Queen’s Marque
600-1741 Lower Water Street
Halifax, N.S.
B3J 0J2
Language(s) spoken: English
Bar Admission(s): Ontario, 2005; New Brunswick, 2014; Nova Scotia, 2017
Legal Assistant(s): Kaeleigh Leeson
Dave is the Lead of the firm’s Energy Group and a partner in our Business Law Group in Halifax. He has extensive experience across various industries including insurance, mining, media, energy, manufacturing and technology. He has acted as lead advisor for a number of noteworthy Canadian and international clients in a number of areas:
- Mergers & Acquisitions: Acquisition and disposition of both public and private entities. Recent experience includes:
- Acting for NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE: NS) in the sale of its storage terminal located at Point Tupper on the Strait of Canso, near Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia for US$60 million to EverWind Fuels.
- Acting for a group of purchasers in their acquisition of a majority stake in a contracting and engineering firm focused on the design, building and managing of petroleum facilities.
- Acting for the special committee of the board of directors of Clearwater Seafoods Incorporated in the announced acquisition of Clearwater Seafoods Incorporated by Premium Brands Holdings Corporation and a coalition of Mi’kmaq First Nations in a transaction valued at approximately $1.0 billion, including debt.
- Acting for the owners of a trucking and transportation company in the sale of the company to another trucking and transportation company.
- Acting for the majority shareholders of Trihedral Engineering Limited, a SCADA and IIoT software company, in the sale of Trihedral Engineering Limited to Delta Electronics, a global leader in power and thermal management solutions.
- Acting for Venus Concept (NASDAQ), an innovative global aesthetic technology leader in its acquisition of NeoGraft Solutions’ hair restoration business.
- Acting for the owner/operator of a retail property/casualty broker specializing in the transportation and logistics sector in the sale of the broker to a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm.
- Acting for a privately-held technology company in its sale of cloud-native software and edge connectivity assets to a leading software supplier for optimizing asset performance.
- Acting for the shareholders of a drilling company in the sale of the company to a large civil contractor.
- Acting for the shareholders of a marine and heavy civil construction company in the sale of the company to a large civil contractor.
- Energy: Significant experience acting for developers and acquirors of renewal energy projects, in particular in the acquisition of developed wind projects and the financing of same. David has advised a number of clients in responding to energy procurements in the Atlantic Provinces and is a caucus member of CanRea.
- Corporate Finance: Short form public offerings and private placements for both issuers and underwriters including medium term notes, senior and subordinated debt, common and preferred shares and innovative capital structures for financial institutions. David has successfully completed more than 50 corporate finance transactions for private and public entities in a wide range of industries.
- Corporate Governance: Advised and represented clients listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the TSX Venture Exchange and the Canadian Stock Exchange on corporate governance and continuous disclosure matters. He has prepared internal disclosure policies, proxy circulars, AIFs, annual reports and other disclosure documentation.
- Other: Regularly provided advice and negotiated complex commercial agreements in a variety of different industries including real estate, transportation and logistics, consumer products and construction and equipment.
Education & Career
Education
The Osgoode Certificate in Blockchains, Smart Contracts and the Law, 2018 – 2019
Ivey Business School at Western Ontario, J.D. Irving Leadership Foundations Program, 2014
Ivey Business School at Western Ontario, J.D. Irving Leadership Strategic Communications Program, 2015
University of Toronto, JD, 2003
Mount Allison University, BA, 2000
Activities
Member, Canadian Bar Association
Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Canada Games Centre Halifax, 2024 – present
Governor, The Saint John Jeux Canada Games Foundation, Inc., 2015 – 2017
Director, Touchstone Academy, 2016 – 2017
Member, Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA), 2023
Board Member (Chair of Strategy Committee), Canada Games Society 2023 – present
Accolades
Lexpert rating: Mergers & Acquisitions, 2022
Thought Leadership
Canada’s investment in hydrogen has substantial implications for the Atlantic Canadian wind power sector
August 06, 2024
Energy Watch
January 29, 2024
The Offshore Renewable Energy Area: Navigating offshore commitments in Newfoundland and Labrador
December 18, 2023
Clean sweep: Federal Government tables legislation for Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit
December 15, 2023
Nova Scotia releases offshore wind roadmap
June 21, 2023
The Winds of Change (Part 7): Paying the Piper: New Newfoundland and Labrador Fiscal Framework expects billions in revenues from wind to hydrogen projects
February 24, 2023
Nova Scotia setting legislative framework for green hydrogen
October 24, 2022
Federal Government, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador clearing the way for offshore wind development
September 29, 2022
The winds of change (part 3): Newfoundland and Labrador releases wind energy guidelines
July 27, 2022
The winds of change (part 2): Crown Land
July 21, 2022
Ensuring your earn-out turns out: A review of the law of earn-out clauses in Canada
February 05, 2020