Mergers & Acquisitions

Overview
Who To Contact
Representative Matters
Recent Developments

The Aird & Berlis Mergers & Acquisitions Group is the trusted choice for Canadian and international businesses and their advisors navigating the intricacies of public and private M&A transactions that are focused on Canada or have a Canadian component. We combine sophisticated, results-driven legal counsel with an unwavering commitment to client success, drawing on years of hands-on experience and deep industry knowledge. Our strong relationships with regulators, advisors and key stakeholders empower us to deliver seamless guidance on even the most complex deals.

Our M&A Group advises on all facets of public and private mergers and acquisitions. We represent the full spectrum of transaction participants, including publicly-listed and privately-held buyers and sellers, private equity and other funds, debt and equity financiers, special board committees, management-led buyout teams, activist investors, merchant banks, investment bankers and institutional investors.

Our group has extensive experience guiding clients through domestic Canadian M&A transactions, ranging from mid-market deals to large-scale acquisitions and sales across a diverse range of industries. We also have significant experience advising on international and cross-border M&A transactions, assisting both Canadian and foreign clients and their advisors in navigating legal, regulatory and commercial challenges associated with global business expansion and investment. Our M&A lawyers are active members of the International Bar Association, and travel extensively to understand the needs of clients in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and worldwide.

Clients consistently choose Aird & Berlis for the seamless integration of our lawyers into their deal teams and our unwavering commitment to flawless execution. Every transaction benefits from senior, hands-on M&A lawyers, backed by a dedicated team of junior partners and associates who are deeply involved at every stage, ensuring exceptional value and responsiveness.

What sets us apart is our ability to quickly understand our clients’ business objectives and industry dynamics, enabling us to craft transaction documents that protect interests and advance strategic goals, even when partnering for the first time. As a full-service business law firm, we draw on the expertise of our nationally and internationally recognized teams in Tax, Financial Services (Banking & Finance and Restructuring & Insolvency), Capital Markets, Corporate, Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment, Workplace, Real Estate and Environmental law. This collaborative, multidisciplinary approach ensures we deliver comprehensive, forward-thinking advice tailored to each client’s unique sector and transaction.

Our M&A Group and its individual lawyers have been recognized by leading global and domestic legal directories such as Chambers Global and Chambers Canada, Legal 500, Lexology Index (formerly Who's Who Legal), Best Lawyers in Canada and The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, and featured in The Globe and Mail's list of Canada's Best Law Firms. These accolades reflect our focus on quality, innovation and client success—providing tailored solutions that unlock value, fuel growth and position your business for the future.

Our core services include:

Acquisition and Sale of Businesses: We specialize in structuring and negotiating complex M&A transactions, including distressed M&A transactions, for clients across a broad range of industries. Our team advises clients on both the buy and sell sides of mergers and acquisitions, including purchasers and vendors in the acquisition or sale of shares, assets and businesses. Our experience ranges from mid-market domestic Canadian deals to large-scale, cross-border transactions.
Private Equity Transactions: We guide private equity funds, their portfolio companies and other financial investors through all stages of investment, from initial platform acquisitions and portfolio bolt on transactions to exit. Our services include due diligence, structuring, documentation and negotiation of purchase/sale agreements, as well as leveraged and management buyouts.
Public M&A and Special Situations: Often working with members of our Capital Markets Group, we provide specialized counsel on amalgamations, plans of arrangement, going-private transactions, special committee mandates, takeover bids (friendly and hostile) and shareholder activism, supporting clients with structuring complex deals that often involve multiple parties.

Our recent representative matters include:

Represented MIXI Australia, as Canadian counsel, in its AU$430 million all-cash off-market takeover of PointsBet, a leading Australian and Canadian online betting platform, following its contested acquisition of 66.43% of PointsBet’s shares.
Represented Closing the Gap Healthcare Group Inc. in the sale of all issued and outstanding shares to Extendicare Inc. (TSX: EXE) for $75.5 million.
Represented a Texas-based private equity firm, as Canadian counsel, in its acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of a group of companies that provides athletic director software and services for schools and athletic departments.
Represented a U.S.-based supply chain security leader, as Canadian counsel, in its acquisition of a Toronto-based AI-powered compliance platform.
Represented a Colorado-based data science firm in the utility sector in its acquisition of a Canadian power systems engineering firm.
Represented Kognitiv, a global company offering intelligent, omnichannel loyalty solutions, in its acquisition by Capillary Technologies, an AI-powered loyalty management company.
Represented Baxter Gold Corp. in connection with the sale of the company and its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, which owned a 100% interest in the Baxter Spring Project in Nevada, to West Point Gold Corp. (TSXV: WPG)
Represented a Canadian software acquisition company in its acquisition of all the issued and outstanding shares of an Ontario-based print management software company.
Represented an Ontario-based competitive youth hockey league in the sale of all its issued and outstanding shares to a world leading hockey tournament and player development company.
Represented a vehicle dealership with multiple locations across Southern Ontario in connection with the sale of all its issued and outstanding shares.