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Denise D. Bright

Partner

Partner | Email

T: 403.298.4468

Email

Calgary

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Bright Denise
 
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T: 403.298.4468


Email

Calgary

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  • Education
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  • Recent Recognition
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Denise is a senior corporate partner called in both British Columbia and Alberta whose practice is unique as it includes all forms of debt. She is able to utilize her diverse experience to create practical, but bespoke solutions to her client's finance challenges.

Well-known for being creative, practical and business-oriented, Denise acts as lead counsel and lead Canadian counsel on domestic and cross border complex financial transactions for a wide variety of clients operating in a diverse array of industries. Denise has a breadth of experience few have had the opportunity to advise on. She acts on acquisitions, reorganizations, securitizations, off balance sheet financings, notes/debentures/bonds, project finance, structured finance, ABL, DIP, bilateral and syndicated secured and unsecured bank facilities, multiple and silo lien facilities. Denise acts for sponsors, owners, borrowers, guarantors and lenders.

Denise is a member of the construction and infrastructure group where she specializes in security and project financial support.

Her significant project finance experience includes:

  • Projectco counsel and counsel to ATCO Electric Ltd., as part of the successful proponent team on behalf of the Alberta Powerline consortium, design, build, own, operate and finance of the Fort McMurray West 500 kV Transmission Project.
  • Borrower's counsel to the SPV and an owner in the project financing for the Brighton Beach Combined Cycle Power Project, the largest merchant power project financing at the time.
  • Borrower's counsel in the project financing of each of the Athabasca Oil Sands Cogeneration Projects (mine and upgrader cogeneration facilities).
  • Borrower's counsel in the project financing of seven independent power projects.
  • Finance counsel to the SPV and the owners in the project financing of the Cory Co-generation project, a 228-MW natural gas-fired cogeneration power plant.
  • Borrower's and owner's counsel in the financing of the Joffre Cogeneration Project (the first project financing of a partial merchant power plant in Canada).
  • Borrower's counsel on the financing of the Telus Spark Science Centre Calgary.
  • Borrower's counsel to a biofuel producer.
  • Represented offtaker/revenue participant in respect to a solar project financing. 
  • Represented OPTrust and the SPV, in connection with the limited recourse financing of a partnership with six Alberta First Nations which in turn participated in the equity syndication and project financing of the $1.5-billion Cascade Power Project. This equity investment marks the first transaction supported by the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC), who provided a loan guarantee supporting the credit and financing arrangements between ATB, OPTrust, Kineticor and the First Nations consortium which ultimately facilitated the equity participation by Indigenous communities in the Cascade project.

Denise is Lexpert ranked as an Alberta leading banking lawyer, consistently recommended in the area of Banking and Financial Institutions and repeatedly recommended in Project Finance. She is recognized for Banking and Finance Law by Best Lawyers and was the 2023 Calgary, Lawyer of the year in Banking and Finance Law. She has also been recognized in various Lexpert Special Editions, including Canada's Leading Energy Lawyers, Canada's Leading Infrastructure Lawyers and Canada's Leading Finance and M&A Lawyers. Denise is a frequent author of articles of interest to lenders and borrowers.

Denise has a CPA, CA and holds a CF designation from the Chartered Professional Accountants and as an associate in corporate finance at a large specialized boutique investment bank both of which augment her legal experience.

Denise is a member of the Law Society of Alberta, the Law Society of British Columbia, the Calgary Bar Association, Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. She is a long time member of the firm's opinions committee and is a member of a small subset of the opinions committee that deals with bespoke opinions. She participates in the Toronto opinions group (TOROG), chairs the Calgary opinions group and participates in the American Bar Association Business Law Section opinion committee and the American Bar Association Cross-Border Opinions Task Force. Denise was a member of the audit committee of the Law Society of Alberta for many years. She is a member of the Alberta Securities Commission financial advisory committee.  Denise currently chairs the audit committee, is a member on the investment committee, is a director and the Treasurer of the Calgary Foundation, a billion dollar community foundation.

Education

Lakehead University, BBA, 1987 University of Calgary, LLB, 1993 

Bar Admissions

Alberta, 1994 British Columbia, 2015 

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ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of Canadian Utilities Limited, in the Central East Transfer Out (CETO) project transmission line financing with Canada Infrastructure Bank
Westport Fuel Systems and its related affiliates (the “Westport Entities”) in establishing a joint venture with Volvo Business Services International AB and its related entities (the “Volvo Group”) to carry on the Westport Entities’ High Pressure Direct Injection business
SECURE Energy Services Inc. in its $1.075-billion asset sale of waste management facilities pursuant to a divesture order by the Competition Tribunal
SECURE Energy Services Inc., in its $140-million private placement of senior unsecured notes due 2026
CSV Midstream Solutions Corp. in its $82.2-million acquisition of KANATA Energy Group Ltd. through the purchase of all issued and outstanding shares
A subsidiary of Suncor Energy, together with co-purchasers Husky Atlantic Partnership (a subsidiary of Cenovus Energy Inc.) and Murphy Oil Company Ltd., in the restructuring of project ownership for the offshore Terra Nova Project in Newfoundland through the acquisition of additional project interests from exiting owners for an undisclosed purchase price
CSV Midstream Solutions Corp. in various legal services including the negotiation of its long-term midstream services agreements for a sour gas processing facility project near Grande Prairie, Alberta
SECURE Energy Services Inc., in its $140-million private placement of senior unsecured notes due 2026
MEG Energy Corp., in its private placement of US$600-million aggregate principal amount of 5.875% senior unsecured notes due 2029
SECURE Energy Services Inc., in its $2-billion acquisition of Tervita Corporation
SECURE Energy Services Inc., in its $200-million private placement of senior unsecured notes due 2026
OPTrust, in connection with the formation and limited recourse financing of a partnership with six Alberta First Nations which in turn participated in the equity syndication and project financing of the $1.5-billion Cascade Power Project to be developed near Edson, Alberta and operated by Calgary based developer Kineticor. This equity investment marks the first transaction supported by the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC), who provided a loan guarantee supporting the credit and financing arrangements between ATB, OPTrust, Kineticor and the First Nations consortium which ultimately facilitated the equity participation by Indigenous communities in the Cascade project
MEG Energy Corp., in its private placement of US$1.2-billion aggregate principal amount of 7.1250% senior unsecured notes due 2027 in the United States and Canada
Canadian Utilities Limited, an ATCO company, in the sale of its entire Canadian fossil fuel-based electricity generation portfolio for approximately $835 million, which was completed in three stages, through the sale of its interest in the Cory project in Saskatchewan to SaskPower International Inc., a sale of its interest in the Brighton Beach project in Ontario to Ontario Power Generation Inc., and a sale of the balance of the applicable generation assets through a sale of its equity interest in ATCO Power Canada Ltd. to Heartland Generation Ltd., an affiliate of Energy Capital Partners
Parkland Fuel Corporation, in its US$500million cross-border offering of senior notes
China Construction Bank Corporation, as mandated lead arranger, in the US$870-million credit facilities to finance, in part, the CAD$1.86-billion friendly takeover bid by Zijin Mining Group Co. of Nevsun Resources Ltd.
The acquisition by International Petroleum Corporation of BlackPearl Resources Inc. (with an estimated enterprise value of approximately $675 million) by way of a share exchange pursuant to a plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act.
Parkland Fuel Corporation, in its $300-million note offering
ATCO Ltd., completes private placement of $200M fixed-to-floating subordinated notes
MEG Energy Corp., in its US$750-million private placement of senior secured second lien notes
ATCO Electric Ltd., as part of the successful proponent team on behalf of the Alberta Powerline consortium, in the Fort McMurray West 500 kV Transmission Project, a design, build, own, operate and finance project valued at $1.43 billion
MEG Energy Corp., in its comprehensive refinancing transactions following four transactions: (i) An extension of the maturity date on substantially all of the commitments under the Company's covenant-lite revolving credit facility, were extended two years to November 5, 2021 and the commitment amount of the facility was reduced to US$1.4 billion; (ii)  US$1.2 billion term loan will be refinanced to extend its maturity ; (iii) existing US$750 million of unsecured notes due 2021 were refinanced and extended with new second lien indebtedness; and  (iv) raising $357 million of equity in the form of subscription receipts on a bought deal basis from a syndicate of underwriters
Penn West Petroleum Ltd., in the substantial amendments and other modifications to Penn West's C$2.1 billion of outstanding senior secured notes and C$1.7 billion syndicated bank facility
Secure Energy Services Inc., in acquiring Ceiba Energy Services Inc.
Sanjel Corporation, an Alberta-based energy services and pressure pumping company, in the sale of its US fracturing, coiled tubing and cementing assets to Liberty Oilfield Services Holdings LLC
Sanjel Corporation, an Alberta-based energy services and pressure pumping company, in the sale of its Canadian fracturing, coiled tubing and cementing assets to STEP Energy Services Ltd. and 1961531 Alberta Ltd. 
Stantec Inc., in its $1.25-billion credit facilities to finance, in part, the successful acquisition of MWH Global, Inc. for approximately US$793 million
ATCO Ltd., in the negotiation, structuring and other commercial matters relating to ATCO entering into a strategic alliance with Wipro including 10-year master service agreements governing the provision of IT services by Wipro to the ATCO Group of Companies valued at approximately $1.2 billion. 
ATCO Ltd., in the disposition of ATCO I-Tek Inc. and ATCO's Australian IT operations to affiliates of Wipro Ltd. for aggregate sale proceeds of approximately $210 million. 
JAPEX Montney Ltd., a Canadian subsidiary of Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd., in the acquisition, from Canadian subsidiaries of PETRONAS, the Malaysian national oil company, of an undivided 10% interest in upstream natural gas assets located in the North Montney area of NE BC and the proposed Pacific Northwest LNG export facility to be built near Prince Rupert, BC
Pengrowth Corporation, administrator of Pengrowth Energy Trust, in the completion of a US$265-million and a C$15-million offering of notes issued on a private placement basis in Canada and the United States
Oil and gas income trust, in a $390-million credit facility
Oil and gas income trust, in a $1.2-billion credit facility
Pengrowth Energy Trust, in a private placement of US$400-million unsecured notes
Pengrowth Energy Trust, in a private placement of US$254-million and CDN$15-million unsecured notes
ATCO Group, in the sale of its retail energy business to Direct Energy Marketing Limited for approximately $100 million
Air Canada, in a wide range of financial transactions, including its restructuring under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.
Brighton Beach Power L.P., a limited partnership formed by ATCO Power and Ontario Power Generation, in the development and the private bond and term debt financing project for the 580-MW, $400-million Brighton Beach Combined Cycle Power Project, the largest merchant power project financing in Canada to date
Cory Cogeneration, ATCO Power and SaskPower Corporation, in project financing to pay a portion of the costs associated with the development, construction and commissioning of the Cory Co-generation project, a 228-MW natural gas-fired cogeneration power plant
MILIT-AIR Inc., in a $700-million private placement of debt securities in Canada and the United States of America to finance the acquisition of the assets of the NATO Flying Training Program
Duke Energy, in the partnership agreement, operating agreements, transportation services agreements and EPC contract, and the project financing (bond/bank) in relation to the Canadian portion of the 1,059-km Maritimes & Northeast System
ATCO Power, in the project financing of the Athabasca Oil Sands Cogeneration Projects (150 MW and 170 MW; $274 million)
ATCO Power, in the project financing of seven independent power projects
ATCO Power, EPCOR and NOVA Chemicals, (416 MW; $270 million) combined bank/bond financing of the Joffre Cogeneration Project (the first project financing of a merchant power plant in Canada)
$100-million lease financing of cogeneration assets for Suncor Energy Inc., in the Suncor Oil Sands Facility
TriWest Capital Partners, in financing its investment in RTL Robinson Enterprises
TriWest Capital Partners, in financing its investment in Royal Camp
RTL-Robinson Enterprises, in financing its investment in Westcan Bulk Transport
Vanguard Plastics Ltd., in financing its investment in the Primex Group
Fun Sun Vacations, in financing its merger with V.I.T. Voyages Intair Transit Inc., to create Canada's leading FIT tour operator and air consolidator
TriWest Capital Partners, in financing its investment in Con-Force
Shell Canada, in Terasen Pipelines (Corridor) Inc.'s $525-million refinancing of the Corridor Pipeline System
Pure Technologies Limited, in a $5.28-million securities offering
TriWest Capital Partnership, in the formation and funding of TriWest Capital Growth Fund LP I
TriWest Capital Partnership, in the formation and funding of TriWest Capital Growth Fund LP II
Ferus Gas Industries Inc., in the financing documents required for its reorganization

Recent Recognition

Best Lawyers in Canada
2023 Lawyer of the Year, Banking and Finance Law
Recognized for Banking and Finance Law
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory
Alberta's Leading Banking and Finance Lawyer
Consistently Recommended, Banking & Financial Institutions; Corporate Commercial Law
Repeatedly Recommended, Project Finance
Lexpert Report on Business Special Edition - Canada's Leading Energy Lawyers
Recognized as a leading Energy lawyer in Canada
Lexpert Special Edition—Canada's Leading Infrastructure Lawyers

Recognized as a leading Infrastructure lawyer

Lexpert Special Edition - Canada's Leading Finance and M&A Lawyers
Recognized as a leading Finance and M&A lawyer

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