Groupe Marcelle acquires Lise Watier Cosmétiques

On February 18, 2016, Groupe Marcelle Inc. completed the acquisition of Lise Watier Cosmétiques inc., restoring the company to Québec-based ownership. With this acquisition, Groupe Marcelle has become the largest Canadian-owned company in the beauty care products industry, carrying the brands Marcelle, Lise Watier, Annabelle and CW Breggs and Sons. 

The acquisition included a concurrent debt financing involving the Bank of Montreal and an $18 million investment in Groupe Marcelle by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. 

Miller Thomson LLP advised Groupe Marcelle on this acquisition with a team led by Andrew Cohen and that included Philipp Park, Julien Morier, Louis-Philippe Borduas and Éloïse Gagné (corporate/M&A); Marco Rodrigues, Francis Trifiro,  Elleni Tsatoumas and Eve Tessier (banking); Amal Garzouzi (employment); and Troy McEachren and Andrew Etcovitch (trusts and tax). Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP advised Group Marcelle on IP matters with a team that included Jane Caskey, Brian Gray and Chelsea Nimmo. 

Goodmans LLP advised the selling shareholders, led by Imperial Capital Corporation, with a team that included Stephen Bloom, Mark Surchin and Karen Vadasz (corporate), Amalia Berg (IP) and Maureen Berry and Jarrett Freeman (tax). BCF LLP, with a team composed of Pierre Saint-Aubin, Julie Lavigne, François Giroux, Nancy Boyle and Frédéric Dionne, advised on matters relating to Quebec law, and also advised Lise Watier Holding Inc. and the Lise Watier family. 

Lavery, de Billy, L. L. P. advised the Caisse de dépôt with a team led by Sophie Lussier (Caisse de dépôt) that included Jean-Sébastien Desroches, Benjamin Gross, Raphaël Bacal and Anne-Sophie Lamonde. 

Dentons Canada LLP advised Bank of Montreal in its acquisition financing in favour of Groupe Marcelle with a team led by Joel Cabelli and that included Marie-Josée Couture.