GuestLogix Inc (TSX: GXI) has agreed to buy OpenJaw Technologies Ltd, an Irish travel retailing technology company, for US$41.2 million. The deal is expected to close no later than January 22, 2015. GuestLogix, a provider of onboard store technology and payment solutions to airlines and the passenger travel industry, said the acquisition will create a comprehensive ancillary revenue and retailing platform. Based in Toronto, GuestLogix is a portfolio company of Canadian specialty finance firm Difference Capital Financial and other investors.
10 min read · 08 December 2014
Open Text Corp (TSX: OTC, NASDAQ: OTEX) has agreed to purchase Actuate Corp (NASDAQ: BIRT), a personalized analytics and insights provider based in San Mateo, California. The deal, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, has a total equity value of approximately US$330 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of Open Text's fiscal 2015. Among the selling investors is U.S. private equity firm Vector Capital. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, Open Text is an enterprise information management and software company.
7 min read · 08 December 2014
Kirmac Automotive Collision Systems Inc has sold its Washington State operations to U.S.-based Service King Collision Centers for an undisclosed amount. Service King, which in July agreed to be acquired by U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group, picked up 12 locations capable of servicing 2,500 vehicles per month. The deal was closed in November 2014. Kirmac is a family owned and operated collision repair company based in Coquitlam, British Columbia. It said it plans to significantly increase its presence and service offering in the province.
2 min read · 08 December 2014
Alternative financing firm Alaris Royalty Corp recently announced a US$35 million contribution to PF Growth Partners LLC (PFGP), a franchise group that operates 28 Planet Fitness clubs in the United States. Alaris agreed to contribute up to an additional US$10 million in 18 months time if financial conditions are satisfied. It also closed a US$26.9 million repurchase of units in Quetico LLC, a U.S. third-party logistics provider. Net proceeds from the Quetico repurchase helped fund the PFGP deal. Steve King, the president and CEO of the Calgary-based Alaris, was recently interviewed by Buyout's Steve Gelsi.
10 min read · 05 December 2014
The Canadian government has approved Burger King Worldwide's $12.64 billion takeover of coffee-and-doughnut chain Tim Hortons Inc, which will create a new company based north of the border, Reuters reported. "The result of this transaction is this new global company ... which will now be based in Canada," Industry Minister James Moore said in a statement. 3G Capital, a New York-based private equity firm, is Burger King's majority owner.
2 min read · 05 December 2014
Alphaeon Corp has closed its buy of Clarion Medical Technologies Inc, a provider of medical and aesthetic equipment and consumables based in Cambridge, Ontario. The deal's value, which was not previously disclosed, was $55 million in cash and equity plus performance-based earnouts. Alphaeon, a lifestyle healthcare business established in 2013 by U.S. growth equity firm Strathspey Crown Holdings, said the acquisition of Clarion will expand its global position. The company has its headquarters in Irvine, California.
2 min read · 05 December 2014
Cansel Inc, a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Roynat Equity Partners, has acquired Dutech Matériel D'Art Appliqué Inc, a provider of equipment, paper and media to the architecture, engineering, surveying and construction markets in Québec. The financial terms of the transaction were not released. Cansel, a Vancouver-based provider of software, hardware and training services to multiple industries, said the acquisition will help launch its offering in Québec and further is expansion across Eastern Canada. In 2013, the company bought CAD Worx Warehouse Inc and Robert Steltman Inc.
2 min read · 05 December 2014
Hugh O'Reilly has been appointed the new president and CEO of OPSEU Pension Trust (OPTrust). O'Reilly, who will assume the new role in January, currently leads the Pension Benefits and Insolvency Practice Group at law firm Cavalluzzo Shilton McIntyre Cornish LLP, which he joined after serving as a partner at Torys LLP. Based in Toronto, OPTrust manages $16 billion in assets on behalf of Ontario public employees. In August 2013, peHUB Canada profiled the private markets group at OPTrust.
2 min read · 04 December 2014
U.S. trading firm Freepoint Commodities and a financing group including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) and CPPIB Credit Investments are joining forces to challenge Wall Street's long dominance of funding the raw materials industry, Reuters reported. Merchant banking group MCS Capital Markets LLC, a joint venture between Stone Point Capital, KKR and CPPIB formed in early 2013, says it has completed 50 transactions involving over US$30 billion.
2 min read · 04 December 2014
G. Cooper Equipment Rentals Ltd has bought Albion Rental, a compact equipment rental company located in Bolton, Ontario. The financial terms of the acquisition were not released. Cooper, a full-service construction equipment rental business, said the deal will help expand its geographic presence. Last November, it also acquired City Rentals Inc. Headquartered in Toronto, Cooper is a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm SeaFort Capital. The Halifax-based SeaFort made a majority investment in the company in June 2013.
2 min read · 04 December 2014
