On November 29, 2002, Calgary-based Enerplus Resources Fund, completed a cross-border offering of 7,959,300 trust units for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $225 million. CIBC World Markets Inc. and Salomon Smith Barney Inc. led the syndicate of underwriters for the offering. Enerplus used the proceeds from the transaction to pay down bank debt, which it incurred in previous acquisitions, including its acquisition of Celsius Energy Resources Ltd., and to fund future acquisitions.
For the offering, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Calgary represented Enerplus, with a team consisting of Brock Gibson, Scott Cochlan, Chad Schneider and Shona Smith (securities) and Ron Mar (tax). In the U.S., Enerplus was represented by Mike O’Leary, Mark Young, Kim Osburn and Scott Tallman, and Tom Ford and Robert McNamara handled U.S. federal income tax matters, all of Andrews & Kurth LLP in Houston. In Canada, Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP represented the underwriters, with a team consisting of Allan Twa, Q.C., Jay Reid and Jeff Oke (securities), Ian Bock (tax) and Brian Evans dealt with oil and gas and environmental due diligence; and Chris Cummings, David Wilson, Doug Nathanson and Marc Kestenberg of Shearman & Sterling in Toronto acted as U.S. counsel.
