February 5, 2009 5:26 PM

Four Firms Handling ING's Divestiture of Canadian Assets

Posted by Brian Baxter

Dutch insurance and financial services giant ING Groep announced on Wednesday that it plans to sell its 70 percent stake in Toronto-based ING Canada to a group of investors as a means of raising $1.7 billion to shore up its balance sheet.

The Am Law Daily has learned that Amsterdam-based ING is being advised by Sullivan & Cromwell corporate M&A partner Andrew Soussloff and associates Trevor Ogle and Eugene Kim in New York

ING was receiving Canadian legal advice from Toronto's Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg. Corporate M&A partners D. Shawn McReynolds and Gillian Stacey, finance and M&A partner Robert Murphy, and tax and private equity partner R. Ian Crosbie were advising ING from the 250-lawyer firm.

Shearman & Sterling is providing U.S. legal advice to ING Canada. The managing partner of the firm'sToronto office, capital markets and M&A specialist Christopher Cummings, is advising the Canadian unit on the transaction along with capital markets associates Jonathan Handyside and Sonja Sun.

Senior vice president for corporate and legal services Françoise Guénette, vice president of legal services and compliance Chantal Denommée, and legal counsel Audrey Lachance led an in-house team from ING Canada.

Canadian counsel to ING Canada is being provided by 200-lawyer Toronto firm McMillan. Securities and public markets practice leader Sean Farrell leads a team from the firm that includes securities and public markets partner Margaret McNee, M&A partner Robert McDermott, corporate finance partner Kimberly Poster, corporate group chair T.E. "Ted" Scott, and securities associate Wendy Chun.

Shares of ING Canada, the country's largest property and casualty insurer, slumped once news of the proposed sale became public.

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