Starlight Investments Ltd. Completes Its $2.3 Billion Privatization of TransGlobe Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust

Published: 07/17/2012

By Suhuyini Abudulai, Imran Ahmad, Joan Beck, Lindsay Clements, Jonathan Freeman, Chris Hersh, Laurie Jessome, Tom Koutoulakis, Adria W. Leung, Pollyanna Lord, Michael Platt, David A. Redmond, Ken Snider, Janice Vohrah, Nicole Washington, Lawrence D. Wilder

On June 29, 2012, TransGlobe Apartment REIT (“TransGlobe REIT”), PD Kanco LP and Startlight Investments Ltd. (collectively “Starlight”) completed their previously announced acquisition agreement, under the terms of which Starlight acquired all units of TransGlobe REIT. The transaction is valued at $2.3 billion and represents one of the largest REIT transactions of 2012.

TransGlobe REIT owns a portfolio of 175 residential rental properties containing approximately 21,735 suites in Alberta, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The transaction was backed by Daniel Drimmer, the founder of TransGlobe REIT, and was supported by a consortium consisting of PSP Investments (“PSP”), a Canadian crown corporation established to invest on behalf of the pension plans of the Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force Pension Plan.  PSP has net assets under management as at March 31, 2011 of over $58 billion, with over $5 billion invested in real estate: Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, one of Canada’s largest residential landlords with a market capitalization of approximately $2 billion and Timbercreek Asset Management Inc. a specialized investment manager focused on real estate and other alternative asset classes, with approximately $1.9 billion in assets under management.

Cassels Brock acted as counsel to Starlight with a team that included, David Redmond (Real Estate and Development), Tom Koutoulakis (Securities),  Lawrence Wilder (Securities), Joan Beck (Securities), Lindsay Clements (Securities), Pollyanna Lord (Securities),  Adria Leung (Securities), Nicole Washington (Securities) Jonathan Freeman (Real Estate and Development), Ken Snider (Corporate Tax), Michael Platt (Corporate Tax), Janice Vohrah (Corporate Tax), Laurie Jessome (Employment), Chris Hersh (Competition), Imran Ahmad (Competition), Jason Arbuck (Financial Services), Suhuyini Abudulai (Financial Services), Noah Dolgoy (Student), Luke Gill (Student), Carla Lee (Student) and Kyle Simpson (Student).