Stefan specializes in domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, investments, reorganizations, joint ventures, and commercial agreements with a particular emphasis on such matters involving private equity backed companies.
He represents a broad range of clients in many different industries, with an emphasis on:
- financial services
- education
- industrial/manufacturing
- technology
- food, beverage and agribusiness
- consumer products
- healthcare
- real estate services or holdings
Stefan provides corporate commercial advice to a wide range of domestic and foreign headquartered clients, including businesses that are looking to expand by investment or by acquisition into the Canadian market.
Stefan regularly acts as an external general counsel for businesses without legal counsel in Canada or at all and is a trusted business advisor and a creative problem-solver who is committed to providing practical, strategic, commercial and actionable advice in a responsive and cost-effective manner.
Stefan is national chair of the firm's Private Equity Group, is the former Toronto regional leader of our U.S. Steering Committee and is a member of our International Steering Committee.
Stefan spent six months at one of the largest international package delivery companies as a temporary replacement for their vice-president/general counsel. In this capacity, he oversaw all legal matters related to both the small package and supply chain aspects of the Canadian business.
Prior to joining BLG, Stefan worked at another large Canadian-based law firm, and while at this firm he spent over three years at their Chicago office providing U.S.-based clients with advice on Canadian legal matters.
Experience
Certain select recent M&A experience is listed below:
- Sequoia Capital's portfolio company Capillary Technologies in its acquisition of Kognitiv.
- Radian Capital's portfolio company Niche in its acquisition of EdTech company Goodkind.
- ADS Forensics in its sale to Kelso & Co portfolio company J.S. Held, a global consulting firm.
- Broad Sky Partners in its acquisition of outsourced professional services supplier Frontline Managed Services.
- Trive Capital in its investment in HVLP fitness company Crunch Canada.
- JKR Investment Group's investment in higher-education provider International Business University.
- Tali Venture's investment in AI company Cohere.
- Terre Bleu's sale to agricultural products company Fennario.
- Molex Venture's investment in computation storage technology company Eideticom.
- Clarus Corporation's acquisition of consumer products company Rhino-Rack, and its sale of its PIEPS snow safety business.
- Modine in its acquisition of thermal management and ventilation solutions company Scott Springfield Manufacturing.
- North Branch Capital in its sale of its electronic components business Circuit Check to Merit Capital and P2G Capital.
- UL Solutions in its acquisition of testing company TesTneT.
- Porsche and Incharge Capital in their investments in AI company Waabi.
- Kanders & Co acquisition of safety and survivability equipment company Safariland and Safariland and affiliate’s subsequent acquisitions of safety and survivability equipment and consumer products good companies, ICOR, Med Eng, PSP and RhinoRack, and the sale of Mustang Survival.
- Oakley Capital’s portfolio company IU Group in its acquisition of the University of Fredricton.
- British clothing group Next, in its $140 million acquisition of fashion retailer FatFace.
- Tamwood International College in its sale to ONCAP portfolio company, ILAC Education Group.
- Inflexion Private Equity’s portfolio company, Alcumus, in its acquisitions of safety software businesses Contractor Check and eCompliance and its subsequent sale of Alcumus to Apax Partners.
- Apax Partner’s portfolio company Alcumus in its acquisition of Cognibox, a contractor management, training and compliance software business, and its sale of its eCompliance business to EcoOnline and its acquisition and integration with supply chain risk management solutions provider Veriforce.
- Shoppers Drug Mart in its $845 million acquisition of one of Canada’s largest rehab clinic networks, Lifemark Health Group, a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity.
- Loblaw Companies in its acquisitions of the technology companies or their assets: Eyereturn Marketing and PF Technologies.
- US Clean Energy’s acquisition of battery storage system solutions provider Eneon ES.
- Briggs & Stratton, a portolio company of KPS Capital, in its acquisition of Accelerated Systems, Inc., an eMobility and Outdoor Power Equipment company.
- US PE fund in its growth investment in VetCare Canada, one of Canada largest vet clinic networks.
- Epiroc in its acquisitions of mining and infrastructure products and services companies or assets including, the infrastructure business of Stanley Black & Decker, Yieldpoint, MegLab, MineRP, 3D-P, Fordia, FVT, CoreScan, RCT, CQMS, GeoScan, NCM and Wain-Roy; and in its sale of its EDDY water treatment business.
- M3 Group in its growth investment from CDPQ.
- M3 Group in its acquisitions of financial services firms Verico Financial, Mortgage Alliance, Invis and Pinch Financial and its investments in fintech companies Fundmore and Verifast and its subsequent sale of Pinch Financial
- SterlingCapitalBrokers in its growth investment from True Wind Capital.
- SterlingCapitalBrokers in its acquisitions of financial services firms: MB Pension & Benefits Group, Adamek Financial, Barclay Insurance Services, Riverview Insurance Solutions and Luedey Consultants.
- Bell Media in its acquisition of Clairvest Group’s portfolio company Cieslok Media, an outdoor advertising company.
- Bell in its acquisition of CDPQ’s portfolio company FX Innovation, a cloud services and solutions company.
- HG Capital’s portfolio company IRIS Software Group in its acquisition of document management software provider Doc.It.
- OTTP portfolio company Cushman & Wakefield in its acquisition of property manager 20VIC Management.
- Ingersoll Rand in its acquisitions of industrial solutions and services businesses Advanced Gas Technologies, CAG Technologies, Fruvac, Fraserwood Fabricating and production management software business Maximus Solutions.
- Securian Financial in its acquisitions of financial services companies, Canadian Premier, Valeyo, Armour Group, the Canadian business of Gerber Life and Sun Life’s sponsored market business.
- First Citizens BancShares in its merger with CIT Group Inc. to create a top financial institution.
- Sequoia Capital in its acquisition of cosmetics company Faces Cosmetics and subsequent sale to online beauty retailer Purplle.
- Variant Equity, in its US$271.4 million takeover of Coach USA and Coach Canada, a private operator of buses and other transportation services, from Scottish transportation business Stagecoach.
- RBC Capital Partners in the US$405 million sale of its interest in Wave Financial, a provider of software solutions and services to help small businesses manage their finances.
- Bridgepoint’s portfolio company, Cambridge Education Group, on its acquisition of Canadian ESL business Omnicom and in its sale of its CATS Colleges business to Bright Scholar Education and the sale of its Canadian ESL business to Bayswater Education.
- Bayswater Education in its acquisition of ELS Canada.
- North Branch Capital’s portfolio company Summit Hydraulics in its acquisition of Access Trucks, a designer and distributor of truck parts.
- North Branch Capital’s acquisition of electronics test equipment manufacturer Circuit Check.
- CaptionMax in its acquisition of National Capitioning Canada and its subsequent sale to Riverside Company’s portfolio company 3Play Media.
- Reynolds and Reynolds in its acquisition of Gubagoo, a leading provider of conversational commerce and digital retail tools.
- Frequentis in its US$20.1M acquisition of L3H’s voice communications and arrival management business.
- Lewis & Clark Ventures in its growth investments in Binsentry, Hortau and OmniRobotic.
- Besurance in its acquisition of financial services firm Fenchurch General Insurance Company.
- Pitney Bowes in its sale of its software solutions business to Centerbridge Partner’s portfolio company Syncsort for US$700M and the sale of its BorderFree ecommerce business to Global-e for US$100M.
- Holmes Education Group in its acquisitions of Oxford House Colleges, Sol Schools, Sol Camps, International House, Teaching House and the English Language Academy
- Yorkville Education in its sale to Birch Hill Equity Partners.
- HeidelbergCement in its growth investment in concrete technology company Giatec Scientific.
- ACCO Brands in its acquisition of Esselte Group, a designer, manufacturer and marketer of branded business, academic and consumer products.
- Akorn Pharmaceuticals in its sales of its branded opthamlic products business and its consumer products businesses.
- OneSpan (previously Vasco Data Security) in its acquisitions of fintech companies Silanis and Dealflo.
- NES in its sale to Property Vista.
- Buchanan Rubber in its sale to Wynnchurch Capital.
- Sequoia Capital's portfolio company Capillary Technologies in its acquisition of Kognitiv.
- Radian Capital's portfolio company Niche in its acquisition of EdTech company Goodkind.
- ADS Forensics in its sale to Kelso & Co portfolio company J.S. Held, a global consulting firm.
- Broad Sky Partners in its acquisition of outsourced professional services supplier Frontline Managed Services.
- Trive Capital in its investment in HVLP fitness company Crunch Canada.
- JKR Investment Group's investment in higher-education provider International Business University.
- Tali Venture's investment in AI company Cohere.
- Terre Bleu's sale to agricultural products company Fennario.
- Molex Venture's investment in computation storage technology company Eideticom.
- Clarus Corporation's acquisition of consumer products company Rhino-Rack, and its sale of its PIEPS snow safety business.
- Modine in its acquisition of thermal management and ventilation solutions company Scott Springfield Manufacturing.
- North Branch Capital in its sale of its electronic components business Circuit Check to Merit Capital and P2G Capital.
- UL Solutions in its acquisition of testing company TesTneT.
- Porsche and Incharge Capital in their investments in AI company Waabi.
- Kanders & Co acquisition of safety and survivability equipment company Safariland and Safariland and affiliate’s subsequent acquisitions of safety and survivability equipment and consumer products good companies, ICOR, Med Eng, PSP and RhinoRack, and the sale of Mustang Survival.
- Oakley Capital’s portfolio company IU Group in its acquisition of the University of Fredricton.
- British clothing group Next, in its $140 million acquisition of fashion retailer FatFace.
- Tamwood International College in its sale to ONCAP portfolio company, ILAC Education Group.
- Inflexion Private Equity’s portfolio company, Alcumus, in its acquisitions of safety software businesses Contractor Check and eCompliance and its subsequent sale of Alcumus to Apax Partners.
- Apax Partner’s portfolio company Alcumus in its acquisition of Cognibox, a contractor management, training and compliance software business, and its sale of its eCompliance business to EcoOnline and its acquisition and integration with supply chain risk management solutions provider Veriforce.
- Shoppers Drug Mart in its $845 million acquisition of one of Canada’s largest rehab clinic networks, Lifemark Health Group, a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity.
- Loblaw Companies in its acquisitions of the technology companies or their assets: Eyereturn Marketing and PF Technologies.
- US Clean Energy’s acquisition of battery storage system solutions provider Eneon ES.
- Briggs & Stratton, a portolio company of KPS Capital, in its acquisition of Accelerated Systems, Inc., an eMobility and Outdoor Power Equipment company.
- US PE fund in its growth investment in VetCare Canada, one of Canada largest vet clinic networks.
- Epiroc in its acquisitions of mining and infrastructure products and services companies or assets including, the infrastructure business of Stanley Black & Decker, Yieldpoint, MegLab, MineRP, 3D-P, Fordia, FVT, CoreScan, RCT, CQMS, GeoScan, NCM and Wain-Roy; and in its sale of its EDDY water treatment business.
- M3 Group in its growth investment from CDPQ.
- M3 Group in its acquisitions of financial services firms Verico Financial, Mortgage Alliance, Invis and Pinch Financial and its investments in fintech companies Fundmore and Verifast and its subsequent sale of Pinch Financial
- SterlingCapitalBrokers in its growth investment from True Wind Capital.
- SterlingCapitalBrokers in its acquisitions of financial services firms: MB Pension & Benefits Group, Adamek Financial, Barclay Insurance Services, Riverview Insurance Solutions and Luedey Consultants.
- Bell Media in its acquisition of Clairvest Group’s portfolio company Cieslok Media, an outdoor advertising company.
- Bell in its acquisition of CDPQ’s portfolio company FX Innovation, a cloud services and solutions company.
- HG Capital’s portfolio company IRIS Software Group in its acquisition of document management software provider Doc.It.
- OTTP portfolio company Cushman & Wakefield in its acquisition of property manager 20VIC Management.
- Ingersoll Rand in its acquisitions of industrial solutions and services businesses Advanced Gas Technologies, CAG Technologies, Fruvac, Fraserwood Fabricating and production management software business Maximus Solutions.
- Securian Financial in its acquisitions of financial services companies, Canadian Premier, Valeyo, Armour Group, the Canadian business of Gerber Life and Sun Life’s sponsored market business.
- First Citizens BancShares in its merger with CIT Group Inc. to create a top financial institution.
- Sequoia Capital in its acquisition of cosmetics company Faces Cosmetics and subsequent sale to online beauty retailer Purplle.
- Variant Equity, in its US$271.4 million takeover of Coach USA and Coach Canada, a private operator of buses and other transportation services, from Scottish transportation business Stagecoach.
- RBC Capital Partners in the US$405 million sale of its interest in Wave Financial, a provider of software solutions and services to help small businesses manage their finances.
- Bridgepoint’s portfolio company, Cambridge Education Group, on its acquisition of Canadian ESL business Omnicom and in its sale of its CATS Colleges business to Bright Scholar Education and the sale of its Canadian ESL business to Bayswater Education.
- Bayswater Education in its acquisition of ELS Canada.
- North Branch Capital’s portfolio company Summit Hydraulics in its acquisition of Access Trucks, a designer and distributor of truck parts.
- North Branch Capital’s acquisition of electronics test equipment manufacturer Circuit Check.
- CaptionMax in its acquisition of National Capitioning Canada and its subsequent sale to Riverside Company’s portfolio company 3Play Media.
- Reynolds and Reynolds in its acquisition of Gubagoo, a leading provider of conversational commerce and digital retail tools.
- Frequentis in its US$20.1M acquisition of L3H’s voice communications and arrival management business.
- Lewis & Clark Ventures in its growth investments in Binsentry, Hortau and OmniRobotic.
- Besurance in its acquisition of financial services firm Fenchurch General Insurance Company.
- Pitney Bowes in its sale of its software solutions business to Centerbridge Partner’s portfolio company Syncsort for US$700M and the sale of its BorderFree ecommerce business to Global-e for US$100M.
- Holmes Education Group in its acquisitions of Oxford House Colleges, Sol Schools, Sol Camps, International House, Teaching House and the English Language Academy
- Yorkville Education in its sale to Birch Hill Equity Partners.
- HeidelbergCement in its growth investment in concrete technology company Giatec Scientific.
- ACCO Brands in its acquisition of Esselte Group, a designer, manufacturer and marketer of branded business, academic and consumer products.
- Akorn Pharmaceuticals in its sales of its branded opthamlic products business and its consumer products businesses.
- OneSpan (previously Vasco Data Security) in its acquisitions of fintech companies Silanis and Dealflo.
- NES in its sale to Property Vista.
- Buchanan Rubber in its sale to Wynnchurch Capital.
