Following its approval in December 2012 of two high-profile transactions involving foreign state-owned enterprises acquiring Canadian businesses, the Canadian government announced new policies that would guide the minister of industry in applying the Investment Canada Act (ICA) to subsequent similar transactions. On April 29, 2013, the government introduced its budget implementation bill, Bill C-60, which … Continue Reading
On February 11, 2013, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) released its reasons in Commissioner of Competition v Tervita Corporation, an appeal of the Competition Tribunal’s (the Tribunal) 2012 divestiture order against Tervita. The case is important because it marks the first time the commissioner of competition has successfully challenged a merger based on a … Continue Reading
The threshold for a pre-closing net benefit review under the Investment Canada Act and the threshold for a pre-closing merger notification under the Competition Act have been increased for 2013. Investment Canada Act: the direct acquisition of control of a Canadian business by a non-Canadian from a WTO-member country is subject to pre-closing review and … Continue Reading
On December 7, 2012, the Canadian government approved two proposed investments in Canadian energy companies by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) under the Investment Canada Act (ICA): the proposed acquisition by PETRONAS of Progress Energy Resources Corp. (Progress) and the proposed acquisition of Nexen Inc. (Nexen) by China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC). Norton Rose Canada represented … Continue Reading
Effective today, an individual convicted of certain violations of the Competition Act (Canada) may be punished with prison time instead of community service. These offences include price-fixing, bid-rigging and misleading advertising. For more information please see Norton Rose’s Legal Update on the topic prepared by our colleague Stephen Nattrass here. Merging parties should take note of these amendments because … Continue Reading
Following the resignation of Melanie Aitken as Commissioner of Competition, the federal government announced on September 26, 2012 that John Pecman would serve as Interim Commissioner of Competition for up to one year. Pecman, most recently Senior Deputy Commissioner – Criminal Matters Branch, has worked at the Bureau for almost thirty years and served in … Continue Reading
On September 11, 2012, the Competition Bureau announced that it laid criminal charges under section 66 of the Competition Act against Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. and its subsidiary BFI Canada Inc. for “multiple breaches” of a June 2010 consent agreement with the Bureau. The consent agreement resulted from the 2010 merger of IESI-BFC Ltd. and … Continue Reading
Dealmakers should take note of several recent significant merger-related developments at the Competition Bureau: Commissioner’s Resignation - The head of the Bureau, Commissioner of Competition Melanie Aitken, announced that she intends to resign in September 2012; New Head of the Mergers Branch - Effective August 7, 2012, there will be a new head of the Mergers Branch, which has … Continue Reading
On April 27, 2012, the federal government announced it would amend the Investment Canada Act to allow the Minister of Industry greater flexibility in explaining why a proposed foreign takeover of a Canadian business raises preliminary concerns. The amendments, contained in the government’s annual budget bill, will also empower the Minister to accept offers of security … Continue Reading
UPDATE: The Merger Register went live on March 9, 2012. The Competition Bureau will, at “the beginning of March”, start publishing a “Merger Register” on its website that will disclose certain information about transactions that are subject to the pre-merger notification obligations contained in the Competition Act. Designed to increase the level of transparency at the … Continue Reading
Under the Investment Canada Act, Canada’s foreign investment review law, the direct acquisition of control of a Canadian business by a non-Canadian from a WTO-member country is subject to pre-closing review and approval where the assets of the acquired business exceed a prescribed threshold. Effective February 25, 2012, that threshold is $330 million, up from the 2011 … Continue Reading
Apparently drawing inspiration from the opening lines of British stand-up comedian Alexie Sayle’s 1985 hit, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has again waded into the issue of foreign investment in Canada. Harper’s is the only government to have used the Investment Canada Act to reject an announced acquisition of a Canadian business, first in 2008 … Continue Reading
