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Ilia Danef

Partner
About

Ilia Danef has an extensive finance practice with a focus on debt finance.

Ilia acts as lead counsel for lenders and borrowers in relation to different types of financings, including project financing (in particular in the area of natural resources and projects and infrastructure), acquisition financing, export credit financing, investment grade loans, telecom financing, asset based loans as well as general corporate loans.

Ilia also acts on behalf of issuers, holders and trustees in relation to the debt aspects of bond offerings in the capital markets.

In addition, as part of his practice, Ilia has acted on behalf of Crown Corporation such Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, FinDev Canada, Triodos, the Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure and Infrastructure Ontario as well as other international development finance institutions.

Ilia also regularly acts on behalf of administrative agents, collateral agents and security agents and trustees in connection secured and unsecured debt financings.

Ilia spent 12 years with a large Canadian law firm and ten years with two other large international firms, including five years in London and Amsterdam in the Finance group of a large international firm. During that time, he spent seven months in-house with ABN AMRO Bank N.V, the largest Dutch bank at the time with their acquisition finance, telecom and investment grade teams.

Bar admissionsOntario, 1997

EXPERIENCE

Acquisition and General Corporate Financing

  • Advised Dye & Durham (TSX: DND) on its US$555 million private senior secured notes offering
  • Advised Dye & Durham (TSX: DND) on its US$455 million senior secured debt facility with Goldman Sachs Bank USA
  • Acted for Dye & Durham (TSX: DND) on its $3.25 billion senior secured debt facility in connection with the acquisition of Link Administration Holdings Limited (ASX: LNK)
  • Acted for Dye & Durham (TSX: DND) on its $1.8B financing in connection with the acquisition of TELUS' Financial Solutions Business
  • Acted for Dye & Durham (TSX: DND) on the debt financing portion of its $530 million acquisition of Do Process LP, an ‎affiliated entity of Teranet Inc., from OMERS Infrastructure
  • Acted for Dye & Durham (TSX: DND) on its $700M refinancing with The Bank of Nova Scotia

Project Financing

  • Acted for Sprott Natural Resource IV (Collector-1), LP in connection with its US$112 million loan commitment to McEwen Copper Inc.
  • Acted for Sprott Natural Resource Investment Partners in connection with amendments to its US$130 million project financing of Robex Resources Inc.’s Kiniero Gold Project in Guinea
  • Acted for Sprott Private Resource Lending (Collector), LP in connection with a CAD$50 million senior secured project financing facility provided to Harte Gold Corp
  • Acted for Sprott Private Resource Lending (Collector), LP in connection with the US$275 million project financing of a project owned by Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. in Nunavut
  • Acted for Sprott Private Resource Lending (Collector), LP in connection with the project financing of Equinox Gold's Arizona Gold Project in Brazil
  • Acted for Sprott Private Resource Lending (Collector), LP in connection with the US$100 million financing of the acquisition of the Mesquite gold mine from New Gold
  • Acted for Sprott Private Resource Lending (Collector), LP in connection with the US$80 million project financing of Alphamin Resources' tin mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Acted for Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP in connection with the US$120 million project financing of TMAC Resources Inc.'s Hope Bay Gold Project in Nunavut
  • Acted for Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP in connection with the US$75 million project financing of Cardinal Resources Limited's mining project in Ghana
  • Acted for ING Bank N.V. in connection with a US$50 million financing provided to Lydian Armenia CJSC and Lydian International Limited, as well as the subsequent restructuring and enforcement
  • Acted for Silver Storm in connection with a prepayment agreement with Samsung
  • Acted for Adventus Mining Corporation and its subsidiaries in connection with US$45 million in project financing facilities provided by Trafigura Pte Ltd. for the El Domo Project in Ecuador
  • Acted for Auramet International Inc. in connection with a US$35,000,000 bridge loan facility to Troilus Gold Corp.
  • Acted for Auramet International Inc. in connection with a USS32,000,000 bridge loan facility to Canada Nickel Company Inc.
  • Acted for Auramet International Inc. in connection with a USS25,000,000 loan and royalty financing package to Minera Alamos Inc.
  • Acted for Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP in connection with the credit facility used to partially fund the acquisition of a portfolio of precious metal royalties from South32 Limited by Elemental Royalties Corp.
  • Acted for Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP in connection with a US$65M credit facility and a US$25M gold stream with Pure Gold Mining Inc. to fund the costs to develop an underground mine at PGM’s Madsen Gold Project
  • Acted for Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP in connection with a US$110M multi-tranche senior secured credit facility and a US$30M royalty agreement with Hycroft Mining Corporation to finance its acquisition of Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation
  • Acted for Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP in connection with a convertible senior financing in support of SRG Mining Inc.'s bid for North American Lithium Inc.

Asset Based Loans

  • Acted for Silfab Solar Inc. in connection with a $125,000,000 ABL facility with JPMorgan
  • Acted for Morgan Construction and Environmental Ltd. in connection with its $200,000,000 ABL financing with Gordon Brothers
  • Acted for Prairie North in connection with a $20,000,000 ABL financing with Gordon Brothers
  • Acting for a confidential client in connection with a $40,000,000 ABL Facility with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Agency Roles and Notes Offerings

  • Act for Computershare Trust Company of Canada in connection with its collateral agency role with respect to collateral provided by each of Rothman, Benson & Hdges Inc, Imperial Tobacco Company, JTI-Macdonald Corp. for the benefit of various claimaints across Canada in connection with Companies Creditors Arrangement Act proceedings
  • Acted for Computershare Trust Company, N.A. in its capacity as notes trustee and collateral trustee in connection with notes and indenture facilities provided to FinanceIt
  • Acted for Computershare Trust Company, N.A. in its capacity as collateral trustee in connection with notes and indenture facilities provided to LendDirect
  • Acted for Computershare Trust Company, N.A. in its capacity as administrative and collateral agent in connection with credit facilities provided to Hypertec Cloud Inc.
  • Acted for Trulieve Cannabis Corp. in connection with a USD $350 million private placement offering of 8% secured notes and supplemental indentures and issuance of additional notes
  • Advised Computershare Trust Company of Canada in the sale of accounts to Olympia Financial Group Inc. (TSX: OLY)

Government and Project Financing

  • Acted for Fin Dev Canada and Triodos in connection with project finance facilities provided to Maranatha for the development of a solar power energy project in the Dominican Republic
  • Acted for Infrastructure Ontario in connection with project financing provided to Ivan Franko Homes for the building and development of long term care homes
  • Acted for Infrastructure Ontario in connection with project financing provided to Foyer Richelieu Welland for the building and development of long term care homes
  • Acted for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Infrastructure Ontario and other governmental authorities with respect to the financing, refinancing and restructuring of YMCA Ottawa
Languages
  • English
  • Bulgarian
  • Dutch
  • French

Awards

  • The Legal 500 Canada (Banking and Finance), 2020
Education
  • LL.B., Osgoode Hall, 1995
  • B.A., Philosophy, University of Toronto, 1992

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Ontario Bar Association 
  • Law Society of Ontario 
  • International Bar Association