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Vinay Desai

Partner

Montréal
[email protected]
514.954.3145

Expertise

Jamie Tauber

Practice Assistant

Montréal
[email protected]
514.879.1212

Vinay Desai is a technology and commercial law lawyer. Vinay's commercial work specializes on software licensing, license and distribution, franchise work, IT services, and managed services. In the corporate sphere, he has carved out a niche in private and cross-border M&A leading buy-side and sell-side transactions across various industries and supporting clients with business expansions, particularly within the IT and IP sectors.

He frequently works with and advises a diverse range of clients, ranging from startups and emerging organizations to established IT-focused enterprises, as well as companies in pharmaceutical, healthcare, and life sciences industries seeking to enhance and safeguard their IT offerings or expand their business offerings into the Canadian and Québec markets via acquisitions or otherwise.

Vinay's versatile practice means he is often called upon to be the first point of contact for advising foreign companies with their business operations and expansions in Canada.

Experience

  • Acted as lead Canadian counsel to Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR) in its acquisition of Advanced Gas Technologies Inc., a leading a custom designer and supplier of onsite gas generation systems serving industrial customers primarily in Canada.
  • Acted as lead counsel to Door Doctor, a premier provider of dock and door services headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, and its shareholders, in the sale of the business to Sentinel Dock & Door Solutions, a network of Canadian dock and door service providers backed by Trivest Partners
  • Acted as lead Canadian counsel to Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR) in its acquisition of Fruvac Ltd., a leading manufacturer of vacuum pumps, systems, and peripheral parts.
  • Advised Morguard Corporation in its sale of a portfolio of 14 high-quality hotels in Ontario and Nova Scotia to InVest Hotels.
  • Acted as lead counsel for Frontage Laboratories in its acquisition of Nucro Technics, an Ontario-based Contract Support Organization for the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and marijuana industries.
  • Acted for a public U.S. leading medical surgical robotics company, on its acquisition of the Canadian division of strategic medical supplies and technology distributor
  • Acted for a leading U.S. public company in its acquisition of a Québec life sciences market research and oncology services company.
  • Acted for a leading U.S. public company in its acquisition of a major international life sciences company
  • Acted for a leading manufacturer of pneumatic tools in the purchase of a Québec-based wholesaler and distributor of various construction products.
  • Acted for a major Canadian freight forwarder in the sale of its Québec family business
  • Acted as Canadian counsel to John Wood Group plc in the sale of its Environment & Infrastructure business to WSP Global Ltd.
  • Represented Playtika Holding Corp. in its US$1.9 billioninitial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in connection with Canadian matters related to the IPO.
  • Represented Canadian Premier Life Insurance Company in an agreement to acquire Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada's sponsored markets business.
  • Acted for pharmacy automation provider, Parata Systems, a portfolio company of Frazier Healthcare Parnters, with its acquisition of Synergy Medical, a privately-held company specializing in automation technologies to prepare and dispense solid oral medications in blister cards.
  • Acted for INRO Consultants Inc.,a global leader in multimodal transportation planning, traffic simulation, and mobility visualization software, and its shareholders in the sale of their business to Bentley Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BSY)
  • Assisted iNovia on a US$50 Million Series C funding round in WorkJam with digital workplace solutions for frontline employees
  • Acted for CareSimple Canada Inc. with respect to an investment from a French company in the amount of C$6,000,000
  • Advised NorthStar Earth and Space Inc. on their C$52 million financing with the Governments of Canada and Québec, as well as from strategic partners Telesystem Space Inc. and the Space Alliance of Europe
  • Québec counsel to Premium Brands in its acquisition of Viandex, Inc. a Québec-based food distributor
  • Advised a large not-for-profit on data breach implications
  • Advised e-commerce and consumer goods companies with respect to various consumer protection and Charter of the French Language issues
  • Advised companies on loyalty and rewards programs
  • Acted for Québec-based Phoenix Wrappers ULC, a designer and manufacturer of full line semi-automatic stretch wrappers and fully-automatic stretch packaging equipment, and its shareholders in the sale of their business to Pacteon
  • Acted for East West Manufacturing LLC, a global design, manufacturing and distribution services business, in their first acquisition in Canada, of Groupe Varitron Inc., a provider of integrated electronics manufacturing services, including advanced printed circuit board assemblies, box-build assemblies, testing and new product introduction services.
  • Advised clients from various industries on franchising and licensing matters across Canada. 
  • Assisted various large banks with security breaches and general privacy issues
  • Assisted companies with carrying out privacy impact assessments and evaluating risks connected with the management of personal information
  • Advised large companies with respect to Access to Information requests
  • Assisted organizations with respect to biometrics use compliance
  • Assisted organizations with drafting privacy policies, IT security policies and website-use policies
  • Drafted and negotiated data supply agreements for a large health information company
  • Advised on privacy and intellectual property issues in various types of commercial transactions
  • Assisted with intellectual property issues in a private equity funding of a company involved in environmental and near-space monitoring system

Beyond our Walls

Professional Involvement

  • Member, International Association of Privacy Professionals
  • Member, Young Bar Association of Montréal
  • Member, Comité Recherche et Législation (CRL) (Young Bar of Québec)
  • Member, Regroupement des praticiens du droit des marques de commerce

Community Involvement

  • Volunteer, Selwyn House School Mock Trials

Awards & Recognitions

  • Recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada - Ones to Watch™ (Corporate Law & Mergers and Acquisitions Law)

Bar Admission & Education

  • Ontario, 2016
  • Québec, 2015
  • JD, Université de Montréal, 2014
  • LLB, Université de Montréal, 2013