Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Project Achieves Financial Close

Toronto Port Authority reached financial close with BBIA LP, a limited partnership established by Forum Equity Partners Inc., to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a pedestrian tunnel for Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The Forum team for this project includes PCL Constructors Canada Inc. providing design and construction services and Johnson Controls Canada LP as service provider.

After construction is completed, Forum will receive annual service payments from the Toronto Port Authority over a 20-year period. Payments cover construction, building maintenance, lifecycle repair and renewal and project financing. Payments will be funded through the airport improvement fee levied by the Toronto Port Authority on all outbound passengers flying from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP acted as project counsel to the Toronto Port Authority in the structuring, procurement, negotiation and settlement of the project documents, with a team that included Merie-Anne Beavis, Darryl Brown, Samir Gassanov and Lindsay Wong. Mark Richardson of McMillan LLP acted as corporate counsel to the Toronto Port Authority.

Forum was represented by Davis LLP with a team that included Andrew Burton, Elizabeth Mayer, Lindsay Krauss, Ali Owaisi, Jonathan Gilhen and Mitch Mostyn. PCL Constructors Canada Inc. was represented by Donald Lucky and Mark Hildebrand of Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer LLP. Johnson Controls Canada LP was represented by a team from Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. The Blakes team included Marianne Smith, Kate McGilvray, Michelle Chaisson and Agnes von dem Hagen.

The lenders to the project, Norddeutsche Landesbank Gironzentrale, were represented by Aird & Berlis LLP with a team that included Doug Younger, Heidi Visser, Trevor deBoer and Deborah Holbrook. Subordinated debt was provided by the Ontario Pensions Board, represented by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP and the pension plan for employees of the Toronto Port Authority, represented by Eric Friedman, David Wentzell, Puja Kumar and Maria Sagan of McMillan LLP.