Kenneth Klassen is a partner practising in the areas of mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance and securities law.
Ken's recent mergers and acquisitions include his principal role in Xstrata's supported $4.6 billion offer for LionOre and successful $24 billion acquisition of Falconbridge. In response to an unsolicited offer in the LionOre transaction, Xstrata extracted (and received payment of) one of the largest percentage break fees in a significant Canadian transaction. The Falconbridge transaction commenced with the private agreement acquisition of 20% of Falconbridge and manifested into an international battle for control with competing bids for Falconbridge and for the other bidder. The Falconbridge transaction ranks as the largest unsolicited take-over bid and the largest cash take-over bid in Canadian history and included the first shareholder rights plan hearing before a Canadian provincial securities commission in more than five years.
Other public and private mergers and acquisitions in which Ken has served as lead counsel include a supported US$600 million offer by Symmetry (a special purpose acquisition company) for Novamerican Steel, GE Capital's US$2.3 billion acquisition of Bombardier Capital's Inventory Finance Division and BHP Billiton's acquisition of Guatemalan mining assets from Jaguar Nickel.
Ken played a principal role in a number of major financings, including Rogers Wireless’ US$2.3 billion high yield note offering to finance its acquisition of Microcell and repurchase of AT&T’s equity interest in Rogers Wireless and CanWest Media’s exchange offer refinancing of its fixed rate notes with US$760 million of new notes. Ken also advised the issuer or underwriters in Manulife Financial's $350 million preferred share offering, Vasogen's approximately US$58 million common share MJDS offering, CHC Helicopter’s US$250 million high yield note offering and Russell Metals' $45 million bought deal common share offering.
In addition, Ken has been involved in numerous transactions in the technology sector, including advising a tier-one U.S. venture capital firm in its Series A and B financings of the U.S. parent of a Canadian start-up and advising a U.S. company in one of the first outsourcings by a Japanese company in the semiconductor industry.
Other industries in which Ken has experience, include advising on structured finance arbitrage transactions, advising Canadian and U.S. investment dealers on Ontario securities regulatory matters, being principally involved in the global initial public offering and demutualization of one of Canada's largest life insurers, the divestiture of an environmentally sensitive franchise business with more than 80 locations across Canada, and the restructuring of a major North American sports league.
Ken received a B.A. from Queen's University in 1988 and an LL.B. from the University of Ottawa in 1993. Ken joined the firm as a partner in 2001 from the leading law firm in Silicon Valley, prior to which he practised at another major Toronto law firm.
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