Alexis Nihon REIT Completes IPO

Alexis Nihon Real Estate Investment Trust, a Montreal-based unincorporated closed-end investment trust created to acquire office, retail, industrial and mixed used properties, including a multi-family residential property, completed an initial public offering of its units on December 20, 2002. The REIT raised a total of $85 million from the offering, which had an aggregate value of approximately $385 million. The majority of the net proceeds were used to acquire the REIT’s 18 initial properties.

The REIT was represented by in-house counsel Lieba Shell, and by Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP with a team that included Sylvain Cossette, Neil Kravitz, Patrice Beaudin, Marie Brault and Marie-Christine Lemerise (securities), Elias Benhamou, Rita Lc de Santis, Michel Pelletier, Alain Roberge, Joseph Jarjour and Philippe Johnson (commercial/real estate) and Alan Shragie and Mark Brender (tax). The independent trustees of the REIT were represented by Robert Paré, Peter Villani and Patricia Gagnon of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.

National Bank Financial Inc. and CIBC World Markets Inc. led the underwriting syndicate, which included BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc. and Desjardins Securities Inc. The underwriters were represented by Stikeman Elliott LLP, with a team that included François Ouimet, Sterling Dietze, J. Anthony Penhale, Nicole Nobert, Annie Lagacé, Jean Carrier, Hélène Bussières and Valérie Mac-Seing (corporate/securities/real estate) and Frédéric Harvey and Marie-Andrée Beaudry (tax).