Francis excels in corporate and commercial law, with a focus on venture capital, corporate financing, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity transactions. He is highly regarded for his finesse in negotiating and drafting complex commercial agreements, and is known for delivering strategic, practical solutions to intricate business challenges.
With diverse experience across multiple industries, Francis brings a multidimensional approach to his practice. Before pursuing a legal career, he conducted scientific research in cancer and immunology at a leading research center in Québec and contributed to environmental remediation projects in McGill University’s civil engineering laboratory.
Recognized for his strategic insight and extensive knowledge, Francis has been named among The Best Lawyers in Canada® “Ones to Watch” in the areas of Mergers and Acquisitions and Venture Capital for the past two years.
Experience
- An investor consortium formed of BDC Capital, Export Development Canada, H&M Group and Investissement Québec as the lead investors in SRTX's US$40 million fundraising round. SRTX is the holding company of Sheertex Inc., the manufacturer and leading brand of rip-resist tights.
- Optable Technologies, an identity management and collaboration platform designed for the advertising ecosystem in the age of privacy, on the successful close of its USD $20M Series A Acceleration Round. The financing was led by TELUS Global Ventures with significant reinvestment from previous investors, including Hearst Ventures, Brightspark Ventures, Desjardins Capital, Deloitte Ventures, AsterX, and others.
- Represented Amsino International Inc. in the acquisition of MedXL Inc. and Liebel-Flarsheim Canada Inc., Canadian manufacturers of medical devices, as part of MedXL Inc. et al.'s CCAA proceeding.
- Advised industrial heater manufacturer Wattco Inc. and its shareholders on its sale to an affiliate of U.K. engineering company Smiths Group plc.
- Two Authenticators Inc., a Montréal-based wholesale distributor of authenticated, pre-owned luxury vintage, in its sale to FASHIONPHILE, the leading resale e-commerce platform in pre-owned, ultra-luxury accessories.
- Québecor Média acted as an investor/acquiror in a $12M minority acquisition of Attraction Média. BLG represented Attraction Média as part of this transaction.
- $3.5M investment by Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) in Éco2Urb (dba Habitat Nature).
- Canadian counsel to Gardner Glass Products in its sale to Ironbridge Equity Partners.
- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in connection with an additional equity investment in Metro Supply Chain Group to finance the acquisition of SCI Group, a subsidiary of Canada Post Corporation.
- Banque Nationale Placements Privés (National Bank Private Equity) in their investment in Groupe Induspac, a Canadian leader in the design and manufacture of custom industrial packaging.
- Dynapro Transport, a Courchesne Larose Group company specializing in the transport of fruits, vegetables and dry goods, regarding the acquisition of Quebec-based Transport TEB, a key player in the delivery of fresh produce over short distances.
- MSH Pharma Inc, in partnership with Cosette Pharmaceuticals, a US -based specialty pharmaceuticals company with a focus on women’s health and cardiovascular medicine, on the global rights to Intrarosa® from Endoceutics, Inc., a subsidiary of Endorecherche, Inc.
- Optable Technologies, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) data collaboration platform and clean room solution designed for the advertising ecosystem, in its US$20 million Series A financing from a syndicate of investors which included Hearst Ventures, Brightspark Ventures, Desjardins Capital, Deloitte Ventures, asterX, and others.
- Investissement Québec in their $26.8 million investment in Machitech, a Québec leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of custom cutting tables and systems, and its divisions.
- Bell Canada in its acquisition of cloud-services leader FX Innovation to accelerate the digital transformation of Canadian businesses.
- Cycle Capital, Desjardins Capital and Brightspark Ventures in their investments in Prevu3D's US$10 million Series A funding round.
- COOK IT recipes Inc. in their acquisition of 70% of the issued and outstanding shares of Fermentation Oryzae Inc. (Menu Extra), a corporation that carries on the business of food delivery of ready-to-cook gastronomic meals and ready-to-eat meals as well as organizing events around gastronomy.
- Cycle Capital, as investor, in SPARK Microsystems C$48 million series B financing.
- Shareholders of Englobe Corp. in its acquisition by Colliers (NASDAY, TSX: CIGI)
- Medicus Group in connection with SeaFort Capital’s majority investment which represents Mable Health Inc.'s inaugural investment in the orthotics, prosthetics, and mobility aids industry.
- Cycle Capital, Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.), Investissement Québec and Desjardins-Innovatech in their investment in Airex Énergie concurrent with Suez International.
- Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) and Investissement Québec in connection with the financing of the acquisition of Novatech Group Inc. by the The Gendreau family, Canadian owners of Garaga Inc. (Garaga), a North American pioneer in the manufacture of garage doors.
- Accelia Capital, in several of their investments including in Oro Health Inc., Omy Laboratoires and Heylist Inc.
- McKinsey Consulting in the sale of ElementAI to ServiceNow in a transaction worth approximately US$230 million
- McKinsey Consulting in its strategic and capital investment agreement with ElementAI
- Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction, in partnership with Novacap, in the acquisition of Globe Electric, a Montréal-based firm specializing in the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of lighting and electrical products
- InvestX Capital, a leading private market secondaries platform and financial technology company based in Vancouver and New York, in raising equity capital from strategic investors Jefferies Financial, Virtu Capital and Canaccord Genuity
- Investissement Québec in the going-private transaction of EXFO Inc. a provider of test, monitoring and analytics solutions for fixed and mobile network operators
- Groupe Daubigny and VetStrategy, Canada’s largest and most successful veterinary clinic operator, in its sale to private equity firm Berkshire Partners
- CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX), in its acquisition from Assante Wealth Management (Canada) Ltd. of a minority interest in Assante Dorval, a full-service, personalized wealth management provider operating throughout Québec
- Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ) and Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins in an acquisition financing with Novacap, Fédération des caisses Desjardins, National Bank and other minority investors, for the acquisition by Bestar, a home and office furniture manufacturer and supplier, of US-based Bush Industries, a leader in home and office furniture manufacturing and supply in the United States
- Fonds de solidarité (FTQ), BDC Capital and all other shareholders in the sale of Reflex Photonics Inc. to UK-based Smiths Interconnect
- iNovia Capital and other investors in a venture capital round in Planned Enterprises
- iNovia Capital (as lead investor) and Fonds de solidarité (FTQ) in a C$70 million venture capital investment round in WorkJam Inc.
- Atos, a leading French digital transformation company, in its acquisition of In Fidem, a Canada-based cybersecurity consulting firm
- A group of investors including Fonds de solidarité (FTQ), Forbion Capital, Lumira Ventures and Pharmstandard in multiple venture capital investments in enGene Inc.
- An investor group comprising Business Development Bank of Canada and Desjardins Capital in an equity investment in Fluent.ai Inc.
- Business Development Bank of Canada in an equity investment in Groupe Genacol
- National Bank SME Growth Fund L.P. in its first-ever investment, in the capital of Pol R Enterprises Inc.
- National Bank of Canada in acquisition financing by certain Québec investment firms
- Cycle Capital in a C$17.5 million investment in SPARK Microsystems
- Sports IQ Analytics Inc., provider of sports betting software and odds services, in its US$7 million seed round of financing
- Triple M Metal in its joint venture with ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada to create Integrated Metal Recycling Inc.
- Aéroport de Montréal in drafting and negotiating certain commercial agreements
- Courchesne Larose in multiple financing projects and business transactions in Québec and abroad
- Deloitte in negotiating major commercial agreements
- Enertech, Cycle Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, BDC Capital and Investissement Québec in venture capital funding rounds in Power Survey
- BDC Capital, i-Source, Go Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Desjardins-Innovatech in the US$23 million financing of LeddarTech (LiDAR)
- Cycle Capital, BDC Capital, Desjardins Capital and Lune Rouge in venture capital funding rounds in Agrisoma Biosciences Inc.
- Bell Canada in outsourcing agreements with various Canadian financial institutions
- Cycle Capital and Desjardins-Innovatech in venture capital rounds in Airex Energy
- MACH Capital Inc. private equity investment firm in its acquisition of outdoor equipment retailer La Cordée
- Desjardins Capital in the C$3 million round of seed financing of ORO Health
- Haven Entertainment Studios in business transactions and general legal advice
- Investissement Québec in the loan transaction to Autobus Lion
- ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. in a bought deal public offering of 13,200,000 common shares, conducted through a syndicate of underwriters, for aggregate gross proceeds of $25,080,000
- Black & McDonald Limited in its acquisition of Pierre Brossard (1981) ltée, a leading construction company specializing in the electrical and civil engineering sector
- Fonds de solidarité (FTQ) in a C$70 million investment in EBI, a Québec-based leader in the field of waste management, renewable energy production and the use and distribution of natural gas
- Attraction Media in the sale of Studio Lamajeure’s assets to a group of buyers comprising Alexandra Stréliski, Mathieu Morin and Maxime Navert
- HollyFrontier Corporation in its acquisition of Suncor Energy’s Petro-Canada Lubricants business for C$1.125 billion
- NorthStar Earth and Space Inc. in its C$52 million financing from the governments of Canada and Québec and from strategic partners Telesystem Space Inc. and the Space Alliance of Europe
- A Chinese private equity firm with regard to its online payment platform
- A world leader in robotic intelligence and automation-based strategic and operational digital solutions regarding several trade agreements
- An investor consortium formed of BDC Capital, Export Development Canada, H&M Group and Investissement Québec as the lead investors in SRTX's US$40 million fundraising round. SRTX is the holding company of Sheertex Inc., the manufacturer and leading brand of rip-resist tights.
- Optable Technologies, an identity management and collaboration platform designed for the advertising ecosystem in the age of privacy, on the successful close of its USD $20M Series A Acceleration Round. The financing was led by TELUS Global Ventures with significant reinvestment from previous investors, including Hearst Ventures, Brightspark Ventures, Desjardins Capital, Deloitte Ventures, AsterX, and others.
- Represented Amsino International Inc. in the acquisition of MedXL Inc. and Liebel-Flarsheim Canada Inc., Canadian manufacturers of medical devices, as part of MedXL Inc. et al.'s CCAA proceeding.
- Advised industrial heater manufacturer Wattco Inc. and its shareholders on its sale to an affiliate of U.K. engineering company Smiths Group plc.
- Two Authenticators Inc., a Montréal-based wholesale distributor of authenticated, pre-owned luxury vintage, in its sale to FASHIONPHILE, the leading resale e-commerce platform in pre-owned, ultra-luxury accessories.
- Québecor Média acted as an investor/acquiror in a $12M minority acquisition of Attraction Média. BLG represented Attraction Média as part of this transaction.
- $3.5M investment by Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) in Éco2Urb (dba Habitat Nature).
- Canadian counsel to Gardner Glass Products in its sale to Ironbridge Equity Partners.
- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in connection with an additional equity investment in Metro Supply Chain Group to finance the acquisition of SCI Group, a subsidiary of Canada Post Corporation.
- Banque Nationale Placements Privés (National Bank Private Equity) in their investment in Groupe Induspac, a Canadian leader in the design and manufacture of custom industrial packaging.
- Dynapro Transport, a Courchesne Larose Group company specializing in the transport of fruits, vegetables and dry goods, regarding the acquisition of Quebec-based Transport TEB, a key player in the delivery of fresh produce over short distances.
- MSH Pharma Inc, in partnership with Cosette Pharmaceuticals, a US -based specialty pharmaceuticals company with a focus on women’s health and cardiovascular medicine, on the global rights to Intrarosa® from Endoceutics, Inc., a subsidiary of Endorecherche, Inc.
- Optable Technologies, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) data collaboration platform and clean room solution designed for the advertising ecosystem, in its US$20 million Series A financing from a syndicate of investors which included Hearst Ventures, Brightspark Ventures, Desjardins Capital, Deloitte Ventures, asterX, and others.
- Investissement Québec in their $26.8 million investment in Machitech, a Québec leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of custom cutting tables and systems, and its divisions.
- Bell Canada in its acquisition of cloud-services leader FX Innovation to accelerate the digital transformation of Canadian businesses.
- Cycle Capital, Desjardins Capital and Brightspark Ventures in their investments in Prevu3D's US$10 million Series A funding round.
- COOK IT recipes Inc. in their acquisition of 70% of the issued and outstanding shares of Fermentation Oryzae Inc. (Menu Extra), a corporation that carries on the business of food delivery of ready-to-cook gastronomic meals and ready-to-eat meals as well as organizing events around gastronomy.
- Cycle Capital, as investor, in SPARK Microsystems C$48 million series B financing.
- Shareholders of Englobe Corp. in its acquisition by Colliers (NASDAY, TSX: CIGI)
- Medicus Group in connection with SeaFort Capital’s majority investment which represents Mable Health Inc.'s inaugural investment in the orthotics, prosthetics, and mobility aids industry.
- Cycle Capital, Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.), Investissement Québec and Desjardins-Innovatech in their investment in Airex Énergie concurrent with Suez International.
- Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) and Investissement Québec in connection with the financing of the acquisition of Novatech Group Inc. by the The Gendreau family, Canadian owners of Garaga Inc. (Garaga), a North American pioneer in the manufacture of garage doors.
- Accelia Capital, in several of their investments including in Oro Health Inc., Omy Laboratoires and Heylist Inc.
- McKinsey Consulting in the sale of ElementAI to ServiceNow in a transaction worth approximately US$230 million
- McKinsey Consulting in its strategic and capital investment agreement with ElementAI
- Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction, in partnership with Novacap, in the acquisition of Globe Electric, a Montréal-based firm specializing in the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of lighting and electrical products
- InvestX Capital, a leading private market secondaries platform and financial technology company based in Vancouver and New York, in raising equity capital from strategic investors Jefferies Financial, Virtu Capital and Canaccord Genuity
- Investissement Québec in the going-private transaction of EXFO Inc. a provider of test, monitoring and analytics solutions for fixed and mobile network operators
- Groupe Daubigny and VetStrategy, Canada’s largest and most successful veterinary clinic operator, in its sale to private equity firm Berkshire Partners
- CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX), in its acquisition from Assante Wealth Management (Canada) Ltd. of a minority interest in Assante Dorval, a full-service, personalized wealth management provider operating throughout Québec
- Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ) and Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins in an acquisition financing with Novacap, Fédération des caisses Desjardins, National Bank and other minority investors, for the acquisition by Bestar, a home and office furniture manufacturer and supplier, of US-based Bush Industries, a leader in home and office furniture manufacturing and supply in the United States
- Fonds de solidarité (FTQ), BDC Capital and all other shareholders in the sale of Reflex Photonics Inc. to UK-based Smiths Interconnect
- iNovia Capital and other investors in a venture capital round in Planned Enterprises
- iNovia Capital (as lead investor) and Fonds de solidarité (FTQ) in a C$70 million venture capital investment round in WorkJam Inc.
- Atos, a leading French digital transformation company, in its acquisition of In Fidem, a Canada-based cybersecurity consulting firm
- A group of investors including Fonds de solidarité (FTQ), Forbion Capital, Lumira Ventures and Pharmstandard in multiple venture capital investments in enGene Inc.
- An investor group comprising Business Development Bank of Canada and Desjardins Capital in an equity investment in Fluent.ai Inc.
- Business Development Bank of Canada in an equity investment in Groupe Genacol
- National Bank SME Growth Fund L.P. in its first-ever investment, in the capital of Pol R Enterprises Inc.
- National Bank of Canada in acquisition financing by certain Québec investment firms
- Cycle Capital in a C$17.5 million investment in SPARK Microsystems
- Sports IQ Analytics Inc., provider of sports betting software and odds services, in its US$7 million seed round of financing
- Triple M Metal in its joint venture with ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada to create Integrated Metal Recycling Inc.
- Aéroport de Montréal in drafting and negotiating certain commercial agreements
- Courchesne Larose in multiple financing projects and business transactions in Québec and abroad
- Deloitte in negotiating major commercial agreements
- Enertech, Cycle Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, BDC Capital and Investissement Québec in venture capital funding rounds in Power Survey
- BDC Capital, i-Source, Go Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Desjardins-Innovatech in the US$23 million financing of LeddarTech (LiDAR)
- Cycle Capital, BDC Capital, Desjardins Capital and Lune Rouge in venture capital funding rounds in Agrisoma Biosciences Inc.
- Bell Canada in outsourcing agreements with various Canadian financial institutions
- Cycle Capital and Desjardins-Innovatech in venture capital rounds in Airex Energy
- MACH Capital Inc. private equity investment firm in its acquisition of outdoor equipment retailer La Cordée
- Desjardins Capital in the C$3 million round of seed financing of ORO Health
- Haven Entertainment Studios in business transactions and general legal advice
- Investissement Québec in the loan transaction to Autobus Lion
- ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. in a bought deal public offering of 13,200,000 common shares, conducted through a syndicate of underwriters, for aggregate gross proceeds of $25,080,000
- Black & McDonald Limited in its acquisition of Pierre Brossard (1981) ltée, a leading construction company specializing in the electrical and civil engineering sector
- Fonds de solidarité (FTQ) in a C$70 million investment in EBI, a Québec-based leader in the field of waste management, renewable energy production and the use and distribution of natural gas
- Attraction Media in the sale of Studio Lamajeure’s assets to a group of buyers comprising Alexandra Stréliski, Mathieu Morin and Maxime Navert
- HollyFrontier Corporation in its acquisition of Suncor Energy’s Petro-Canada Lubricants business for C$1.125 billion
- NorthStar Earth and Space Inc. in its C$52 million financing from the governments of Canada and Québec and from strategic partners Telesystem Space Inc. and the Space Alliance of Europe
- A Chinese private equity firm with regard to its online payment platform
- A world leader in robotic intelligence and automation-based strategic and operational digital solutions regarding several trade agreements
