Overview
John Connon is a partner and co-heads a business law group and the Private Equity and Venture Capital Group at Goodmans. He has a broad transactional practice involving all aspects of corporate and securities law, with particular emphasis on private equity,
public and private mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions.
John has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada as the 2027 Toronto Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law “Lawyer of the Year” and the 2023 Toronto Mergers & Acquisitions "Lawyer of the Year”, as well as a leading lawyer for securities law. John is also recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers Canada and Chambers Global for private equity: buyouts, The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory for corporate finance and securities, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions and by IFLR1000 for mergers and acquisitions. John is featured in the Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and the Lexpert Special Edition: M&A and was honoured as one of Lexpert’s Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers Under 40 in 2008.
From 1998 to 2004, John was an associate in the New York, Hong Kong and London offices of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.
Featured Work
John has recently played a leading role in representing:
- General Atlantic Partners in its sale of Budge Studios, a leader in digital interactive entertainment for children, to Haveli Investments; its strategic growth investment in Plusgrade, a global leader powering ancillary revenue solutions for the travel industry; and its strategic investment in Benevity, Inc., a global provider of corporate social responsibility and employee engagement software.
- Five Arrows, the alternative assets arms of Rothschild & Co., in its strategic investment in KEV Group, the leading North American provider of school activity fee management solutions for K-12 schools.
- KEV Group in its acquisition of ebase Software, Canada’s largest facilities management and rentals software provider based in Ontario.
- Tricon Residential in its C$4.8 billion go-private acquisition by Blackstone; its C$1.0 billion joint venture with CPP Investment Board to build-to-core multi-family rental projects in the Greater Toronto Area; its NYSE IPO and concurrent US$570 million equity offering; and its US$1.4 billion acquisition of Starlight U.S. Multi-Family (No. 5) Core Fund.
- Hanna Paper, one of the largest high-grade paper recycling companies in North America, in its acquisition by Sustana Group, a portfolio company of Blackstone.
- Pon Holdings in its C$1.0 billion acquisition of Dorel Sports.
- TRADER Corporation in its acquisition of the Canadian operations of Dealertrack from Cox Automotive; its strategic investments in Motoinsight and Activix; and its acquisitions of LesPAC and Convertus.
- The Miller McAsphalt Corporation in its sale of Miller Paving and McAsphalt Industries to Colas Canada Inc.
- Aegis Brands in its sale of Second Cup Coffee Co. to Foodtastic.
- The Kilmer Group in the sale of the Toronto Argonauts Football Club, North America’s oldest continuously operated professional football club, to MLSE.
- Open Farm in an C$80 million investment led by General Atlantic.
Awards & Recognition
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Best Lawyers in Canada Recognized, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities Law 2027
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Best Lawyers in Canada Lawyer of the Year, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law 2027
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Chambers Global Band 3, Private Equity: Buyouts 2026
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Chambers Canada Band 3, Private Equity: Buyouts 2026
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Best Lawyers in Canada Recognized, Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities Law 2026
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Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A Canada's Leading Finance and M&A Lawyers 2026
Credentials
Credentials
- University of Toronto, LL.B., 1998
- McGill University, B.A., 1994
Professional Affiliations
- Law Society of Ontario
Call to Bar
- 2005 Ontario
- 1999 New York
Insights
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Capital Markets
Canadian Securities Regulators and TSX Issue Temporary Exemptions From Certain Requirements in Response to COVID-19
An overview of the scope and availability of the Filing Relief issued by the Canadian Securities Adminitrators (CSA), as well as the temporary blanket relief package announced by the Toronto Stock… -
Private Equity
Private Equity: Five Trends to Watch, The 2014 Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada
John Connon authored the article "Five Trends to Watch", originally published in the 2014 Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada.Excerpt:The large amounts of… -
Capital Markets
Private Equity: What's in Store for 2014?
The large amounts of undeployed capital available to Canadian private equity funds and a renewed willingness by banks to extend credit on more favourable terms have set the stage for an active year in… -
Capital Markets
CSA Proposes Significant Amendments to Early Warning Regime
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have proposed a sweeping set of amendments to improve the early warning regime in the wake of increased shareholder activism, and to bring it into… -
Capital Markets
CSA Announces Results of Continuous Disclosure Review for Fiscal 2012
The Canadian Securities Administrators recently published the results of its annual continuous disclosure (CD) review program for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012. The CSA’s CD review… -
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Supreme Court Holds National Securities Act to be Unconstitutional
In a long-awaited decision released yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously held that the proposed Canadian Securities Act is unconstitutional as presently drafted, frustrating the…
News & Events
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100+ Goodmans Lawyers Recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada: 2027 Edition
We are delighted to announce Goodmans has been recognized in the 2027 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada with 101 lawyers featured across 44 practice areas.Congratulations to Andrew Brodkin… -
Banking and Finance
Goodmans Lawyers Recognized in the Lexpert Special Editions: Finance 2026 and Mergers & Acquisitions 2026
We are delighted to share the Lexpert Special Editions: Finance 2026 and Mergers and Acquisitions 2026 continue to feature Goodmans lawyers among Canada's best.Congratulations to the 34 lawyers… -
Banking and Finance
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2026 Recognizes Goodmans
We are proud to announce Goodmans continues to be recognized in the 2026 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory.Congratulations to the 90 Goodmans lawyers recognized as leaders across…