Davies

Patricia L. Olasker

Patricia Olasker is a senior partner in the Capital Markets, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate/Commercial and Mining practices. She advises domestic and foreign acquirors, targets, hedge funds, special committees and investment banks in M&A transactions. She represents issuers and underwriters in some of Canada's most complex and innovative financing transactions. She also specializes in public market derivatives, the development of innovative structured debt and equity products, high-yield debt financings and Multi-Jurisdictional Disclosure Systems (MJDS) offerings. Patricia advises boards of directors and special committees on corporate governance and transaction-specific matters.

Patricia is a past member of the Davies' management committee and a member of Davies' China practice group. In that capacity she regularly travels to China to advise Chinese companies on Canadian mergers and acquisitions. Patricia was seconded to the Ontario Securities Commission from 1984 to 1985 as a legal advisor to the Chairman. She also served on an advisory committee to the Senate Banking Committee. She is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, teaching an advanced mergers and acquisitions workshop.

Representative Work

  • Acted for Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P. in connection with its successful proxy solicitation of the company's shareholders for the election of William Ackman, the CEO and founder of Pershing Square, and six other Pershing Square nominees to the board of directors of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited at the company's 2012 annual general meeting.

  • Acted for The Royal Canadian Mint in its $600-million initial public offering of exchange-traded receipts under the Mint's new Canadian Gold Reserves program. This innovative offering was made in accordance with exemptive relief from the prospectus requirement and provides investors with direct ownership in physical gold held at the Mint's facilities.

  • Acted for Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited in connection to the acquisition of Grayd Resource Corporation by way of takeover bid for $275 million.

  • Acted as Canadian counsel to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, CIBC World Markets and RBC Dominion Securities as underwriters in connection with an offering of $500 million of 2.3% Maple Bonds issued by Japan Bank for International Cooperation and guaranteed by Japan.

  • Acted for Royal Bank of Canada in connection with offerings of $1.528 billion of equity, index and debt linked structured notes under its shelf prospectus platform. The offerings were made by RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc. and National Bank Financial Inc.

  • Acted for MHR Fund Management LLC in connection with Carl Icahn's hostile bid and proxy contest for Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

  • Acted for Hebei Iron & Steel Group Co., Ltd. in connection with its strategic investment in Alderon Iron Ore Corp. and its Kami iron ore project.

  • Acted for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, a leading global bank headquartered in China, in its acquisition of The Bank of East Asia (Canada), a Canadian chartered bank.

  • Acted for the Royal Canadian Mint in connection with its $100 million initial public offering of exchange-traded receipts under its Canadian Silver Reserves program.

  • Acted for Royal Bank of Canada in connection with the establishment of its $2-billion senior note program in 2011, and ongoing representation of Royal Bank of Canada in connection with takedowns of structured products under its senior note program, including pre-clearances of "novel" specified derivatives with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers in Québec.

  • Acted for MHR Fund Management LLC in connection with its US$77-million acquisition of common shares of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. from Carl Icahn.

  • Acted for Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited in connection with the renewal of its US$500-million base shelf prospectus.

  • Acting for Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc. in its negotiated takeover bid for Alternative Fuel Systems (2004) Inc., a leading developer of natural gas vehicle engine controllers and associated components.

  • Acted for a syndicate of underwriters co-led by Scotia Capital Inc. and RBC Dominion Securities Inc. in a $200-million public offering of Non-cumulative Rate Reset shares of Manulife Financial Corporation.

  • Acted for MHR Fund Management, significant shareholder of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., in connection with the unsolicited takeover bid made by Carl Icahn for Lions Gate and in connection with the successful defence of oppression proceedings commenced by Icahn in British Columbia against MHR and Lions Gate in relation to certain refinancing transactions undertaken by Lions Gate.

  • Acted as Canadian counsel for the initial purchasers, BofA Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, in a US$255-million private placement of senior secured notes due 2018 issued by Tembec Industries Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tembec Inc.

  • Acted for Pershing Square Capital Management LP in connection with the sale of its 17.6% interest in Sears Canada Inc. to Sears Holdings Corp. for $559.8 million.

  • Acted for Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited in connection with the private placement to institutional investors in the United States and Canada of an aggregate of US$600 million guaranteed senior unsecured notes due 2017, 2020 and 2022 with a weighted average yield of 6.59%.

  • Acted as Canadian counsel for BofA Merrill Lynch, TD Securities Inc. and Scotia Capital Inc. in a $300-million underwritten private placement by Metropolitan Life Global Funding I of 2.625% fixed rate notes due December 3, 2012, secured by a funding agreement issued by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

  • Acted for Actuate Corporation in its acquisition of Xenos Group Inc., a TSX listed enterprise software company.

  • Acted for Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited in connection with the renewal of its US$500-million base shelf prospectus.

  • Acted as Canadian counsel for JP Morgan Securities Inc. in a US$236-million private placement of senior secured second-priority notes due 2016 issued by Lions Gate Entertainment Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

  • Acted as Canadian counsel to Banc of America Securities LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in a US$450-million offering by Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. of 8.75% senior notes due 2016 concurrently in the U.S. and Canada.

  • Acted as Canadian counsel for a syndicate of underwriters led by J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. in a cross-border US$215-million public offering of common shares by SXC Health Solutions Corp.

  • Acted as Canadian counsel for BofA Merrill Lynch and TD Securities Inc. in a $200-million underwritten private placement by Metropolitan Life Global Funding I of two year floating rate notes, secured by a funding agreement issued by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

  • Acted for a syndicate of agents co-led by RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and CIBC World Markets Inc. in a $1-billion offering by Manulife Financial Corporation of 4.896% medium term notes due 2014.

  • Acted for a syndicate of underwriters co-led by Scotia Capital Inc. and RBC Dominion Securities Inc. in a $350-million bought deal public offering of rate reset preferred shares of Manulife Financial Corporation.

  • Acted for a syndicate of agents co-led by RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and Scotia Capital Inc. in a $600-million offering by Manulife Financial Corporation of 7.768% medium term notes due 2019.

  • Acted for a syndicate of underwriters co-led by RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and CIBC World Markets Inc. in a $450-million bought deal public offering of rate reset preferred shares of Manulife Financial Corporation.

  • Acted as Canadian counsel to Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. in its merger with Bank of America in a transaction valued at US$50 billion.

  • Acted for Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited in its US$290-million underwritten private placement of units consisting of common shares and share purchase warrants.

  • Acted for Merrill Lynch Canada Finance Company in its renewal of its $5-billion medium term note program.

  • Acted for a syndicate of agents co-led by RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and TD Securities Inc. in an offering by Manulife Financial Corporation of $950 million aggregate principal amount of medium term notes.

  • Acted for Jinduicheng Molybdenum Group Co., Ltd. and Northwest Nonferrous International Investment Company, Limited, both Chinese state-controlled corporations, in their acquisition of Yukon Zinc Corporation by way of plan of arrangement in a transaction valued at $104 million.

  • Acted for China Minmetals Non-Ferrous Metals Co., Ltd. and Jiangxi Copper Company Ltd., both Chinese state-controlled corporations, in their takeover bid for Northern Peru Copper Corp. valued at $455 million.

  • Acted for Global Alumina Corporation in connection with the formation of a joint venture with BHP Billiton, Dubai Aluminium Company and Mudabala Development Company for the development of an alumina mining and refinery project in the Republic of Guinea.

  • Acted for the founder and controlling shareholder of Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. in the $960-million acquisition of the company by Onex Partners II, LP.

  • Acted for Northwest Geological Exploration and Mining Bureau for Non-Ferrous Metals of the People's Republic of China ("NWME") with respect to a joint venture between Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. and Northwest Non-Ferrous International Investment Company Limited, a Chinese investment company 100% owned by NWME, to form a new Canadian company.

  • Acted for Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited in its negotiated share exchange takeover bid for Cumberland Resources Ltd. valued at $710 million.

View All

Recognition

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  • Recognized as a leading lawyer in the area of M&A by Expert Guides' Guide to Leading Practitioners: China.
  • Recognized by the IFLR 1000 Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms as a leading Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions lawyer.
  • Recognized in the Lexpert® Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada, the Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada in Corporate Finance & Securities and Corporate Commercial law and in the Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory as a most frequently recommended Corporate Finance & Securities, Corporate Commercial and M&A practitioner.
  • Recognized by WXN's Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 in 2009.
  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada® as a leading practitioner of Corporate Law and Securities Law.
  • Recognized as a leading business law practitioner by Law Business Research's Who's Who Legal: Canada in the area of Capital Markets and LBR's International Who's Who of Capital Markets Lawyers.
  • Recognized in Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers as a leader in the field of Corporate/M&A and as a foreign expert in Corporate/M&A: China.
  • Highly recommended in the PLC Which lawyer? Yearbook and the PLC Cross-border Capital Markets Handbook in the area of Equity Capital Markets.
  • Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Women Lawyers by Lexpert® Magazine in 2003.

Professional Affiliations

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International Bar Association

Canadian Bar Association

Board Memberships

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  • Former member, Executive Committee of the Securities Law subcommittee of the Canadian Bar Association, Business Law Section
  • Past Chair, Securities Advisory Committee to the Ontario Securities Commission

Community Involvement

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  • Vice-Chair and Corporate Secretary, Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research
  • Founder and Chair, AIDSbeat
  • Past Governor, Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall

Teaching Engagements

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Patricia has been since 2002 an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, where she teaches an advanced mergers and acquisitions workshop.

Speaking Engagements

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Patricia has recently spoken at the Securities Law Practitioners Conference 2013 and the Annual Hedge Fund General Counsel Summit 2012 on Shareholder Activism and Proxy Contests; American Bar Association Section of Business Law 2009 Spring Meeting on "Canada/U.S. Cross-Border Financings: The Latest Developments"; the China National Development and Reform Commission Conference on "Acquiring Canadian Public Companies"; and the Osgoode Professional Development Conference on the subject of "Sears Canada – Going Private Transactions: Impact and Implications".

Articles and Publications

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Patricia's publications include "Proxy Contests: The New M&A?", "Share Buy-Backs in Canada", "The Underwriting Agreement: Form and Commentary" and "Realizing on Public Company Assets and Shares – Some Securities Law Issues for Lenders".

Patricia Olasker
Patricia Olasker
Partner
Office:
Toronto
Tel:
416.863.5551
Email:
polasker@dwpv.com
Bar Admissions:

Ontario, 1979

Education:

Boalt Hall, University of California at Berkeley, LL.M. Program, 1980-1981

Osgoode Hall Law School, LL.B., 1977