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Robert Hull is a partner in Gowlings' Toronto office, practising corporate, commercial and securities law, with particular specialty in real estate securities and fund formation. In addition, he works extensively in structuring private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset class investment products on behalf of major Canadian pension funds, asset managers, investment dealers and overseas investors in the Canadian marketplace.
Bob represents numerous domestic and international business concerns active in the Canadian industry sectors of technology, steel, waste management, transportation, distribution, healthcare and institutional real estate.
During Bob’s many years of practice, he has represented market participants in creating investment structures to maximize returns and minimize risk for institutional, domestic and foreign real estate investors. In this capacity, he is active in the creation of syndications, joint ventures, limited partnerships, co-ownerships and Section 149 pension realty and investment corporations on behalf of many of Canada’s leading pension funds and asset managers. In addition, he continues to represent many European financial institutions in structuring their cross-border investment vehicles into Canadian real estate and infrastructure assets. Bob also plays a significant role in the market development and growth of his clients through their mergers and acquisitions transactions.
Prior to the merger of Smith Lyons with Gowlings in 2001, Bob served as partner-in-charge of client relations, partner-in-charge of international operations and as a member of the Smith Lyons executive committee.
Bob practises in English and French. Below are some of Bob's representative transactions and clients:
- Acting for Beutel Goodman on the sale of the $1 billion portfolio managed by Beutel Goodman Real Estate Group to Bentall Investment Management in 2002;
- Acting as counsel to LaSalle Investment Management, a subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE), on the structuring, creation and operation of its first three Canadian institutional real estate investment pools, LaSalle Canada Realty Ltd., LaSalle Canadian Income & Growth Fund II Limited Partnership and LaSalle Canadian Income and Growth Fund III Limited Partnership;
- Counsel to Greiner-Pacaud Management Associates since 1982 in the structuring and creation of its 12 closed end institutional investment pools;
- Counsel to the City of Vaughan and Hydro Vaughan Distribution Inc. in the latter’s mergers with Markham Hydro and Richmond Hill Hydro to create PowerStream Inc., and subsequent acquisition by PowerStream of Aurora Hydro Systems. PowerStream is one of Ontario’s largest electricity distribution companies;
- Counsel to Credit Suisse Asset Management of Zurich for the Canadian investments of Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund International. Recent transactions include the acquisition for redevelopment during 2011 of an 80% interest in the Old Stock Exchange Building in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia;
- Counsel to Browning-Ferris Industries in the Matter of Med-Tech Environmental Limited, heard by the Ontario Securities Commission in 1998 with respect to a contested take-over bid for Med-Tech Environmental (1998), 21 OSCB 7607;
- Advising major Canadian pension funds, including Canada Mortgage Housing and Corporation Pension Plan, International Carpenters Pension Plan, Canada Post Corporation Registered Pension Plan, Caisse de Retraite d’Hydro Québec, Saskatchewan Health Care Employees’ Pension Plan and Shell Canada Pension Trust on real estate, infrastructure and private equity investment projects and vehicles;
- Counsel to KG Allgemeine Leasing GmbH of Munich and Wealth Capital GmbH of Hamburg on their Canadian real estate investment structures;
- Counsel to Roycom Inc. of Halifax in the structure, creation and operation of its pension and institutional realty investment vehicles;
- Counsel to Canadian Urban Limited of Edmonton in the structure, creation and operation of its pension realty investment vehicles;
- Counsel to the Canadian Football League in connection with the sale and transfer of its Ottawa Rough Riders franchise in 1994;
- Counsel to the acquiror of Diversicare Canada Management Services Co., Inc., which owns and operates the Diversicare seniors’ and retirement residences across Canada, from Advocat Inc. of Nashville, Tennessee in 2004;
- Counsel to Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, one of North America’s most successful steel service distribution organizations. Recent transactions include the going private transaction for its 71% owned subsidiary Samuel Manu-Tech Inc. (TSX); a new unsecured credit facility from a syndicate of six North American banks; the acquisition of the operations of Doral Steel in Ohio, Tennessee and Mexico; and the acquisition of Namasco Limited from Klöckner AG of Duisburg, Germany;
- Counsel to Real I.S. AG of Munich, the investment subsidiary of Bayerische Landesbank, with respect to its Canadian investments;
- Counsel to NB Financial in connection with the sale and disposition of its ownership interest in Edgestone Capital Partners;
- Counsel to IGB Canada Retail Fund I, Limited Partnership, which acquired Tremblant Retail Villages at Mont Tremblant, Quebec in December 2007 on behalf of German Investors;
- Counsel to Aurion Capital Management Inc., an institutional investment counsel and portfolio manager, including advising Aurion on the sale of a 60% equity interest to Dundee Wealth Inc. in 2008;
- Counsel to a syndicate of Canadian pension fund investors in connection with the structure and initial closing of Strathallen Retail Fund 3 LP, a retail real estate investment fund managed by Strathallen Capital Corporation; and
- Counsel to a syndicate of Canadian pension fund investors in connection with the establishment of Realstar Apartments Partnership, a closed-end, multi-residential real estate investment fund, in 2011.
Bob's representative publications include:
- "Where to Form Your Fund", http://www.gowlings.com, August 2010
- “Maximizing European Investment Opportunities in Canadian Real Estate” in the May/June, 2005 Newsletter published by the Association of Foreign Investors of Real Estate;
- “Commentary: Why Canada?” Volume 3, No. 2, June, 1998, the Newsletter of the US Federal Bar Association’s Corporate and Association Counsel’s Division;
- “An Open and Closed Case,” Benefits Canada, April 1992, contrasting the benefits and disadvantages of open and closed end real estate investment funds; and
- “The Assessment of Canadian Control Under The National Energy Program,” Canadian Business Law Journal, Volume 8, No. 1, July, 1983.
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