Norton Rose Fulbright is an international legal practice and one of the world’s largest law firms, with offices in more than 50 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. The firm has worked on some of the most sophisticated and successful legal transactions and has established a reputation for delivering high quality legal services to its clients.
This article will provide an overview of Norton Rose Fulbright and its role in advising Coveo on its initial public offering. In addition, it will examine the firm’s commitment to ESG initiatives, such as their involvement in the Pledge 1% ESG initiative.
Norton Rose Fulbright advises Coveo on IPO, second Canadian company to join Pledge 1% ESG initiative
Norton Rose Fulbright is a truly global law firm with offices in over 50 countries and 4,000 lawyers worldwide. It is one of the world’s leading business law firms and provides legal services to its largest companies and financial institutions. Founded in London in 1806, it now has offices throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. The firm has worked on various matters including corporate transactions (domestic and international), finance transactions, real estate transactions, tax advice and dispute resolution.
In 2020 Norton Rose Fulbright advised Coveo on its initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq – becoming only the second Canadian technology provider to launch an IPO this year. The company also acted for Coveo as part of their participation in Pledge 1%, an Environmental Social Governance (ESG) initiative helping create a more sustainable future for all by committing 1% of equity or profits to give back to the community or environment. This commitment represents an increasingly important area for many organisations worldwide today as businesses face increased scrutiny regarding their sustainability practices from shareholders and other stakeholders.
Global presence
Norton Rose Fulbright is a leading global legal practice offering clients the highest quality advice and legal insight worldwide. We have over 4,000 lawyers and other legal staff based in over 50 offices across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Middle East.
In addition to providing advice on conventional corporate/commercial matters around mergers and acquisitions and on complex financial transactions such as capital markets work and venture capital financings etc., Norton Rose Fulbright has a strong presence in many key areas of specialism. These include energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; banking & finance; technology & innovation; insurance; real estate; tax; public sector; life sciences & healthcare industries.
Our dedicated ESG (Environmental Social Governance) advisory team provides specialist services to support our clients’ sustainability journey by helping them monitor their ESG performance, manage risks associated with climate change regulations or their involvement in conflict zones. We also provide strategic advice on ESG compliance matters related to corporate governance requirements or financial institutions divesting from fossil fuel investments.
We recently counselled Coveo Solutions Inc., an AI-powered search platform provider based in Canada listed on Nasdaq’s Canadian exchange (NEO). During its initial public offering (IPO), we worked closely with Coveo’s senior management team to ensure that they successfully launched the country’s first-ever public offering of shares issued under a voluntary commitment to certain environmental and social policies (ESG) by joining Pledge Nordiq – an initiative aiming to strongly encourage companies listed on Nordic exchanges to adhere fully or partially adopt enforced EU mandatory corporate disclosure disclosures regarding ESG issues such as climate change risk assessment etc. This was part of Coveo’s broader strategy towards enhancing its sustainability credentials across various stakeholder communities. As a result of our success in this matter, we have been recognized by the market as an expert advisor when providing corporate clients keen insight into evolving ESG regulations globally.
Overview of Coveo
Coveo is a Canadian cloud-based search and AI technology company that provides intelligent search, knowledge management, and analytics solutions for large enterprises.
On March 26, 2021, Norton Rose Fulbright advised Coveo as it became the second Canadian company to join the Pledge 1% ESG initiative and announced its planned initial public offering (IPO) with the Toronto Stock Exchange.
This article will provide an overview of Coveo, its services, and its plans to go public.
Business Overview
Coveo Solutions Inc. is a leading provider of cloud-based customer experience solutions based in Quebec City with offices worldwide, including the United States and Canada. The company’s AI-powered software helps its customers to better understand, personalise and engage with their customers and prospects, through various marketing and operational channels.
Coveo was founded in 2005 by Louis Tetu, the company’s CEO ever since. Under his leadership, Coveo has grown to over 800 employees and is a publicly traded company on Nasdaq (US:COV) & TSX (CA:COV). In 2020, Coveo was named one of Deloitte Fast50’s fastest growing technology companies for five consecutive years.
The company focuses on enhancing customer experiences for organisations in five main industries; retail, ecommerce, media & publishing, technology & software services, digital advertising and healthcare. Coveo works directly with its customers’ internal teams to provide access to data from multiple sources including web analytics platforms, intranet sites and third party APIs.
Norton Rose Fulbright recently advised Coveo on its IPO as it became the second Canadian technology firm to join Pledge 1% ESG initiative alongside firms such as Microsoft Corp., Salesforce Inc., Slack Technologies Ltd., Zoom Video Communications Inc., Slack Technologies Ltd., Uber Technologies Inc., Oracle Corporation and SAP SE. Norton Rose Fulbright also supported Coveo’s previous $260 million venture capital investment round backed by BDC Capital in 2019.
ESG initiatives
As part of its commitment to ESG concerns and initiatives, Coveo has become the second Canadian company to join Pledge 1%. Coveo will donate at least 1% of its net profits or 1% of employee time to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives each year through this commitment. In addition, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP was pleased to advise Coveo on its IPO and its ongoing collaboration with leading ESG advocates within Canada.
Pledge 1% is a global giving movement that encourages private companies with profits over USD 1 million (CAD equivalent) to donate 1% of their equity, products, and/or employee time over three years. It is an effort spearheaded by Atlassian Corp., Salesforce.com Inc., Rally for Impact, TIDES Foundation and Levi Strauss & Co.
This commitment provides companies with resources and guidance on implementing their philanthropic business model. In addition, this commitment enables Coveo to align itself with some of the most forward-looking ESG initiatives in North America while aligning itself with industry leaders committed to sustainable business practices throughout their operations.
Norton Rose Fulbright’s role in Coveo’s IPO
Norton Rose Fulbright recently advised Coveo on its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). As a result, Coveo became the second Canadian company to join Pledge 1% of its equity to an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiative.
This is a big milestone for Coveo and a significant step in the ESG journey.
Let’s examine how Norton Rose Fulbright has played a key role in achieving this.
Advising on legal and regulatory matters
Norton Rose Fulbright acted as Canadian counsel to Coveo Solutions Inc. (“Coveo”) in connection with its initial public offering (“IPO”) following its reverse takeover. The offering, which closed on October 2, 2019 and was completed through an over-allotment option granted to the syndicate of underwriters (led by Desjardins Capital Markets Inc.), raised gross proceeds of C$53.3 million.
Norton Rose Fulbright advised Coveo on legal and regulatory matters related to the offering and reverse takeover transaction including TSXV requirements, the taxation impact assessment associated with the proposed transactions, continuity of parent company Coveo Ltd., corporate debt requirements and multijurisdictional securities matters associated with a TSXV-listed public issuer.
Norton Rose Fulbright is especially proud that this transaction helped Coveo become only the second public Canadian company to join Pledge 1%’s ESG initiative – a commitment championed by co-founder Joe Sampson that focuses on using technology for good causes – an initiative Norton Rose Fulbright actively supports globally by providing pro bono advice and services across its offices around the world.
Supporting the company’s ESG initiatives
Norton Rose Fulbright represented Coveo in completing its public offering on the TSX Venture Exchange under their Pledge 1% ESG initiative. This expansive program drives social impact by providing 1 percent of an organisation’s equity and support to organisations striving for environmental and social good. In addition, it is a way for businesses to lead the charge in sustainability and inspire other companies to follow suit.
Coveo, which provides smart search capabilities for organisations everywhere, including Microsoft, is the second Canadian company to join Pledge 1%. This IPO will provide Coveo with crucial funds that it can use to accelerate growth.
Norton Rose Fulbright acted as legal counsel to Coveo in connection with this IPO, providing care and expertise to ensure a successful close. In addition, the firm worked with the company through various stages of preparation and due diligence leading up to its public offering, providing strategic advice on all aspects of the process.
Impact of Norton Rose Fulbright’s role
Norton Rose Fulbright, a global law firm, is playing an important role in the successful Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Coveo, a software company. The firm’s involvement has enabled Coveo to become the second Canadian company to join the Pledge 1% ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) initiative.
This article will take a closer look at the impact of Norton Rose Fulbright’s role in the company’s success.
Coveo’s successful IPO
Coveo Solutions Inc., a leading provider of AI-powered search and recommendations to large enterprises, recently completed its initial public offering (IPO) and started trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company raised approximately C$150 million in gross proceeds from the offering. Norton Rose Fulbright served as legal counsel to Coveo in Canada in connection with the IPO.
The Norton Rose Fulbright team included Global Co-Chairs of Technology, Outsourcing & Privacy Rodney Willett and SilviaLafaollette, Partners Scott Lutes, Michèle St-Jean and Jennifer Longtin, Senior Associate Aggie Kim and Legal Directors Jacqueline Berzukov and Nan Zhang. In addition, full service international law firm Dentons provided advice on the U.S. aspects of Coveo’s public listing.
Part of Coveo’s broad reaching vision for success include environmental stewardship — as part of its commitment to becoming an ESG company it recently announced it would join Pledge 1%, an international movement designed to enable companies of all sizes to strengthen this sector by embracing corporate giving & volunteering initiatives within their local communities early on in their development. Canadian companies Igloo Software Corporation and Pendo have also joined Pledge 1% over the past few months, further solidifying its position within Canada’s tech landscape as a movement that is gaining attention from startups seeking recognition & support with their corporate mission efforts while driving powerful local initiatives forward in the process.
Coveo’s ESG initiatives
Global legal practice Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Canada-based Coveo Solutions Inc., an intelligent search platform, on its initial public offering.
The successful listing saw the company join the Pledge 1% ESG initiative – becoming only the second Canadian company.
The Pledge 1% movement encourages global organisations to pledge at least one percent of their profit, or one percent of their employees’ time, towards corporate citizenship efforts. Coveo’s initiatives focus on innovation in sustainability where it works with customers and partners to create educative search capabilities and increase digital accessibility for all. These actions have a positive environmental impact and have been acknowledged by industry leaders like Oceana Canada and Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI).
Norton Rose Fulbright worked alongside Coveo’s stakeholders throughout the process, providing expert legal advice giving due regard to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. This enabled Coveo to develop a framework that addresses both immediate business needs and long-term objectives related to ESG initiatives. In addition, Norton Rose Fulbright provided advice on tax compliance and risk management measures ensuring all compliance requirements were fulfilled.
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