Edward Sellers

Edward Sellers, Partner, Insolvency & Restructuring

Contact Information

  • tel: 416.862.5959
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Areas of Expertise

Bar Admission

Ontario, 1989

Education

  • University of Manitoba, LL.B.
  • University of Winnipeg, B.A.

Office

Toronto

Language(s)

English

Biography

Edward is a partner in the Business Law Department and Chair Emeritus of the Insolvency & Restructuring Practice Group. He provides business-critical advice to our clients on commercial matters with an emphasis on restructurings and related acquisitions, divestitures, financings and governance. Involved in complex cross-border cases for 25 years, he has served as counsel to: major corporations; senior lending syndicates and agents; equity sponsors and purchasers; and governments and crown agencies. Edward is also certified as a director by the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Edward has published widely and presented frequently on commercial matters. He is a founding member of the Editorial Board of the Annual Review of Insolvency Law and serves as a Director of the Insolvency Institute of Canada and on the Advisory Committee to the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.  He has been an Instructor/Lecturer for the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Institute of Canadian Bankers and the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law Schools.

Notable Matters

  • Sino-Forest Corporation’s Board of Directors and Independent Committee in connection with Sino-Forest’s internal investigation, stabilization and sale out of CCAA proceedings.
  • Province of Nova Scotia in connection with the sale of NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp. out of CCAA proceedings.
  • Azure Dynamic’s Board of Directors in connection with Azure’s stabilization and sale out of CCAA proceedings.
  • RBC Dominion Securities in its bulk acquisition of securities and derivative accounts from MF Global Canada out of BIA proceedings.
  • ThyssenKrupp Budd Canada in its $200 million pension and benefits settlement and $500 million tax loss monetization transaction under BIA proposal proceedings.
  • Angiotech Pharmaceutical in its stabilization and recapitalization under a $325 million exchange offer and $250 million plan of arrangement under CCAA and Chapter 15 proceedings.
  • Canwest Global Communications in its stabilization, refinancing, operational restructuring and sale out of CCAA proceedings.
  • Magna Entertainment in connection with its stabilization, operational restructuring and recapitalization under Chapter 11 and CCAA proceedings.
  • Nortel Networks’ Board of Directors in Nortel’s global restructuring and liquidation under CCAA and Chapter 11 proceedings.
  • The Source by Circuit City in its stabilization, refinancing and sale of over 720 retail locations out of CCAA proceedings.
  • J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, as Agent, for $2.2 billion pre-petition credit facilities and $500 million DIP credit facility in Lear Corporation’s Chapter 11 proceedings.
  • Brookfield Bridge Lending Fund in its lending facilities and equity sponsorship of MAAX Corp.’s CCAA and Chapter 15 restructuring.
  • Tricap Restructuring Fund in its equity sponsorship and bridge lending facilities in Stelco Inc.’s $3 billion CCAA restructuring.
  • Parsons & Whittemore Inc. and St. Anne Industries in the sale and revitalization of the assets of St. Anne-Nackawic Pulp Company Limited to a consortium involving Tembec Inc. and The Birla Group financed by the Province of New Brunswick out of BIA proceedings.
  • Parmalat Dairy and Bakery Inc. in its stabilization and refinancing involving a $610 million transaction with Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and a major Canadian financial institution.
  • Atlas Cold Storage Holdings Inc. in a special committee process in connection with a financial statement restatement, a $285 million take-out financing of syndicated loan facilities and a $350 million class action proceeding.
  • AT&T Canada/Allstream in its $11 billion restructuring, CCAA proceedings and debt-for-equity swap.

Affiliations

  • Law Society of Upper Canada
  • Institute of Corporate Directors
  • Insolvency Institute of Canada – Director
  • Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Advisory Committee
  • Annual Review of Insolvency Law – Founding Member

Industry Recognition

  • Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2013: Restructuring/Insolvency (Band 1)
  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2012: Insolvency & Financial Restructuring
  • The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada 2013: Insolvency & Financial Restructuring
  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2013: Insolvency & Financial Restructuring (Most Frequently Recommended)
  • The Best Lawyers in Canada Restructuring “Lawyer of the Year” 2010
  • ILFR 1000: The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms: Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyers 2012
  • The International Who’s Who of Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyers 2012

Publications/Events/Education

  • Indalex – Priorities and Pension Deficiencies, February 7 (co-author).
  • Supreme Court of Canada Affirms Federal Paramountcy in Insolvency but Leaves Uncertainty for the Credit Community Regarding Provincial Statutory Deemed Trusts, February 2013 (co-author).
  • When can Environmental Regulatory Orders be Compromised Claims under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act? Supreme Court of Canada Provides Clarification, December 2012 (co-author).
  • Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds Extraordinary Dip Financing Arrangements in CCAA Proceedings over Objections of Majority Creditors, National Insolvency Review, July 2012 (with Lindsay Offner and Mary Paterson).
  • Selected Aspects of the Treatment of Derivatives in Canadian Insolvency Proceedings:  Time for a Reset?, Annual Review of Insolvency Law, 2012.
  • Directors’ Duties and Liabilities, Osgoode Hall Law School, 2011.
  • Shifting Sands: Creditor Alignment, Cohesion and Committees in Large Value Insolvencies, Insolvency Institute of Canada, 2011.
  • Retooling the CCAA, Insolvency Institute of Canada, Canadian Association of Insolvency & Restructuring Professionals, Canadian Insolvency Foundation, 2011.
  • Lessons From Large Value Restructurings: Gaining Insight For Everyday Practice, The Canadian Institute, 2011.
  • Canwest: A Case Study, Osgoode Professional Development, 2010.
  • National Forum on Directors', Officers' and Fiduciaries' Liability, The Canadian Institute, 2009.
  • Innovative Restructurings in Challenging Times: What Works, What Doesn’t and What’s Next, Turnaround Management Association, 2009.
  • Practice Gems - Bankruptcy and Insolvency for General Practitioners, Law Society of Upper Canada, 2009.
  • Protecting Directors & Officers from Liabilities, The Canadian Institute, 2009.
  • Shareholders’ and Directors’ Duties in a Restructuring Environment, Osgoode Professional Development, 2009.

Pro Bono/Community Work

  • Trillium Health Partners, Director
  • St. Patrick’s Benevolent Society of Toronto, Director

Downloadable Profile

Edward Sellers