McCarthy Tétrault Assists Sunshine Oilsands Through Hong Kong IPO

CALGARY, March 1, 2012 /CNW/ - McCarthy Tétrault said today that its client, Sunshine Oilsands Ltd., has successfully completed its C$580 million initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. McCarthy Tétrault is Canadian counsel to Sunshine, supporting the Calgary oil sands company through the decision and process to become Canada's first oil sands company to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The amount raised is prior to any exercise of the over-allotment option granted by Sunshine to the underwriters.

The company's IPO is the largest in Hong Kong to date in 2012. Sunshine is developing oil sands leases in Alberta's Athabasca region.

It was determined that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange would attract new oil sands investors from China and other Asian countries, and test investor demand in the Hong Kong market for early-stage resource companies.

"Doing its IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was a bold move that we expect will assist Sunshine in the future," said Greg Turnbull, Alberta Regional Managing Partner for McCarthy Tétrault. "It was a fantastic experience helping Sunshine's leadership to do things differently."

The global offering was for 923.3 million shares (prior to any exercise of the over-allotment option), with a portion reserved for Hong Kong retail investors. Some of Sunshine's key investors are China Life Insurance, Bank of China Group Investment, China Investment Corporation (CIC) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec).

Partners Rick Pawluk and Greg Turnbull led McCarthy Tétrault's Calgary-based team, which included Saptarshi Chakraborty, Cameron Schepp and Matthew Harris (securities); T.J. Kang, Kurtis Bond and Bernice Wong (tax); Kimberly Howard (environmental); Keith Byblow and Paul Blyschak (energy); and Michael Briggs (litigation). Oliver Borgers, who is based in the firm's Toronto office, worked on the competition and foreign investment aspects.

"I'm proud of the strength of the multidisciplinary team who supported Sunshine through this deal," said Marc-André Blanchard, Chair and CEO of McCarthy Tétrault. "They've demonstrated that no matter where in the world our clients need to go, we're there with them, providing outstanding strategic counsel, across practice groups as needed. This team was also tenacious. They worked in close collaboration with Sunshine and the entire advisory team for a year to see the deal through to completion."

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer represented Sunshine in Hong Kong. BOCI Asia Limited, Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong Branch and Morgan Stanley Asia Limited acted as joint global coordinators for the offering.

About McCarthy Tétrault

McCarthy Tétrault provides a broad range of legal services, advising on large and complex assignments for Canadian and international interests. The firm has substantial presence in Canada's major commercial centres and in London, U.K.

Built on a unique model of collaboration, the firm brings its legal talent, industry knowledge and practice experience, wherever needed, to help clients achieve the results that are important to them.

or to request an interview with a McCarthy Tétrault lawyer, please contact:

Tiffany Schier
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