Michael Innes, Desmond Lee
Feb 2, 2022
Osler was ranked #1 as legal counsel to issuers for combined equity and debt offerings by value, according to the Financial Post’s full-year 2021 Canadian capital markets league table results announced on January 31, 2022. Osler advised issuers on 48 completed transactions valued at $31.7 billion. Osler was also ranked as the #2 advisor to underwriters, acting on 30 equity and debt offerings that raised $16.2 billion in total.
In an FP Dealmakers article about the rankings, author Julius Melnitzer outlines 2021 market trends that resulted in a blockbuster year of deal activity driven by low interest rates and thriving stock markets. Law firms advised on 675 equity and debt offerings in 2021, up 32.6 per cent over 2020, with total deal value of $174.3 billion, up 16.3 per cent from the prior year.
“We certainly had not planned for what occurred this past year, which produced one of the best capital markets ever, and we’re talking all sectors, all industries and all types of products,” said Michael Innes, Co-Chair of Osler’s Capital Markets group. “Government stimulus, loads of cash, low interest rates, and incredible investor demand for issues of any kind were the key drivers.”
“It was very much the year of the IPO, the most in a long while and predominantly in the tech sector,” Michael said.
And while the debt deal count dropped 25.2 per cent to 95 deals, total deal value rose 3.8 per cent to $122.3 billion.
“The threat of rising interest rates saw some issuers call bonds early with a view to refinancing in 2021,” Michael told the Financial Post. “Green and sustainability-linked bonds also performed well, as did Maples, partly because the spreads were better here than in the U.S.”
See the league tables and read author Julius Melnitzer’s full article, “FP Dealmakers: Law firms on overdrive amid 'hunger and urgency to get deals done'”.
With offices in Toronto, Montréal, Calgary, Ottawa, Vancouver and New York, Osler is consistently recognized as one of Canada’s leading Capital Markets firms. Our clients include major Canadian corporations, well-known multinationals, entrepreneurial and growth-oriented businesses and Canadian and global investment banks engaged in capital markets activities in Canada, the United States and internationally.