VSE Corp (NASDAQ: VSEC) has closed on its previously announced buy of four aviation support businesses from Killick Aerospace Group, a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firms Killick Capital and Alaris Royalty Corp. The final purchase price was US$189 million in cash. VSE will also pay post-closing amounts of up to US$45 million, subject to performance milestones, plus working capital. The acquired companies, Prime Turbines, CT Aerospace, Kansas Aviation and Air Parts & Supply, were bought by the U.S.-based Killick Aerospace after its founding in 2006. Earlier this month, peHUB Canada profiled the deal and the anticipated returns to Killick Capital and Alaris.
4 min read · 28 January 2015
A Qatari-led consortium looked set to win its long-running battle to buy Songbird Estates Plc after the owner of London's Canary Wharf business district dropped its opposition to the US$4 billion offer, Reuters reported. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Brookfield Property Partners launched an offer direct to Songbird shareholders in December, hoping to add a financial district rivaling the City of London to landmarks already in its portfolio.
3 min read · 28 January 2015
Joseph L. Rotman, founder of Canadian private equity firm Clairvest Group and a member of its board of directors, has passed away. Rotman founded the Toronto-based based firm in 1987. Update: According to the Rotman School of Management, which was named after him, Rotman was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1995. He was also inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame as a Companion in 2009.
2 min read · 28 January 2015
(Reuters) - The London Stock Exchange Group Plc plans to put Russell Investments up for sale in mid-February and hopes to fetch around $1.4 billion for the unit, two sources told Reuters Wednesday.
1 min read · 28 January 2015
Micralyne Inc has been acquired by Canadian private equity investor FTC Technologies. FTC has bought 98 percent of the company for an undisclosed sum and plans to acquire the remaining interest. Based in Edmonton, Micralyne is a provider of development and manufacturing services for micro-electro mechanical systems and micro fabrication to several industries. It said the partnership with FTC will help the company grow and expand market share in its sector. Micralyne was founded in 1982 and went private in 1998.
2 min read · 28 January 2015
The vast majority of investors in Norbord Inc (TSX: NBD) and Ainsworth Lumber Co Ltd (TSX: ANS) have approved the previously announced combination of the two businesses. The deal, which is expected to close before the end of the first quarter of 2015, has been valued at about $763 million. The Vancouver-based Ainsworth and the Toronto-based Norbord, both of which are portfolio investments of Brookfield Asset Management, have said the merger will establish a leading global forest products company.
4 min read · 28 January 2015
Canadian wireless startup Mobilicity has said it will participate in an upcoming government auction of airwaves, Reuters reported. The company said some of its backers have now agreed to put up the roughly $65 million it needs to buy a seat at the table in the auction of high-frequency spectrum, set to be held in March.
1 min read · 28 January 2015
U.S. private equity firms Riverstone Holdings and NGP Energy Capital Management have made an equity investment in CanEra Inc, a newly formed Calgary-based oil and gas company. Riverstone, NGP and the company's management team will commit up to $465 million in CanEra, with Riverstone committing $225 million of the total. CanEra is led by chairman and CEO Paul Charron, who previously led CanEra Resources Inc and CanEra Energy Corp, both of which were also backed by Riverstone. CanEra Energy was acquired in 2014 by Crescent Point Energy Corp. The new business will focus on acquiring and exploring large deposits in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
3 min read · 28 January 2015
In 2006, Hellman & Friedman acquired a minority interest in Artisan Partners, a Wisconsin-based investment management firm. Artisan was organized as a partnership at the time of the investment. Hellman & Friedman and Artisan opted to leave Artisan’s partnership structure in place following the investment rather than converting the company to a C corporation.
4 min read · 27 January 2015
Canadian private equity firm Ironbridge Equity Partners has recruited Andrew Walton as a partner. Walton previously served as a partner at two other Canadian private equity firms. Between 2011 and 2014, he worked at Signal Hill Equity Partners, and before then, he worked at Edgestone Capital Partners. Walton has also held operational executive roles at several companies, including Westridge Cabinets Ltd and New Food Classics Partnership. Last April, the Toronto-based Ironbridge completed the final close of its second mid-market fund, Ironbridge Equity Partners II LP, raising $154 million in total.
1 min read · 27 January 2015
