Ian McBride is a partner and has, over the years, gained extensive experience in a broad range of matters, including public and private mergers and acquisitions, shareholder agreements, joint ventures and capital markets and private financings.  Ian's practice has a significant international component, particularly in the mining sector.

Ian's private M&A work has included acting for Hanson Plc in connection with its acquisition of certain assets from Lafarge Canada.  He also represented Texas Instruments in the acquisition of a Canadian technology company and represented Barrick Gold in its $1.525 billion sale of the South Deep mine in South Africa to Gold Fields.

In public M&A, Ian has recently advised a number of Chinese state-owned enterprises, including China Minmetals and Jiangxi Copper on their successful take-over bid for Northern Peru Copper Corp., Jinchuan Group in connection with its take-over bid for Tyler Resources and Jinduicheng Molybdenum and Northwest Non-Ferrous International Investment in their successful acquisition of Yukon Zinc Corporation.  Ian also advised Dynatec Corporation in connection with Sherritt International's $1.6 billion acquisition of Dynatec.

Ian also has acted for both borrowers and lenders in a wide variety of financing transactions.  He was counsel to Barrick Gold in connection with its US$1.5 billion multi-jurisdictional syndicated credit facility and acted as Canadian counsel to the lenders in connection with the US$8.5 billion credit facilities provided to Koch Forest Products in connection with its acquisition of Georgia-Pacific.  Ian also represented InnVest REIT in connection with the $215 million acquisition financing provided by Royal Bank of Canada to fund InnVest REIT's portion of the take-over bid for Legacy Hotels Real Estate Investment Trust.  Ian has also advised clients on a range of financial derivatives transactions, including commodities hedging and financial derivatives under both ISDA and customized forms of agreements.

Ian represented Barrick Gold and Noranda Inc., as sponsors, in connection with the IFC financing of the Refimet smelter in Chile.  He also advised Barrick Gold and its Peruvian subsidiary in connection with the $150 million shelf prospectus and subsequent bond issuance in the Peruvian capital markets and a capital lease program provided by Citibank Peru and Banco de Crédito, the proceeds of which were used to finance the Lagunas Norte greenfields gold project in Peru.  Ian also advised Barrick Gold and its subsidiaries on the development and project financing of the Bulyanhulu gold project in Tanzania and the Veladero gold project in Argentina.  The Veladero financing was chosen by Global Trade Report as one of the "Best Deals of 2004", by Project Finance magazine as "Latin America Mining Deal of the Year" and by PFI as "Americas Mining Deal of the Year."

Ian's practice has had an increasingly international focus over the past ten years.  He has advised various clients on business transactions and investments in Cuba, Barbados, Chile, Argentina, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania, Indonesia and elsewhere.  Ian acted for Noranda, which subsequently merged with Falconbridge and is now Xstrata Nickel, in connection with its acquisition of the remaining 50% interest in the Refimet smelter in Antofagasta, Chile and also acted as lead counsel to the Inter-American Development Bank in connection with the sale of one of its investments in Latin America.  He has advised clients on political risk issues in emerging market economies, including providing advice with respect to fiscal stability and foreign exchange rights under legal regimes in Argentina, Tanzania, Chile and Peru.  Ian has also advised on numerous political risk insurance programs provided by export credit and multilateral agencies.

In the mining sector, Ian has advised numerous mining companies on First Nations issues, joint ventures, asset and share acquisitions, royalty agreements, commodity off-take arrangements, hedging and other forward sale arrangements and project financings.  He was counsel to Goldcorp in connection with its 2001 "flow-through" common share offering and acted as counsel to Barrick Gold in connection with its acquisition of Randgold Resources' Tanzanian mining properties.  He has advised Agnico-Eagle Mines, Barrick Gold, BHP Billiton, Richmont Mines and others on various joint venture arrangements, including advising Barrick Gold on its offtake, earn-in and joint venture agreements with Falconbridge (now Xstrata Nickel) relating to the Kabanga nickel-cobalt project in Tanzania and BHP Billiton in connection with its acquisition of potash assets in Western Canada and associated joint venture agreements.  Ian has also represented a number of Chinese state-owned mining companies in connection with a variety of Canadian and international mining investments, including representing the state-owned enterprises in the M&A transactions referred to above.

Ian has delivered papers on numerous aspects of cross-border mining and financing transactions and investing in Canada.  He is a member of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and recently addressed the Foundation's annual symposium on the subject of international investment approvals.  He is a founding member of the boards of directors of The Regent Park School of Music and The Regent Park School of Music Foundation, which provide musical education to inner-city children in Toronto.  Ian earned his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1988 and became a partner in 1993.

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