault among the world’s top law firms.

Experience the McCarthy Tétrault difference and discover first hand how our integrated competencies, depth of knowledge, expertise and experience can be your competitive advantage.

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