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Desmond Lee

Desmond Lee

Partner, Corporate

Co-Chair: Corporate Finance and Securities

Contact Information

dlee@osler.com

tel: 416.862.5945

Office

Toronto

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Areas of Expertise
Bar Admission

Ontario, 1998

Education
  • McGill University, LL.B.
  • Queen’s University, B.Sc. (Hons.)
Language(s)
English

Desmond has over 18 years of experience advising on capital markets transactions and investment dealer regulation. He joined Osler as a student in 1995, and has co-led the Firm’s corporate finance and securities practice since 2005. Desmond is responsible for the origination and execution of equity and debt financing transactions, and has acted on numerous initial public offerings, new issues, secondary offerings and private placements for issuers primarily in the diversified, financial services, healthcare, mining, power and utilities and real estate industries. He also has extensive experience advising investment banking clients on a variety of day-to-day issues, including trading questions and regulatory matters. In addition to a law degree, Desmond has a Bachelor of Science degree in geological sciences.

Key transactions include:

  • Hydro One Limited’s $1.8 billion initial public offering, which was one of the largest ever initial public offerings in Canada and, at the time of its closing, the largest privatization of a Canadian Crown corporation in 20 years
  • Over 35 public offerings of equity and debt for issuers in the Dream group of real estate funds
  • Acting for the underwriters on large and high-profile equity offerings for issuers such as Barrick Gold Corporation (US$3 billion), Element Financial Corporation ($2.8 billion), Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited ($1.3 billion) and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. ($1.4 billion).
    • Acasti Pharma Inc. – counsel to the sponsor in connection with the listing of Acasti as a separately-traded company.
    • Barrick Gold Corporation – counsel to the underwriters in its US$3 billion MJDS public offering of common shares.
    • Baylin technologies Inc. – counsel to the underwriters in its initial public offering.
    • Cameco Corporation – counsel to the issuer in its MJDS public offering of common shares.
    • CanWest MediaWorks Income Fund – counsel to the issuer in its initial public offering.
    • Capital Power Corporation – counsel to the underwriters in its initial public offering and spin-off from EPCOR Utilities Inc. and various public offerings of common shares.
    • Cara Operations Limited – counsel to the underwriters in its initial public offering and subsequent secondary offering by a selling shareholder.
    • Celestica Inc. – counsel to the underwriters in various public offerings of equity.
    • Chorus Aviation Inc. (formerly Jazz Air Income Fund) – counsel to the issuer in its public offering of convertible debentures.
    • Dream Global REIT (formerly Dundee International REIT) – counsel to the issuer in its initial public offering and various public offerings of equity.
    • Dream Industrial REIT (formerly Dundee Industrial REIT) – counsel to the issuer in its initial public offering and various public offerings of equity.
    • Dream Office REIT (formerly Dundee REIT) – counsel to the issuer in its formation as a REIT and various public offerings of equity and investment grade debt.
    • Dream Unlimited Corp. – counsel to the issuer in its public offering of equity.
    • Element Financial Corporation – counsel to the underwriters in its $2.8 billion public offering of equity in the form of subscription receipts, convertible debentures and preferred shares.
    • Extract Resources Ltd. – counsel to the underwriters in its special warrant offering and subsequent prospectus qualification of ordinary shares.
    • Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited – counsel to the underwriters in its $1.3 billion public offering of equity and debt in the form of subordinate voting shares, preferred shares and senior notes.
    • First Quantum Minerals Ltd.  – counsel to the underwriters in its $1.4 billion public offering of common shares.
    • Granite REIT Holdings Limited Partnership – counsel to the agents in its inaugural investment grade debt offering and follow-on investment grade debt offering.
    • Hydro One Limited – counsel to the issuer in its $1.8 billion initial public offering.
    • Immunovaccine Inc. – counsel to the agents in its public offering of equity.
    • IMRIS Inc. – counsel to the underwriters in its initial public offering and subsequent follow-on offering of common shares.
    • InnVest REIT – counsel to the underwriters in its initial public offering and various public offerings of equity.
    • Lake Shore Gold Corp. – counsel to the underwriters in various public offerings of common shares.
    • Oncolytics Biotech Inc. – counsel to the underwriters in various public offerings of common shares.
    • Orezone Gold Corporation – counsel to the underwriters in its public offering of equity.
    • Pizza Pizza Royalty Corp. (formerly Pizza Pizza Royalty Income Fund) – counsel to the underwriters in the initial public offering of Pizza Pizza Royalty Income Fund.
    • Telesat Canada – counsel to the initial purchasers in various offerings of senior notes.
    • The Second Cup Ltd. (formerly Second Cup Royalty Income Fund) – counsel to the issuer and Cara Holdings Limited in the initial public offering of Second Cup Royalty Income Fund.
    • TransAlta Corporation – counsel to the underwriters in various public offerings of equity and debt.
    • TransAlta Renewables Inc. – counsel to the underwriters in various public offerings of equity in the form of subscription receipts and common shares.
    • Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. – counsel to the issuer in its US$1.4 billion offering of common shares and its US$2.3 billion offering of common shares.

  • The Best Lawyers in Canada, 2014-2017, recognized in the area of Securities Law.
  • The Legal 500, 2015-2016, recognized in the area of Capital Markets.
  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2015-2016, Repeatedly Recommended in the area of Corporate Commercial Law.
  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2016, Consistently Recommended in the area of Corporate Finance & Securities.
  • The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada 2014: Corporate Finance & Securities.
  • Lexpert Special Edition: Canada’s Leading Corporate Lawyers 2014
  • Leading Lawyer in IFLR 1000 for Capital Markets
  • Named as Leading Lawyer Under 40 by Lexpert

  • The Canadian Art Foundation, Board Member and Co-Chair
  • Images Festival, Past Board Member

  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Law Society of Upper Canada

  • 2011 Corporate Finance Review, Osler Capital Markets Review, January 2012
  • The IPO Environment in 2010 and Beyond, Osler Capital Markets Review, January 2011
  • Canadian Capital Markets Update, Osler Corporate Review, October 1, 2009
  • Consider MJDS for Your Next Mining Company Bought Deal, Osler Mining Review, April 28, 2009