On November 21, 2022, Groupe Sélection Inc. and related entities obtained protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). At the time, GS was one of Canada’s largest private owners and operators of senior living residences, with more than 20 apartment complexes in operation, under construction, or in development across Canada and the United States, and assets exceeding $5 billion. The company’s senior lender was a syndicate of major Canadian banks and financial institutions, including Fiera Capital and Briva Finance, to whom GS owed over $270 million as of the filing date.
The restructuring process was contentious, with GS and its creditors submitting rival proposals to the Superior Court of Québec, each nominating their own monitor, DIP financing, and business plan.
On November 28, 2022, the Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed GS’s application for leave to appeal, a decision strongly contested by the syndicate and confirming the Superior Court’s earlier ruling.
In December 2023, the CCAA Court issued approval and vesting orders for the sale of GS’s interests and assets.
By October 2024, the Court terminated the CCAA proceedings and authorized certain ancillary reliefs..
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP represented several key stakeholders: Revera Inc. (majority owner of 25 GS residences and successful stalking horse bidder for these properties), Fédération des Caisses Desjardins du Québec (financer of GS projects), Fonds de Solidarité FTQ (joint-venture partner and successful bidder for GS’s interests in the Molson brewery redevelopment and Espace Montmorency), Blackstone (joint-venture partner acquiring GS’s interest in a seniors’ housing portfolio), and SmartCentres (joint-venture partner in a $150-million Ottawa project).
Other legal representations included Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP for Briva and Fiera, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP for Investissement Québec and Otéra, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP for Montoni, Bennett Jones LLP for Herbert Black, McCarthy Tetrault LLP as former counsel to FTI Consulting, Norton Rose Fulbright for National Bank of Canada, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP for PwC, CIBC, and Bank of Nova Scotia, and Stikeman Elliott LLP for Groupe Sélection.