On June 20, 2022, the Government of Québec and Plateforme Agora (now doing business as Le Panier Bleu) announced that Le Panier Bleu is transitioning to a private enterprise with the support of Quebec industry leaders. During the announcement, it was also confirmed that Le Panier Bleu will soon develop a transactional e-commerce platform making it possible to buy products from local merchants online. Lavery had the privilege of assisting Plateforme Agora in this round of financing and in Le Panier Bleu’s transition by providing advice on corporate financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, intellectual property, commercial law in the field of technology and labour law. The Lavery team led by Étienne Brassard was composed of Jean-François Maurice, Isabelle Jomphe, Guillaume Laberge, Jessica Parent, Béatrice Bull, Isabelle Normand and Pamela Cifola.

On April 20, 2021, GroupAssur, a managing general agent (MGA) offering specialty insurance products across Canada, announced its merger with our client Evolution Insurance, a wholesaler specializing in the underwriting of complex liability and construction risks. The merger makes GroupAssur Canada’s largest independent managing general agent in property and casualty insurance. Evolution Insurance’s expertise will enable GroupAssur to expand its product offering into target markets across Canada. A Lavery team led by Martin Pichette and Sébastien Vézina and composed of Jean-Paul Timothée, Gabriella Settino, Isabelle Normand and Florence Fournier (transactional) and Ali El Haskouri, Bernard Trang and Ana Nascimento (financing) played a significant role in representing Evolution Insurance’s interests throughout the transaction.

On June 26, 2018, the QFL Solidarity Fund announced a $70 million investment in EBI, a leading Quebec and Canadian firm active in the integrated residual materials sector, including the collection and transport of waste matter, recyclables and residual materials, the transformation, recovery and disposal of residual materials as well as the production of natural gas. A Lavery client for the past two decades, EBI has been represented by the firm in connection with every legal aspect of this investment initiative. The Lavery team, spearheaded by André Paquette, with the assistance of Jacques Paul-Hus, was composed of Nadia Hanine (Mergers & Acquisitions), Éric Gélinas (Taxation), Pierre Denis (Financial Services), Audrey-Julie Dallaire (Environment), Carolle Vaudry and Isabelle Normand (Corporate).