H&R REIT Completes Purchase/Leaseback Deal with RONA

On November 2, 2004, H&R Real Estate Investment Trust completed a transaction with RONA Inc. for the purchase by H&R and leaseback to Rona of nine Rona stores in Quebec and Ontario for a price of $102.8 million.

H&R was represented by Minden Gross Grafstein & Greenstein LLP with a team that included David Kutner, Leonard Baranek and Robyn Kestenberg.
RONA was represented by general counsel France Charlebois; Christian Drapeau and Nicolas Forest of Desjardins Ducharme Stein Monast; and Norman Lieff, Miguel Manzano, Eric Stevens and Catherine Mateu of Ogilvy Renault LLP. National Bank of Canada, the agent acting on behalf of the syndicate of lenders for Rona, was represented by François Renaud and Virginie Arbour-Maynard, also of Desjardins Ducharme Stein Monast.

Merrill Lynch, which provided the financing on the acquisition, was represented by McCarthy Tétrault LLP with a team that included Douglas Klaassen and John Sullivan.

Lawyer(s)

Virginie Arbour-Maynard Norman B. Lieff Nicolas Forest Miguel Manzano Catherine Mateu Eric Stevens John T. Sullivan François Renaud David M. Kutner Christian Drapeau Leonard E. Baranek Douglas J. Klaassen C. Robyn Kestenberg