November 11, 2009


Montréal (Canada) - Fasken Martineau, a leading international business law and litigation firm, announced today that the Firm has successfully obtained an agreement for its client, Cossette, to be acquired and taken private by Mill Road Capital, L.P., a Greenwich, Connecticut-based private investment firm.

"The entire team of about fifteen professionals, all experts in their respective fields, feels extremely privileged to have provided counsels and guided Cossette through this long and complex process," said Robert Paré, partner with Fasken Martineau in Montréal and lead counsel for the transaction.

As part of the transaction, Mill Road will acquire all of the issued and outstanding subordinate voting shares of Cossette for a consideration of $7.87 per share in cash, which values Cossette's equity at approximately $131.5 million.

The transaction will be effected by way of a statutory amalgamation of Cossette with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mill Road under Part IA of the Companies Act (Québec). Subject to receiving the required Cossette shareholder and regulatory approvals, if any, and the satisfaction of the other customary conditions, the transaction is expected to close before the end of 2009.

Cossette was represented by Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP with a team comprised of Robert Paré, Marie-Josée Neveu, Catherine Isabelle, Frédéric Boucher, Pierre-Étienne Simard, Jean Michel Lapierre and Jean-François Séguin (corporate/securities); Gilles Carli, Thomas Copeland and Alain Ranger (tax); Marc Novello (finance); Douglas New (regulatory); Louis Bernier, Jasmin Marcotte and Lyne Duhaime (labour); and Pierre Lefebvre, Eleni Yiannakis and Juliana Fox (litigation). Cossette was represented internally by Kimberley Okell, Vice-President Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary of Cossette.

About Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Fasken Martineau, which ranks among the three largest law firms in Canada, is a leading international business law and litigation firm. With over 650 lawyers, the firm has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City, London, Paris and Johannesburg. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is a limited liability partnership under the laws of Ontario, and is registered as such for the purposes of its professional activities in Quebec. For additional information, please visit the firm's website at www.fasken.com.  

Media Contacts

Stephen Hastings
Director of Communications
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Tel. 416 865 4370
Cell 416 648 4076