- Insurance
- Represented Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) to obtain approval from the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Canada) under the Insurance Companies Act (Canada) to insure in Canada personal lines property and casualty risks, including those falling under the classes of property, liability, marine and automobile insurance.
- Represented Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in its acquisition of substantially all of the treaty reinsurance brokerage operations from Willis Towers Watson plc. for US$3.25 billion.
- Routinely assists domestic and foreign insurance and reinsurance companies in connection with incorporation and licensing of Canadian subsidiaries/branches.
- Currently working with a US reciprocal insurance exchange to establish branch operations in Canada, which will be the first federally regulated reciprocal insurance exchange branch to operate in Canada.
- Currently working with a insurance company in the Netherlands to establish branch operations in Canada for a specialty insurance product.
- Darcy manages the firm’s collaboration with Ethidex Inc. to offer Risk Manager®, a web based risk management and legislative compliance tool for insurance companies across Canada.
- She also conducts a quarterly cross-Canada review of the legislation and regulatory guidance applicable to insurance companies in order to provide ongoing compliance advice.
- Advises corporate clients on the scope and language of the insurance policy coverage to be required from their vendors and other counterparties.
- Recently conducted a fulsome review of the applications and endorsements of an international insurance company and adapted them for use within Canada (excluding Quebec).
- Ongoing advice to a major global insurance company related to their operations in Canada, most recently with respect to the language and roll out of a new flood endorsement.
- Counsel to an international insurance agency with respect to the organization and licensing of a Canadian federal life insurance agency seeking to commence business in the provinces of Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec.
- Engaged by a key stakeholder to provide advice with respect to the ongoing review of the federal financial sector legislative and regulatory framework in Canada, with a particular focus on the ability to interact with fintech companies.
- Counsel to The Co-operators Group Limited in the merger of its travel insurance company TIC Travel Insurance Coordinators with Allianz Global Assistance Canada, creating one of the largest travel insurance providers in the country operating as Allianz Global Assistance.
- Extended Warranties and Service Contracts
- Provides ongoing warranty advice to an interactive fitness company based in the United States in connection with the sale of fitness equipment in Canada.
- Recently provided an analysis of the regulatory landscape in select Provinces relating to extended warranties for HVAC Equipment and other household appliances.
- Advised an automotive manufacturer with respect to an extended warranty program, including potential risks and the applicability of licensing requirements.
- Advised on the factors that regulators may consider when assessing licensing requirements for the provision of automobile protection products through franchise auto dealerships.
- Lender Counsel
- Counsel to Antares Capital LP, in its capacity as administrative agent for a syndicate of financial institutions, in connection with a US$135 million debtor-in-possession financing to Golfsmith International Holdings LP. Golfsmith, a specialty retailer of golf equipment, consumables, athletic apparel and accessories in North America, and its US subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States. Concurrent Canadian proceedings under the CCAA were filed by Golf Town Canada Holdings Inc. (the Canadian branch of Golfsmith) and its Canadian subsidiaries.
- Counsel to FMMC Private Yield Fund (FMMC), a private investment fund managed by Fraser Mackenzie Merchant Capital in connection with a multimillion-dollar funding agreement with iCONECT to support the ongoing development of iCONECT’s flagship XERA document review platform and its continued expansion in the legal eDiscovery field, as well as its entrance into healthcare and finance industries. Fraser Mackenzie Merchant Capital is a private equity firm based in Canada that helps medium sized businesses grow, while FMMC provides capital to profitable, privately-owned and small-cap public businesses in Canada and the United States.
- Counsel to The Bank of Nova Scotia in connection with an extension of a senior secured revolving credit facility to North American Palladium Ltd., an established precious metals producer.
- Assisted a major Schedule I Bank to obtain a security interest over a mine in Mexico, along with other collateral located in Peru and Barbados.
- Lender counsel for the $175 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing provided to Catalyst Paper to help fund its operations during the period of credit protection under the CCAA.
- Assisted a major Schedule III Bank to secure an amended and restated credit facility to a leading energy management company, allowing the company to acquire a new subsidiary.
- Borrower Counsel
- Acted for Canadian Payments Association (d.b.a. Payments Canada), the organization responsible for Canada’s essential payments systems, in connection with a syndicated credit facility in the principal amount of $250 million as part of the modernization of Canada’s payments ecosystem completed in April, 2017.
- Canadian counsel to Vitran Corporation Inc., a publicly traded North American transportation company in the sale of its Supply Chain Operation (SCO) business to LEGACY Supply Chain for US $97 million in cash in which LEGACY Supply Chain acquired various Vitran Canadian and U.S. subsidiaries carrying on the SCO business.
- DIP financing: counsel to Crystallex International Corporation, a mining company, whose main asset was a $3.2 billion arbitration claim against Venezuela.
- Project Finance
- Counsel to the bond underwriters and lenders in connection with a $1.093 billion 20 year project for the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the John Hart Generating Station Replacement Project involving a new generating station, water bypass facility and associated water intake and 2.1 kilometer long tunnel located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
- Significant role in the financial close of the Northeast Anthony Henday Drive Project in Alberta, a $1.81 billion project for the design, build, operate and finance of the North East portion of the Edmonton ring road over the course of a 34-year contract. The project includes 27 kilometres of six and eight-lane divided roadway, nine interchanges, two road flyovers, eight rail crossings and two bridges across the North Saskatchewan River.
Darcy Ammerman
She | Her
Partner, Banking & Finance | Insurance