Graham King

Partner and National Leader, Private Company Group

Toronto
[email protected]
416.367.6051

Graham is a partner in the Corporate and Capital Markets Group. He is the national leader of BLG's Private Company Group and has served as manager of the firm's Corporate & Commercial Group in Toronto.

He is recognized as a leading Canadian business lawyer with extensive transactional experience and expertise in complex domestic and international mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, corporate/commercial matters and joint ventures. Graham acts for domestic and international companies and investment funds, family offices and investors conducting or establishing business operations in Canada in a broad range of industries.

As a trusted advisor, he counsels vendors, purchasers, corporate directors and boards, shareholders and other business stakeholders with a practical, strategic, dynamic and solutions-based approach. He is frequently published in academic journals, print and electronic media on a variety of corporate, governance, fiduciary and business law-related matters.

Graham has served as a director/governor of business corporations, not-for-profit entities and charitable foundations, and was an adjunct professor at Western University, Faculty of Law.

Within BLG, Graham has been awarded “Mentor of the Year" in recognition of his ongoing mentorship and development of students and associates. He was a long-standing member of the firm's Monitoring and Admissions Committee for the Partnership.

Prior to the practice of law, Graham was part of the Corporate and Investment Banking Group at one of Canada's largest investment dealers, and held senior positions in the investment management industry.

Experience

  • Wakefield Canada Inc. in its acquisition of Castrol Canada Inc. from BP Lubricants USA Inc. and related manufacturing assets in Canada; its negotiation of exclusive Canadian distribution rights to all SuperClean branded products; in connection with the sale of its H2Blu-branded Diesel Exhaust Fluid business to Recochem Inc. and with respect to various ongoing commercial and transactional matters.
  • Illumiti Inc. in its share sale to Syntax Systems (a portfolio company of Novacap); led multidiscipline 35 member BLG team with transaction entities in Canada, the U.S., Germany and Switzerland.
  • Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company; acted on behalf of the management shareholder group of Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company, in the spinoff of Trisura Group Ltd., the majority shareholder, from Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
  • Krismark Holdings ULC and certain of its affiliates in its acquisition of Lakes of Muskoka Cottage Brewery Inc. and Vancouver Island Brewing Inc.
  • Medical Futures Inc. (MFI); acted for MFI in its sale to Tribute Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc.
  • ND Graphics Inc.; acted for management group in its buyout from Gerber Scientific International Limited and subsequent acquisition of Western Rim Industries Ltd.
  • Evonik Degussa Corporation and Evonik Canada Inc.; advised Evonik in the purchase of the assets of Kemira Chemicals Canada Inc.
  • Mobilicity and its affiliates in their $250 million bid for wireless spectrum.
  • Portland Group in the sale of shares of Manulife Financial Corporation to Berkshire-TWC Financial Group Inc.
  • Chrysler Canada Inc. in a $769 million funding agreement with the Government of Ontario.
  • Hammond Manufacturing Company Limited and Hammond Power Solutions Inc. on the sale of shares of Moloney Electric Inc. to Universal Power Transformer Power Limited of India.
  • Maxxium Canada Inc. on the sale of its shares by Maxxium Worldwide B.V. to Beam Global (now Beam-Suntory) and related global reorganization.
  • AMEC Americas Limited with its purchase of shares of Philips Engineering Inc., and AMEC Dynamic Structures Ltd. with its sale of shares to Empire Industries Ltd.
  • Best Buy Canada Ltd. in its purchase of Howell & Associates Inc.
  • Scepter Holdings Inc. in its purchase of certain shares of Globalive Communications Inc.

Beyond Our Walls

Professional Involvement

  • Corporate Director: Alipay (Canada) Inc., Adobe Systems Canada Inc. & Adobe Canada Services Corporation, Hilti (Canada) Corporation, CitiHub Inc., Colortech Inc., Corona Jewellery Company Limited, Instrumentation Laboratory Canada Limited, Sprague Electric of Canada Limited
  • Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario
  • Member: Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association, American Bar Association, Institute of Corporate Directors

Community Involvement

  • Director, Trillium Health Partners Foundation
  • Director/Governor: Habitat for Humanity (Toronto); The Georgian Bay Land Trust; The Sterling Hall School
  • Volunteer: Lawyers Feed the Hungry (Toronto Community Program); Habitat for Humanity
  • Mentorship: Ryerson University - Ted Rogers School of Management “Top 200 Program" mentoring upper year students chosen for strong academic performance and identified as emerging leaders​

Awards & Recognitions

  • Recognized as a leading lawyer in Canada in the 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory in the fields of Corporate & Commercial Law and Corporate Mid-Market (M&A)
  • Recognized in the 2022 edition of Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A

Bar Admission & Education

  • Ontario, 2002
  • JD, University of Windsor, 2001
  • MSc, London School of Economics and Political Science, 1994
  • BA, Concordia University, 1992