Biography: Mergers and Acquisitions

Tina Woodside is a partner in Gowlings' Toronto office, specialising in corporate and securities law with particular emphasis on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance matters.

Tina's M&A practice involves advising acquirers and target companies regarding friendly and hostile takeover bids and other forms of business combinations. Her corporate finance practice involves advising issuers and underwriters, both domestic and foreign, regarding initial public offerings, prospectus offerings, private placements, stock exchange listings, and establishing operations in Canada, as well as providing advice on corporate governance and securities regulatory matters.

In December 2010, Tina was appointed a member of the Ontario Securities Commission securities advisory committee, which consults with the OSC on a wide range of market issues and provides advice to the OSC on legislative and policy initiatives and capital market trends.

In September 2011, Tina was appointed a Fellow of the American Bar Association. The Fellows is an honourary organisation of legal professionals who have been elected by their peers because of outstanding achievements in the legal profession and is limited to one-third of one per cent of lawyers in the US.

Tina's representative work includes acting for the Franco-Nevada Corporation in connection with its $1 billion universal base shelf prospectus filing in Canada and the US, and its acquisition of Gold Wheaton Gold Corp by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement for approximately $1 billion; acting for South American Silver Corp in connection with its $32 million private placement by way of bought deal and to strategic investor; acting for the Premier and the Province of Saskatchewan in connection with BHP Billiton's attempted $36.8 billion hostile takeover bid for Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc; acting for Penfold Capital Acquisition Corporation in connection with its Qualifying Transaction with PBS Coals Limited with a value of approximately $820 million, and its subsequent takeover by OAS Severstal for approximately $1 billion; and acting for BV! Media Inc in connection with its $25 million sale to Rogers Media by way of three-cornered amalgamation.

Tina is a graduate of the Directors Education Program at the Institute of Corporate Directors/Rotman School of Business and is a certified ICD director. She serves on the boards of a number of public and private companies and non-profit organisations.

Tina was named one of Canada's "15 Women Lawyers to Watch" by Lexpert and was selected by readers of Canadian Lawyer as one of two corporate lawyers from across Canada they would contact for legal advice. She has also been listed in Women in the Lead, the Financial Post's Directory of Directors, and the Martindale-Hubbell International Law Directory.

Tina has spoken at numerous conferences on topics including M&A trends, public company disclosure and other regulatory obligations, prospectus financings and due diligence in public market transactions. Tina has written extensively in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and securities regulation.