Happy Holidays From LaBarge Weinstein
Another year is coming to a close and what a great year it has been! Let’s start by looking at a few client highlights from 2018.
- The first legal purchase of cannabis occurred at the stroke of midnight on October 17th at the Tweed store on Water Street in St. John’s NL. Bruce Linton, CEO of Tweed’s parent company, Canopy Growth Corporation, was onsite to tender the sale that marked the end of prohibition. What a momentous event! In other Canopy news, the Bloomberg 50, a list of the most influential people in 2018, was released last week and Bruce was included for his noteworthy business contributions to the global cannabis industry. We are also pleased that co-CEO, Mark Zekulin, was named a Canadian Top 40 Under 40 honouree.
- Jewellery brand, Mejuri, recently opened a showroom in New York City. Although their “elevated but casual” pieces are still only for sale online, the brick-and-mortar space will allow customers to try on items before having them delivered to their door. They also opened a Toronto showroom in 2018.
- SheEO’s founder, Vicki Saunders, was named one of 12 Canadians who are making our lives better by The Toronto Star. SheEO is a global community of women radically transforming how we finance, support, and celebrate female innovators. Firm associate, Tayyaba Khan, in on the SheEO board of directors.
- Desk Nibbles, providers of healthy and customizable office snacking plans, was one of eight SaaS companies selected to pitch their business at SaaS North. Not only did they pitch, they won the entire competition. Congrats!
- After 17 years as CFO of Calian, our longtime friend and client, Jacqueline Gauthier has decided to retire from the position effective March 1, 2019. She will stay with Calian in the role of Senior Vice-President Corporate Development on a part-time basis. Working with Jacqueline has been an absolute pleasure and we wish her luck in the new job. We have been counsel to Calian since its IPO in 1993!
- The 4th Annual Canadian FinTech & AI Awards were announced at a sold our gala ceremony in late November. An independent judging committee of 40 experts determined the recipients and Eli Fathi, CEO of MindBridgewas named as the AI Leader of the Year. Congratulations on this well-deserved honour!
- Ian Hendry and Dan Warren of Hendry Warren have been granted Fellows distinction (FCPA) by Ontario Chartered Professional Accountants for their contribution to the profession. This distinction formally recognizes members whose careers and community contributions have rendered exceptional service to the profession. Congratulations!
Firm News
We are excited to announce that Michael Sami is joining the partnership at LaBarge Weinstein. Since his student days in 2009, Sami has focused his practice on supporting technology startups and scaleups, particularly in the negotiation of financing and acquisition transactions.
We are also happy to let you know that Chris Dittrich and Olivia Lysenko were called to the Bar and hired as associates this summer. Chris and Olivia first joined LW as summer students back in 2016, before returning to complete their articles in 2017. They are an integral part of the firm and we are pleased they are continuing their career with us.
LaBarge Weinstein was honoured once again to be named as one of Canada’s top 10 corporate law boutiques by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. The publication selected Canada’s top boutiques by asking readers to rank a list of notable firms. The results were further shortlisted by the editorial team. While we continue to be recognized by industry sources, we never take that for granted and work each day for our client’s interests.
All good things must come to an end…and be replaced with something way better! Last month, we launched a new and improved website, designed with a fresh look and more user-friendly navigation. Click here to check it out!
Deals & Transactions
Did you say $5.5 billion? We sure did! Canopy Growth Corporation closed a $5.5 billion investment from Constellation Brands, an international producer of beer, wine and spirits. This investment will provide Canopy with the funds to build scale in the more than 30 countries currently pursuing legally permissible medical cannabis programs. This represents the firm’s highest-value transaction since our founding almost 22 years ago.Here is a sample of more publicly-announced transactions that we’ve closed this year:
- Bonfire Interactive’s $140 million sale to GTY Technology
- Buddybuild’s sale to Apple
- Calian’s acquisitions of Secure Technologies International, IntraGrain Technologies, and Priority One
- Clearwater Clinical’s sale to Sivantos
- Harbr’s $1.75 million financing
- Jiffy’s $3 million financing
- Leavetown Vacations’ sale to RedAwning
- Mejuri’s $5 million financing
- MineSense Technologies’ $18 million financing
- Neptec’s $42 million sale to Maxar Technologies
- Picatic’s sale to Eventbrite
- Solantro Semiconductor’s sale to Huada
- You.i TV’s $23 million financing
- Wattpad’s $61 million financing
- TunnelBear’s sale to McAfee
Thanks to all our clients and partners for a fantastic year. We wish you a safe and happy holiday and great 2019! If you or your business has a story to share in 2019, please let us know.
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