Niko is Head of Osler’s Montréal Corporate Group, advising clients on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, capital markets offerings, and complex cross-border deals. With over 25 years of experience representing public and private clients, Niko delivers practical solutions that align legal strategy with commercial objectives across the full spectrum of corporate and securities matters.
Niko advises a wide range of clients, including public and private companies, private equity sponsors, pension funds, boards, independent committees, issuers, and underwriters. His expertise encompasses negotiated and contested acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, auctions, take-over bids, carve-outs, strategic investments, recapitalizations, reorganizations, joint ventures, and other corporate transactions. Niko’s private equity expertise spans a range of private equity transactions, including leveraged buyouts, take-private deals, secondary market transactions and strategic acquisitions. His guidance extends beyond deal-making to encompass securities law compliance, corporate governance, and other areas that ensure successful acquisitions, and exits. Attentive to each client’s strategic priorities, he delivers knowledgeable advice that balances legal precision with practical business insight.
Drawing on experience gained at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York and Australia before returning to Canada in 2004, Niko provides clients a valued cross-border perspective to Canadian, U.S. and international transactions. His familiarity with multiple legal systems supports efficient execution of multi-jurisdictional deals across various sectors, including infrastructure, manufacturing, media and entertainment, mining and natural resources, telecommunications, and transportation.
Niko is recognized for his problem-solving abilities and negotiation skills. He has taught mergers and acquisitions law at McGill University’s Faculty of Law, and his extensive transaction experience reflects the long-standing relationships he maintains with prominent corporate clients in Québec, Canada, and internationally.
Representative Work
Private Equity
- Continuim partners with MindCore Technologies
Continuim Equity Partners in connection with its acquisition of MindCore Technologies
- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
La Caisse in its US$1.9 billion sale of Barrette Outdoor Living with TorQuest Partners to CRH plc
- BBH Capital Partners
BBH Capital Partners in its exit from its investment in Synex Business Performance
- Moment Factory Studios Inc.
Moment Factory in connection with the sale of a minority equity interest to private investment firm Financière Outremont Inc.
- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
La Caisse on the sale of Plusgrade Inc., alongside Novacap to General Atlantic for more than US$1 billion
- Marquis Imprimeur
Marquis Imprimeur in its sale to Lakeside Book Company, a portfolio company of Atlas Holdings
- BBH Capital Partners
BBH Capital Partners in its $120 million investment in Synex Group insurance
- La Caisse in its majority investment in Barrette Outdoor Living
- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, in its equity investment in Atlantic Broadband, a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc., in relation to the acquisition of the MetroCast cable systems
- La Caisse in connection with its acquisition, together with FFL Partners, of New Look
- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, in its equity financing in Hopper Inc
- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, in its investment and take-control of the McInnis Cement Project
- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Investissement Québec, alongside existing investors, in its $80 million financing in Lightspeed to drive international growth
- Quebecor Media Inc., in the purchase of a significant portion of the La Caisse’s interest in Quebecor Media for a total consideration of approximately $1.5 billion
- Weather Investments, in its acquisition of all shares of La Mancha Resources Inc. for an overall price of approximately $502 million
- Atrium Innovation Inc., in connection with its $75 million public offering of convertible debentures and its simultaneous $25 million private investment of convertible debentures in the Fonds de solidarité FTQ
- Fonds de solidarité FTQ, in connection with its $30 million cash equity investment in Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc
- Fonds de solidarité FTQ, in connection with its $100 million investment in TransForce Inc
- Atrium Innovations Inc., in connection with the sale of its active ingredient and chemical specialty division to AXA Private Equity
Other Representative Work
- The Initial Purchasers
Champion Iron in its US$500-million offering of senior notes
- Publicis Groupe
Publicis Groupe in its acquisition of Moov AI
- Management group of rollover shareholders of Innergex
The management group of rollover shareholders of Innergex in connection with its $10-billion privatization by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
- Aviation Starlink Inc.
Aviation Starlink Inc. and its affiliates in the acquisition of certain assets of affiliates of Chrono Aviation Inc., and related equity investment and debt financing
- Publicis Groupe
Publicis Groupe in its acquisition of Mars United Commerce
- Rio Tinto and Evolys Québec Inc.
Joint venture between Rio Tinto and Aymium
- Béton Provincial
Béton Provincial in connection with its acquisition of CRH Canada Group Inc.
- Metro Supply Group
Metro Supply Chain in its acquisition of SCI Group Inc.
- Caisse de dépôt et Placement du Québec
La Caisse in its $150 million equity investment in Pomerleau Inc.
- Québecor
Québecor and its wholly-owned subsidiary Videotron Ltd. in their $2.85 billion acquisition of Freedom Mobile Inc. from Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc.
- Safran
Safran in its acquisition of Orolia
- Zebra Technologies
Zebra Technologies in its acquisition of Matrox Imaging
- Nasdaq
Nasdaq in its acquisition of Metrio
- Imerys
Imerys in its sale of two graphite mines to Northern Graphite
- Deerfield Specialty Papers Inc.
Deerfield Specialty Papers in connection with the sale of Glassine Canada to Nordic Paper Holding.
- The sellers
Quatro Air Technologies in its acquisition by Absolent Air Care Group
- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
- Textron Inc.
Textron Inc. in its sale of TRU Simulation Inc + Training Inc., to CAE Inc. for US$40 million
- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
- Nasdaq, Inc. in connection with the sale of its Public Relations Solutions and Digital Media Services Businesses to West Corporation for approximately US$335 million
- Corbeil Électrique Inc., in connection with the sale of substantially all of its business and assets to AM-CAM Électroménagers Inc
- Luxury Retreats International Inc. in its acquisition by Airbnb Inc
- Fiera Capital, in its acquisition of Apex Capital Management which more than doubles its presence on the U.S. institutional market
- Nasdaq, in its acquisition of Marketwired, which distributes news releases and economic data for investors and media companies, for an undisclosed amount
- Videotron, in its acquisition of Fibrenoire for CDN$125 million
- The TRIGO Group, in its acquisition of The PIC Group
- TVA Group, a subsidiary of Quebecor Media, in its acquisition of Vision Globale’s assets for $118 million
- Quebecor Media Inc., in the sale of the English-language assets of its subsidiary Sun Media Corporation to Canadian press group Postmedia for $316 million
- Quebecor Media Inc., in the sale of Nurun, a global design and technology consultancy, for $125 million
- Quebecor Media Inc., in the sale of Sun Media Corporation’s 74 Québec weeklies to TC Media for $75 million
- Quebecor Media Inc., in its negotiation with the City of Québec over the management and operation of a new multifunctional amphitheatre to be built
- The special committee of Cossette Inc., in its sale to Mill Road Capital, L.P. for a consideration of $131.5 million
- Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, in connection with its mergers with Biovail Corporation
- Tekelec, in connection with its acquisition of Blueslice Networks Inc
- Hydro-Québec, in connection with its acquisition of a 60% interest in the hydro-electric facilities on the Manicouagan River
- Société générale de financement du Québec, in connection with its $60 million investment in the debt instruments and equity securities of Axcan Pharma Inc
- Optimum Général Inc., in connection with its privatization by the merging of Optimum Général with a subsidiary of Optimum Group Inc
- The special committee of Groupe Optimum’s board of directors, in connection with a takeover offer by a group led by the president of one of its subsidiaries
- Quebecor Media Inc., in connection with its leveraged buyout of Osprey Media Income Fund
- National Bank Financial Inc. and Loewen, Ondaatje, McCutcheon Limited, in connection with the private placement of $15 million unsecured convertible debentures of Adaltis Inc
- Lazard Frères & Co. LLC and the initial purchasers, in connection with the private placement of common shares and common share purchase warrants worth a principal amount of $25 million of Adaltis Inc
- Bombardier Inc., in connection with its €1.9 billion distribution of debt securities and its debt tender offer in Europe
- Kruger Inc., in its acquisition of Maison des Futailles, a big Québec wine company that bottles and markets wines and spirits
- Arbec Forest Products Inc., in connection with its privatization through its majority shareholder, Jolina Capital Inc
- Metro Inc., in connection with its $600 million distribution of debt securities
- Metro Inc., in connection with its acquisition of The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company for a consideration of $1.7 billion
- Novelis Inc., in connection with its US$1.4 billion offering of senior notes
- Alcan Inc., in connection with the distribution to its shareholders of virtually all of its aluminium-laminated product business
- Province of Québec, in connection with its offering of up to $3 billion of debt securities.
- NSTAR, in connection with its US$500 million offering of debt securities
- Cablevision Systems Corporation, in connection with its acquisitions of partnership interests from subsidiaries of The News Corporation Limited
- Bear Stearns, in connection with total return swap transactions with Fleet National Bank
- ING Groep N.V., in connection with the sale of ING Barings LLC and its ancillary assets to ABN Amro Incorporated
- Foster’s Brewing Group Limited, in connection with its AU$500 million debt securities offering
- National Australia Bank Limited, in connection with its debt securities offering for a maximum capital of AU$15 billion
- Queensland Treasury Corporation, in connection with its AU$10 billion Global Bond Facility and its AU$500 million Medium Term Note Program
- BHP Steel Limited, as part of the split between BHP Steel and BHP Billiton, the listing of BHP Steel on the Australian Securities Exchange and the public offering of approximately 792 million BHP Steel shares
- The underwriters JPMorgan, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank, in a US$500 million offering of debt securities
- Enex Resources Limited, in connection with its proposed initial public offering
- BHP Billiton, in connection with its US$850 million debt securities offering
- UBS AG, in connection with its acquisition of Paine Webber Group Inc. for a consideration of US$12.2 billion
Latest Insights
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PE Points Newsletter
Osler’s National Private Equity Group has launched its quarterly PE newsletter: your source of private equity news and information.
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Determining fair market value in Canadian management equity repurchases
We explore management equity repurchases, valuation approaches, corporate governance considerations and the implications for management and sponsors.
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Osler Update February 28, 2017
Québec government announces strategy to keep head offices in Québec
Reacting to concerns expressed in Québec, many of the province’s flagship companies are being acquired by interests outside the province. The...
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Awards and Recognition
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Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business: Recognized in Corporate/Commercial (Quebec)
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The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory: Recognized in Corporate Commercial Law; Corporate Mid-Market; Mergers & Acquisitions; Corporate Finance & Securities; Private Equity
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Best Lawyers in Canada: Recognized in Corporate Law; Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Securities Law
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Legal 500: Ranked in The Legal 500 Canada: Corporate and Mergers & Acquisition
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Lexpert Special Edition: Recognized in Energy
Community Involvement
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Fondation du CHUM
Credentials
Education
- Harvard Business School, PLD
- McGill University, LL.B., B.C.L.
Languages
- English
- French
Professional Affiliations
- Canadian Bar Association
- New York Bar Association
- Bar Association of the City of New York
- American Bar Association