Our Practice
Our structured finance group includes over 30 lawyers in three offices with experience in general corporate, capital markets, banking, finance and taxation in addition to their expertise in the particulars of structured finance.  We are the leader in the Canadian securitization marketplace, built on a foundation of creating some of the first securitization transactions in Canada, and in some cases, the world. 

We have an active and broadly based equipment leasing and financing practice, with transactions ranging from financing or refinancing a business to innovative and multi-jurisdictional deals involving leveraged leases, synthetic leases, tax-based structuring and sale/leasebacks relating to items such as aircraft, railway rolling stock and computer and technological equipment.

Our Clients
We represent virtually all categories of client in our structured finance practice, including:
 
• vendors
• purchasers/issuers
• liquidity providers
• credit enhancers
• rating agencies
• trustees and underwriters in asset securitizations
• borrowers/lenders and lessors/lessees in equipment financing and leasing transactions
• providers, counter-parties, issuers and underwriters of derivatives and structured products

Our Work
Below is a sampling of representative transactions:

• Agricore completed a $150 million Secured Term B financing with a syndicate of lenders headed by Scotia Bank to refinance an existing term loan and fund a new U.S. acquisition;

• Cascadia Forest Products Ltd. in its asset-based credit facility provided by CIT Business Credit.  Cascadia Forest Products Ltd. launched following the closure of Brascan's acquisition of Weyerhauser's B.C. Coastal timberland assets;

• BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. led the underwriting syndicate for the completion of an initial public offering by CNH Capital Canada Wholesale Trust. The IPO included $325 million Floating Rate Class A Wholesale Receivables-Backed Notes, $26.7 million Floating Rate Class B Wholesale Receivables-Backed Notes, and a private placement of $160 million Floating Rate Variable Funding Wholesale Receivables-Backed Notes;

• Public offering of 2.723% Auto Loan Receivables-Backed Notes, Class A-1 ($200 million), 3.129% Auto Loan Receivables-Backed Notes, Class A-2 ($225 million), and 3.539% Auto Loan Receivables-Backed Notes, Class A-3 ($225 million), by Canadian Capital Auto Receivables Asset Trust and financing by way of an initial VPR Loan (approximately $351 million);

• Offering of an aggregate total of $13.35 billion in offerings by Canada Housing Trust.

Recognition
The 2006 Canadian Legal LEXPERT Directory has recognized the group as consistently recommended in each of Derivative Structures, Asset Securitization and Asset/Equipment Financing and Leasing.  Several of our lawyers are annually recognized in multiple categories of the Canadian Legal LEXPERT Directory, including four lawyers in the Derivative Instruments category, three lawyers in Asset Securitization, and two lawyers in Asset/Equipment Financing & Leasing.  Four of our lawyers are listed in Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Structured Finance Lawyers and two lawyers are recognized in the Who's Who of Business Lawyers in the Securitization category. 

Organizational Leadership
We regularly advise the IDA and IFIC on many issues related to derivatives and Davies is a member of the International Stocks and Derivatives Association.  Carol Pennycook is also the Chair of the advisory committee appointed by Minister Gerry Phillips on May 26, 2005 to review Ontario's Commodity Futures Act.  The Committee expects to publish its final report in fall 2006.