Foresters completes acquisition of Unity Life in Canada's first sponsored demutualization
Client
The Independent Order of Foresters
On April 3, 2008, The Independent Order of Foresters and Unity Life of Canada announced completion of a sponsored demutualization of Unity Life, a company with $560 million in assets, under which Unity Life became a wholly owned subsidiary of Foresters and will represent Foresters in the Canadian market as Unity Life of Canada, a Foresters Company. This was the first sponsored demutualization in Canada. The $50 million in proceeds from the share transaction will be paid to eligible policyholders in exchange for their voting control and their share of the value of Unity Life. This transaction will result in Foresters having assets of approximately $6 billion and equity of $1.4 billion.
Foresters was advised in this transaction by Katharine Rounthwaite, Vice President, General Counsel and Executive Secretary and Parker Brown, Assistant Vice President and Associate General Counsel and by a team from Fasken Martineau which included Robert McDowell, Koker Christensen and Wojtek Baraniak (financial institutions and services), Kathleen Hanly and David Fox (tax) and Paul Casuccio (commodity tax), Doug New and Huy Do (Investment Canada and competition), Anita Huntley (technology), Armand Benitah (intellectual property), Ian Campbell (employment), Ross Gascho (pensions and benefits), Rosalind Cooper (environmental) and Paul King (real property).
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