Banking & Financial Services

In 2009, Nick was part of the team of transactional financial services lawyers acting for Export Development Canada as agent to a syndicate of lenders composed of the Governments of Canada and Ontario, in providing approximately $1.4 Billion in loans to General Motors Canada as part of its much-publicized “bail out”. It was substantially completed by a relatively modest number of lawyers during the course of a 96-hour marathon of negotiations, drafting and deal-closing, under intense pressure from the principals concerned and in a much publicized, and politicized, context.

Nick has worked on numerous matters as lender’s or borrower’s Quebec “local counsel” in cross-border balance sheet financing and collateral security creation and perfection.

Nick served as ABL lender’s counsel in forbearance, and payout-related matter involving a major Canadian retailer.

Nick served as ABL lender’s loan administration, forbearance, and payout-related matter involving a major Canadian clothing manufacturer.

REIT financing – RBC re KingSett Capital and AIMCo: Nick was RBC’s Quebec counsel in its financing of KingSett Capital’s and AIMCo’s $2 Billion joint venture and acquisition of ING Summit Industrial Fund’s 50% interest in a real estate portfolio consisting of more than 400 industrial facilities across Canada. Over 60 of the properties are located in Quebec, and a number of different collateral security regimes were put in place. Several were novel civil law adaptations of the common law schemes put in place elsewhere. This matter serves as a good example of the need for intellectual and legal versatility when adapting the business and legal parameters of a deal struck in one jurisdiction, to the different legal requirements and contexts applicable in another jurisdiction.

Nick was borrower’s counsel in respect of refinancing a CMHC-backed multi-unit residential real estate lending facility.

Nick served as Franchisee/ Lender’s counsel in the financing of a franchisee’s real estate.

Nick served as counsel to the private equity shareholder cum guarantor, and to the manufacturer/retailer cum borrower, in the forbearance and refinancing involving one of the operating lender’s larger loan exposures in Canada. It was an innovative transaction involving the infusion of additional lender capital in a special loans context, and eventual payout and refinancing.

Nick was borrower’s Quebec counsel in multiple multi-province equipment financing transactions.

Nick advised in-house counsel to a major financial institution as to the novel, non-case-specific evidentiary considerations arising in relation to the institution’s IT/ document retention policies.

Nick advised in-house counsel to a major financial institution as to the non-case-specific, bankruptcy law implications of the institution’s policy in respect of notional pooling of debit and credit balances of bank customers.

Nick represented the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in structuring airlines’ payments clearance-compliant transactions in the restructuring of a South American airline. Nick worked on several other IATA payments clearance matters and has acquired a detailed understanding of the organization’s (unique) internal governance mechanisms and legislation.

Nick gained early and extensive experience doing secondary loan market trading deals, including in the context of the Air Canada restructuring proceedings where his team represented Société Générale and Merrill Lynch in buying and selling distressed debt through innovative derivatives.