Greyrock Capital Group, which counts a number of mezzanine-enamored insurance companies as backers, has raised $131 million for its latest fund earmarked for a combination of subordinated debt and equity co-investments in small and mid-market companies. The target is $200 million.
3 min read · 12 August 2014
Advent International is in the market with one of the biggest Latin America-focused funds this year, targeting $2 billion, several limited partner sources said.
3 min read · 12 August 2014
Canadian private equity firm DRI Capital has purchased royalties relating to the worldwide sales of the drug Ampyra from Chicago-based healthcare institution Rush University Medical Center. The price for acquiring the royalties was approximately US$42 million. Ampyra is a therapy intended to help improve walking for people with multiple sclerosis. It was approved for use in the United States in January 2010 and has received conditional approval in Europe. The royalty rights were bought by Drug Royalty III, the third partnership of the Toronto-based DRI Capital, which closed last September at US$1.45 billion.
5 min read · 12 August 2014
ValueAct Capital, a top shareholder in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, supports the company's independent business plan and does not believe the Canadian drugmaker has to buy Allergan Inc, the investor told Reuters. ValueAct likes a potential combination between Valeant and Allergan, but said a drawn-out bidding war for the Botox maker might be too distracting. Allergan is fighting a hostile US$52 billion bid from Valeant and William Ackman, head of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management.
2 min read · 12 August 2014
Canadian Non-Operated Resources LP (CNOR), a newly founded Calgary oil and gas company, has secured an equity investment totaling $675 million. The deal includes a $300 million investment from U.S. resource-focused private equity firm Riverstone Holdings, with supplementary amounts coming from an unnamed Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund, Canadian energy investment firm Grafton Asset Management Inc, and CNOR's management team. Led by Richard Grafton, founder and CEO of Grafton, who has launched multiple Calgary-based energy investments, the company will pursue partnerships with top-tier operators to develop oil and gas assets in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
4 min read · 12 August 2014
China’s $653 billion sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp (CIC), is in talks to buy Dublin-based aircraft leasing company Avolon Aerospace Leasing Ltd for $4 billion to $5 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
3 min read · 11 August 2014
The Sentient Group, a resources-focused private equity firm based in the Cayman Islands and with an office in Montréal, has increased the size of its investment in Rouyn-Noranda, Québec-based Pershimco Resources Inc (TSX-V: PRO). The deal, together with another purchase made earlier this year, gives Sentient around 18.9 percent of the company's outstanding Class A common shares. Sentient and Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd have both recently made investments in Pershimco to support the junior mining company's exploration and development of its Cerro Quema gold-copper porphyry project in Panama and other activity.
2 min read · 11 August 2014
Independence Contract Drilling Inc (NYSE: ICD), a portfolio company of Canadian resource-focused private equity firm Sprott Resource Corp, recently priced its previously announced initial public offering of 10 million shares of common stock at US$11.00 per share. At this price, ICD raised a total of US$110 million, according to a report from Renaissance Capital LLC. Based in Houston, ICD is an oil and natural gas drilling services company. It has been backed by Sprott Resource since 2012.
4 min read · 11 August 2014
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has further expanded its U.S.-based multifamily portfolio with more than US$330 million in equity investments in the past year. Recent activity has focused on six Class-A multifamily developments in California, Georgia and Massachusetts with a gross asset value of approximately US$740 million. CPPIB's multifamily portfolio now comprises direct joint venture interests in more than 8,400 units in eight U.S. markets. Since 2011, CPPIB's equity commitments in the sector have totaled US$1.3 billion, representing a gross asset value of US$4.5 billion at full ownership share.
3 min read · 11 August 2014
Canadian investment holding firm TerraVest Capital has acquired NWP Industries Inc, a manufacturer of oil and gas processing equipment for customers in Western Canada. The financial terms of the transaction were not published. TerraVest said that the acquisition will be immediately accretive to cash available for distribution by about 10 percent and that future operating efficiencies are likely to accrue. Founded in 1962, NWP Industries is based in Innisfail, Alberta.
3 min read · 11 August 2014
