Plenary Americas
Acting for Plenary Americas, a leading investor, developer and operator of public infrastructure in North America, in its sale to Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
Anita Banicevic
Partner
Expertise
Bar Admissions
- Ontario, 2000
“She is totally dedicated, works hard and has great experience.”
Market Commentator – Chambers Global 2016
Anita provides creative solutions on all aspects of critical competition and foreign investment review matters. Clients rely on her business-friendly and thoughtful approach to their complex competition cases.
Widely recognized as a leading lawyer in competition law, Anita advises on a number of the most closely watched and leading competition cases in Canada, including those in the areas of mergers, abuse of dominance, misleading advertising and criminal price-fixing investigations.
With extensive expertise in multinational mergers, she has secured Competition Act and Investment Canada Act clearance for numerous high-profile transactions of Canadian and international businesses in various industries. She regularly assists clients with contested proceedings before the courts and the Competition Tribunal, as well as negotiated resolutions and consent agreements.
Anita has held leadership positions within the Canadian Bar Association and American Bar Association. She served as Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Competition Law Section from September 2017 to 2018 and is currently serving as Vice Chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the Antitrust Section of the ABA.
Anita Banicevic
Partner
“She is totally dedicated, works hard and has great experience.”
Market Commentator – Chambers Global 2016
Anita provides creative solutions on all aspects of critical competition and foreign investment review matters. Clients rely on her business-friendly and thoughtful approach to their complex competition cases.
Widely recognized as a leading lawyer in competition law, Anita advises on a number of the most closely watched and leading competition cases in Canada, including those in the areas of mergers, abuse of dominance, misleading advertising and criminal price-fixing investigations.
With extensive expertise in multinational mergers, she has secured Competition Act and Investment Canada Act clearance for numerous high-profile transactions of Canadian and international businesses in various industries. She regularly assists clients with contested proceedings before the courts and the Competition Tribunal, as well as negotiated resolutions and consent agreements.
Anita has held leadership positions within the Canadian Bar Association and American Bar Association. She served as Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Competition Law Section from September 2017 to 2018 and is currently serving as Vice Chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the Antitrust Section of the ABA.
The Blackstone Group Inc.
Acted for real estate funds managed by The Blackstone Group Inc. and their affiliates in Blackstone's $6.2-billion all-cash acquisition of Dream Global Real Estate Investment Trust and the separation of its external asset manager, Dream Asset Management.
Blackstone Property Partners
Acted for an affiliate of Blackstone Property Partners in its joint venture with Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc., to acquire the 1.45 million-square-foot Bentall Centre office and retail complex in Vancouver.
Enercare Inc.
Acted for Enercare Inc., one of North America's largest home and commercial services and energy solutions companies, in its $4.3-billion sale to Brookfield Infrastructure and its institutional partners by way of plan of arrangement.
Rogers Sugar Inc.
Acted for Rogers Sugar Inc. in connection with the acquisition of L.B. Maple Treat Corporation, one of the world's largest branded and private label maple syrup bottling and distribution companies, for $160.3 million.
DAK Americas LLC
Acted for DAK Americas LLC, a producer of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resins, in connection with its acquisition of a controlling interest in Selenis Canada from IMG Group. Selenis Canada operates a PET plant in Montréal.
Stericyle Inc.
Acted as Canadian counsel for Stericycle, Inc. in its acquisition of Shred-it International, a global secure information destruction services provider, for US$2.3 billion in cash.
Bentall Kennedy (Canada) Limited Partner
Acted for the Bentall Kennedy Group, a premier real estate investment management firm operating in Canada and the United States, in its acquisition by Sun Life Financial Inc. for a purchase price of $560 million.
Amcor Limited
Acted for Amcor Limited in its acquisition of Alcan Packaging operations from Rio Tinto plc in 31 countries for approximately US$2 billion. The acquisition enhances Amcor's position as one of the world's leading packaging companies.
Mill Road Capital, L.P.
Acted for U.S.-based private equity firm Mill Road Capital, L.P. in its successful "white knight" bid for Cossette Inc. for approximately $134 million.
Speaking Engagement
American Bar Association, Women in Antitrust Spotlight Series, “How to Thrive, Build Community and Develop a Personal Brand in the Antitrust World”
Jan. 16, 2020
Bulletin
Jan. 15, 2020 - The official Annual Report under the Investment Canada Act (ICA) for the fiscal year 2018-19 was released at the end of 2019. This document sets out various statistics and other noteworthy developments during that time frame (i.e., April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019) relating to the two...
Speaking Engagement
Canadian Bar Association, Competition Law Fall Conference, “Vertical , Conglomerate, National Champion and Killer Acquisitions: Has Merger Review Abandoned the Chicago School?”; Ottawa, ON
Oct. 17, 2019
Article
Recent Developments in Canada: Will the Competition Bureau Intrude on Privacy?, co-author
Sept. 24, 2019 - Kluwer Competition Law Blog (Wolters Kluwer)
Read the article.
In the News
Sept. 19, 2019 - The Financial Post recently featured Anita Banicevic’s insights on the Competition Bureau’s call for complaints concerning anticompetitive conduct in the digital economy. In the article, Anita explains that the Bureau “is looking to collect information and understand facts to determine...
In the News
Sept. 11, 2019 - A recent article in Global Competition Review (available to subscribers) featured Mark Katz and Anita Banicevic’s reactions to the Competition Bureau’s call for businesses and consumers to report potentially anticompetitive conduct in the digital economy. Mark commented that there is “no...
In the News
Anita Banicevic Discusses Bureau’s Robust Enforcement Plan with National Magazine
Aug. 30, 2019 - National Magazine recently featured Anita Banicevic’s insights on the Competition Commissioner’s aggressive vision for Canada’s Competition Bureau. In the article, Anita remarks that one of her biggest takeaways from the Commissioner’s speech at the CBA Competition Law Spring Conference is...
Bulletin
What’s FaceApp and Facebook Got to Do with Competition Compliance in Canada?
Aug. 06, 2019 - While summer can sometimes be a quieter time for antitrust enforcement, the debate about the role of antitrust in the tech sector is hotter than ever with a number of significant developments over the past few weeks. Among these developments, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently...
Bulletin
Canada’s Competition Bureau Releases Draft Model Timing Agreement for Merger Efficiencies Claims
July 22, 2019 - Canada’s Competition Bureau has released a draft model timing agreement for mergers where the parties wish to raise efficiencies claims. For context, Canada’s efficiencies defence provides that no remedy may be imposed in respect of a merger that substantially lessens competition when the...
Bulletin
Canada’s New Competition Commissioner Announces Aggressive Enforcement Plans
June 17, 2019 - Last month, Canada’s newly appointed Commissioner of Competition, Matthew Boswell, promised to prioritize more aggressive competition law in Canada. In his first speech since he was appointed to the position for a five-year term, as well as in subsequent interviews and public pronouncements, the...
Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business—Competition/Antitrust
Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business—Competition/Antitrust
GCR’s Women in Antitrust 2016
GCR 100 Canada: A Guide to the World’s Leading Competition Law and Economics Practices
Global Competition Review’s “40 Under 40” (2012)
The Legal 500 Canada—Competition and Antitrust (Leading Lawyer)
The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada—Advertising and Marketing Law; Competition Law
Lexpert Zenith Award—Celebrating Change Agents in Law (2019)
Lexpert Special Edition on Finance and M&A
Report on Business/Lexpert Special Edition Canada’s Leading Litigation Lawyers
Lexpert Guide to US/Canada Cross-Border Lawyers in Canada—Regulatory
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory—Competition Law (Most Frequently Recommended); Advertising and Marketing Law
The Best Lawyers in Canada—Advertising and Marketing Law; Competition/Antitrust Law
Who’s Who Legal: Canada—Competition; Who’s Who Legal: Competition; Who’s Who Legal: Foreign Investment Review
Who’s Who Legal and Global Competition Review’s Who’s Who Legal: Competition – Future Leaders 2017
Expert Guides’ Women in Business Law; Expert Guides—Competition and Antitrust
Bar Admissions
Ontario, 2000
Education
Queen’s University, LLB, 1998
Queen’s University, BA, 1995
Professional Affiliations
American Bar Association
Canadian Bar Association
Community Involvement
American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law, 2017 Consumer Protection Conference, co-chair
American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law, Compliance & Ethics Committee, former co-chair
American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Committee, vice-chair
Canadian Bar Association, Competition Law Section Executive Committee, past chair
International Competition Network, non-governmental adviser
Teaching Engagements
Anita has lectured on competition law at Queen’s University Faculty of Law.
