With more than two decades of experience and an expert's knowledge of the global agriculture sector, Tom is a trusted advisor to clients navigating domestic and cross-border transactions in highly regulated industries, as well as those looking to invest in these areas.
Tom is a partner in our firm's national Business Law Group based in Calgary. His practice is focused on mergers and acquisitions, cross border transactions, agribusiness and mining, risk management, private equity and investment funds, regulatory compliance, corporate governance and shareholder matters.
As a former vice president and general counsel with one of the world’s largest agriculture inputs and services companies, Tom helps clients manage complex international and domestic transactions, minimize risk and comply with competing regulatory requirements. He has a proven track record in leading transactions and negotiating with government regulators and stakeholders in Canada and internationally in the US, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia and the Middle East on complex legal and strategic M&A transactions.
His extensive experience managing transformative projects, initiatives, shareholder activism, and restructurings while overseeing multiple departments and controlling substantial budgets is particularly valuable to clients who appreciate an advisor familiar with the intense demands on in-house legal teams. Tom’s legal strategies have expanded global footprints, boosted EBITDA, and optimized operational governance and resilience. He has led notable transactions that were featured as finalists for the Canadian General Counsel Awards (Purdy Crawford Deal Making category), and the ACC Lexology Global Counsel Awards (Global Mergers & Acquisitions).
Tom is called to the Alberta bar, is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, and holds an MBA from Queen’s University. He is a former member of Strathcona Tweedsmuir School (Chair-Board Governance Committee, Board of Governors), and the Glencoe Golf and Country Club (Calgary) – Junior Committee Member. He has conversational and working knowledge of Portuguese.
Select experience includes:
- $40B global merger of equals between Agrium Inc. and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (PCS) to form Nutrien Ltd., a national industry champion with a global business platform in a deal that involved negotiations with the governments of India, China, Chile, Argentina and the U.S, and federal and provincial governments in Canada.
- $1.8B acquisition of Viterra’s retail assets from Glencore International PLC, consisting of 200 retail locations and mid-stream distribution facilities - a transformative transaction in the North American agricultural retail sector.
- Strategic planning and regulatory structuring re: Nutrien’s international distribution joint venture presence through Canpotex Limited domestically and internationally.
- Leading internal shareholder activism teams, developing and executing strategies to address activist investor campaigns.
- $5.0B regulatory divestiture of equity position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile involving Tianqi Lithium Corporation (China) through a complex exchange auction.
- $2.0B regulatory divestitures of equity positions in Arab Potash Corp. and Israel Chemicals Ltd, involving complex issues and regulatory requirements in Israel, Jordan, China, United States and Canada.
- $540M negotiated transaction involving settlement of multi-billion dollar arbitration claims against Government of Egypt and its holding companies and sale of 26% equity interest in Misr. Fertilizers Production Co SAE via block trade across Egyptian Stock Exchange.
- $AUS 400M acquisition of ASX listed Ruralco Holdings Limited through a Scheme of Arrangement. This transaction resulted in the combination of Australia’s 2nd and 3rd largest agriculture retailers, to form the largest.
- $340M acquisition of Actagro, LLC. a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of environmentally sustainable soil and plant health products and technologies.
- $200M acquisition of Tec Agro Brasil S.A., one of the largest agricultural retail and soy seed businesses in Brazil.
- $135M acquisition of Andrukow Ltd., a leading Canadian based crop inputs company.
- $120M two step acquisition of Agrichem do Brasil S.A., a leading specialty plant nutrition and plant health product company and one of Brazil's largest liquid fertilizer companies, from Patria Investments Ltda., a Brazilian private equity firm with ties to the U.S.
- $100M sale to Itafos Ltd. of Agrium's phosphate mining and phosphate-based fertilizer processing and manufacturing business in Idaho.
- $75M two step acquisition of Waypoint, Inc., a private ESOP (employee share ownership plan) vehicle representing the largest agriculture soil sampling laboratory group in the U.S.
- $65M acquisition from U.S. based private equity firm of Agrible, Inc., a private digital agriculture company with an advanced platform and product offering that includes a broad set of agronomic and on-farm advisory tools, data science capabilities, predictive analytics.
- $40M acquisition of Agrosema Comercial Agricola Ltda., an agricultural retailer in the southern Brazil.
- $35M acquisition of Macrofertil Australia Pty Ltd, an Australian fertilizer marketing and distribution business, from Louis Dreyfus Company.
- $35M acquisition of Wendland Ag and Starpoint Ag – two leading ag input companies located in central Saskatchewan.
- $35M acquisition of specialty product and coding IP from BRA Agroquímica involving complex regulatory issues with Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) and antitrust clearance through CADE.
- $35M acquisition of Bio Rural Brasil S.A., a traditional retailer that specializes in solutions for as seeds, fertilizers, and agrochemicals.
- $AUS 20M acquisition of Starpharma Holdings Ltd, an Australian business housing key patents and technical know-how.
- $15M investment through minority Series-B strategic venture in BayoTech, LLC, a chemical company that specializes in manufacturing hydrogen-based products for agriculture, fuel cells, and energy based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- $10M divestiture of Series B investment in US based digital agronomic technology company to Telus Agriculture (operating division of Telus Inc.).
- $2M investment through Series-B strategic venture in A.A.A. Taranis Visual Ltd., an AgTech company based in Tel Aviv.
- $1M annual investment in Radicle Ventures – seed capital financing program directed to support promising Canadian based Ag start ups.