Kevin Fritz

Partner

Chair, Canadian Tax Group

Kevin is a capable and practical tax lawyer.
client feedback, Chambers Canada
About

Kevin Fritz is the chair of the firm’s Canadian Tax group. He practices Canadian tax law, with a particular focus on structuring business transactions, foreign investment into Canada and investment products. His practice includes advising clients on the Canadian tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, financing transactions, business restructurings and investment funds. In addition, he provides advice on corporate and personal tax planning and compliance.

Kevin acts for a wide variety of domestic and international clients, including individuals, governments, Crown corporations, financial institutions and businesses of all sizes, from start-up owner managed firms to large multinational corporations. He has developed a particular expertise in dealing with the Canadian tax issues with respect to foreign investment into Canada.

Kevin has been an adjunct professor of law at the University of New Brunswick where he has taught Corporate Transactions Law.

Before his call to the Bar, Kevin served as a Law Clerk to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.

 

Bar admissionsOntario, 1998

EXPERIENCE

  • Acted for Trulieve Cannabis Corp. in connection with a US$350 million private placement offering of 8% secured notes
  • Represented Aphria Inc. (TSX: APHA and NASDAQ: APHA) in its reverse takeover of Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY)
  • Acted for Ascend Wellness Holdings‎ (CSE: AAWH.U‎) in its US$92 million cross-border initial public offering
  • Acting for Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTC: TCNNF) in its proposed US$2.1 billion acquisition of Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. (CSE: HARV, OTCQX: HRVSF)
  • Acted for Trulieve Cannabis Corp. in connection with a public offering of subordinate voting shares in the United States and Canada for gross proceeds of US$287.5 million
  • Acted for a syndicate of underwriters co-led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. and ATB Capital Markets Inc. in the US$149.5 million bought deal public offering of common shares of Columbia Care Inc. (NEO: CCHW) (CSE: CCHW) (OTCQX: CCHWF) (FSE: 3LP)
  • Acted for a syndicate of underwriters co-led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Echelon Wealth Partners Inc. in the US$86.4 million bought deal public offering of common shares of Converge Technology Solutions Corp. (TSXV: CTS) (FSE: 0ZB) (OTCQX: CTSDF)
  • Acted for a syndicate of underwriters led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. in the US$316.9 million bought deal public offering of subordinate voting shares of Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF)
  • Acted for Tier1 Financial Solutions‎‎ on its acquisition of Alessa
  • Acted for Trulieve (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) in connection with a public offering of subordinate voting shares of the Company for gross proceeds of US$115.5 million
  • Acted for Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc. ‎(TSX:CWEB, OTCQX:CWBHF)‎ in its acquisition of Abacus Health Products, Inc. (CSE:ABCS) by way of an arrangement
  • Advised Canadian independent bandwidth infrastructure provider Beanfield Technologies in its acquisition by Digital Colony Capital, Inc.
  • Represented Seequent Limited, an Accel-KKR portfolio company, in connection with Seequent’s acquisition of GEOSLOPE International Ltd., a Canadian-based company that creates integrated, geotechnical analysis software
  • Acted for Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) in connection with a public offering of units of the Company comprised of an aggregate principal amount of US$60 million of 9.75% senior secured notes maturing in 2024 and an aggregate amount of 1,560,000 subordinate voting share warrants
  • Provided tax advice to ASX listed medicinal cannabis company, Althea Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ‎AGH), on its acquisition of Canadian extraction and contract manufacturing company ‎Peak Processing Solutions, together with Althea's associated AU$30 million capital ‎raising
  • Represented Acreage Holdings, Inc. (CSE: ACRG.U) in its US$3.4 billion arrangement with Canopy Growth
  • Represented High Street Capital Partners, LLC in connection with its US$314.2 million subscription receipt financing, reverse take-over of Applied Inventions Management Corp. and the listing of the resulting issuer, Acreage Holdings, Inc. (CSE: ACRG.U), on the Canadian Securities Exchange
  • Acted for Accel-KKR and its portfolio company, Seequent Limited, in connection with Seequent’s acquisition of Geosoft, a Canadian-based software company
  • Acted for CDW Corporation, a NASDAQ listed provider of technology products and services, in its acquisition of Scalar Decisions Inc., a Canadian based information technology company
  • Acted for Acreage Holdings Inc., one of the largest cannabis companies in the United States, in its Canadian going public transaction and US$314 million equity financing
  • Acted for L’Oréal SA, the world’s largest cosmetics company, in its acquisition of Modiface Inc., a Canadian based technology company that creates augmented reality technology for the beauty industry
  • Acted for Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd. on its US$125 million private placement of senior unsecured notes
  • Acted for Partners Group AG, a Swiss private equity fund, in its acquisition of Axia NetMedia, a Canadian public company which provides communications infrastructure, by way of Plan of Arrangement
  • Acted for Owens Corning, a US multinational, in its US$450 million acquisition of InterWrap Inc., a Canadian private company which sells building materials
  • Acted for OpenGate Capital, a US private equity firm, in its acquisition of the Royal Building Products’ window & door division
  • Acted for Federal Signal Corporation, a US public company, in its US$110 million acquisition of Joe Johnson Equipment, a Canadian based distributor of maintenance equipment
  • Acted for Pozen Inc., a US pharmaceutical company, in its merger with Tribute Pharmaceuticals, a Canadian public company, by way of Plan of Arrangement
Languages
  • English
Education
  • LL.M., University of Toronto 2004
  • LL.B., Dalhousie University 1996
  • B.A., University of New Brunswick 1993

Awards

  • Chambers Global (Tax), 2024
  • Chambers Canada (Tax - Nationwide), 2023-2024
  • Best Lawyers in Canada (Tax Law), 2013-2024
  • The Legal 500 Canada (Tax), 2017-2018

Community Involvement

  • Member, The Campaign Cabinet for the University of New Brunswick

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Canadian Tax Foundation
  • Law Society of Ontario
  • Ontario Bar Association
  • Adjunct professor of law, University of New Brunswick (Corporate Transactions Law)

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