Frank Y. Sur Partner Head – Corporate Practice Group (Canada)


Speaks:  English, Korean

Year of Call: 2007 - Alberta

Primary phone: +1 403-298-1901

Secondary phone: +1 416-369-7291

Fax: +1 403-695-3574

Email: frank.sur@gowlingwlg.com

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Primary office:  Calgary

Secondary office:  Toronto




Frank Y. Sur

Frank Sur is a partner of Gowling WLG and is the head of the firm's Corporate Practice Group in Canada.

Frank's practice is focused on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, fund formation and general corporate commercial matters, with an emphasis in technology (software, blockchain, IoT and nanotechnology) and energy (traditional and renewable, including hydrogen, biofuel and solar). He has extensive experience in the following areas:

  • Mergers and acquisitions of both public and private companies (plans of arrangement, share acquisitions, take-over bids, reverse take-overs and asset purchase and sales)
  • Public offerings, including initial public offerings and private placements
  • Fund formation
  • Advising on listing and exchange compliance matters
  • Advising on corporate governance (including special committee matters) and regulatory compliance matters
  • Advising on general commercial agreements, including joint venture agreements

Frank has represented numerous international clients based in Canada, United States, Korea, China, Japan and United Kingdom in various complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, financings and fund formations.

Externally, Frank is a member of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association, American Bar Association, International Association of Korean Lawyers and Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea. Internally, Frank is the Head of the Corporate Practice Group (Canada), Co-Head of the Korea Desk, Co-Head of the China Practice Group for the Calgary office and is an active member of the Fintech Group, Hydrogen Group and Cannabis Group. Frank has been recognized in various legal publications over the years - please see Career & Recognition.

Frank's clients often praise his exceptional problem-solving skills, his ability to find pragmatic and creative solutions to legal issues, and the boundless energy and enthusiasm with which he approaches his legal work.

Career & Recognition

Filter timeline:

Memberships

  • Calgary Bar Association
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Law Society of Alberta
  • International Association of Korean Lawyers
  • Inter-Pacific Bar Association
  • Presenter, "Business + Forum," co-hosted by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (CanCham Korea), November 2022 
  • Keynote Speaker, "Future of Energy Transition," the third International Conference on Geo-Resources Plant Technology for Oil & Gas (ICGPT 2022), September 2022
  • Speaker, "The Energy Transition and the Impact on the Legal Regulatory Landscape," LawAsia 2021 Virtual Annual Conference, November 2021
  • Speaker, "The Energy Transition and its Impact on the Legal and Regulatory Landscape," the 28th Annual Conference of the International Association of Korean Lawyers, October 2021
  • Speaker, "Energy Industry M&A Update and 2018 Outlook," M&A Club Calgary, April 2018
  • Co-author, "Mergers & Acquisitions Review: Planning a Private M&A Transaction," Who's Who Legal: Canada 2015, Nov. 6, 2015
  • Author and Speaker, "Real Estate Development From Beginning to End: Forms of Investment," Loman Education Services Seminar, March 12, 2008

Representative Work

  • Acting for underwriters in various public offerings and private placements of various sizes.
  • Represented a private mutual fund trust with restructuring and a plan of arrangement involving a private oil and gas company.
  • Part of a transaction team for a publicly traded oil and gas company in connection with its acquisition of all of the outstanding securities of a private oil and gas company by way of a purchase agreement for total transaction value of approximately $300 million.
  • Part of a transaction team for a tax driven restructuring of a private oil and gas company with a net asset value of approximately $500 million.
  • Represented a number of private oil and gas company in connection with its acquisition of oil and gas assets
  • Represented a private mutual fund trust in connection with its launch of a wide nation offering memorandum.
  • Represented a publicly traded oil and gas company in connection with its acquisition of all of the outstanding shares of a private oil and gas company by way of a triangular amalgamation for total transaction value of approximately $77.5 million.
  • Represented a publicly traded oil and gas company in connection with its plan of arrangement with a publicly traded oil and gas royalty trust for a total transaction value of approximately $92.2 million.
  • Represented a publicly traded international oil and gas company in connection with its "butterfly" corporate re-organization by way of plan of arrangement.
  • Represented a number of capital pool companies in connection with their initial public offerings and qualifying transactions.
  • Part of the transaction team for a multinational oil company on a contested bid for a Canadian target.