A new study of exits by private equity firms finds that 2013 was a banner year, both for selling portfolio companies to strategic acquirers and to other sponsors, as well as for going public on listed exchanges. But it also points to a dark side of those IPOs, as sponsors expose themselves to trading risk by hanging on to more shares for longer periods of time.
2 min read · 05 August 2014
British engineering firm WS Atkins and WSP Global are vying for control of Balfour Beatty's U.S. engineering and design business Parsons Brinckerhoff, according to the Sunday Telegraph, Reuters reported. WS Atkins and WSP are also understood to be competing with two private equity firms for the business. Based in Montréal, WSP is backed by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. In April, they helped fund the company's $366 million purchase of Focus Corp, a Calgary provider of engineering and geomatics services.
2 min read · 05 August 2014
The final regulatory hurdle to the US$805 million acquisition of Nordion Inc (TSX:NDN) by Sterigenics International Inc has been cleared. As a result, the Ottawa-based medical isotope supplier said the proposed deal is expected to close on or about Aug. 6. Reuters previously reported that Sterigenics, a sterilization services provider owned by U.S. private equity firm GTCR LLC, has twice raised the buyout offer for Nordion from its US$727 million bid in reaction to an unnamed third party’s interest. The acquisition, which was approved by Nordion shareholders in June, followed a strategic review process launched by the company in January 2013.
4 min read · 05 August 2014
AM Inspection Ltd, a Cabri, Saskatchewan-based company specializing in industrial non-destructive testing services, has been acquired by Bolttech Mannings Acquisition Corp. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Bolttech Mannings, a provider of industrial bolting and thermal technologies to energy and power industries, said the deal builds on its 2013 merger with Red Flame Industries Inc of Red Deer, Alberta, and expands its footprint in Canada. Based in North Versailles, Pennsylvania, Bolttech Mannings was bought by U.S. private equity firm Grey Mountain Partners in 2009.
2 min read · 05 August 2014
Res-Care Inc, which provides home care services to the elderly and disabled, is in the early stages of exploring a sale that could fetch more than US$1 billion, sources told Reuters. The Louisville, Kentucky-based company, which is owned by Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp, is working with investment banks Goldman Sachs Group and Jefferies on the potential sale. Onex has backed Res-Care since 2004.
2 min read · 05 August 2014
U.S. private equity firm Sycamore Partners is considering a bid for Sears Canada Inc, sources told the New York Post, Reuters reported. Eddie Lampert, who owns a controlling stake in Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O), expects up to US$2 billion for the 176-store chain. In May, Sears Holdings said it was looking to sell its 51 percent stake in Sears Canada and will hire an investment bank to explore options.
1 min read · 05 August 2014
Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate investment arm of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, has partnered with Veritas Investments to purchase multi-residential properties in San Francisco. An initial portfolio has been assembled by the partners, comprising nine properties already acquired or that are in the process of being acquired, representing an investment of about US$50 million. Veritas is a San Francisco-based owner and operator of multi-family and mixed-use properties in San Francisco and the Bay Area.
3 min read · 05 August 2014
Toronto-based secondaries intermediary Setter Capital has estimated global secondaries market volume in the first half of 2014 at about US$22 billion. Setter is estimating a 47 percent increase over the first half of 2013. It is also predicting full-year volume of US$45 billion, which would be a 25 percent increase over the total US$36 billion volume that it estimated last year.
3 min read · 05 August 2014
Catterton Partners has acquired Bali-inspired jeweller John Hardy for an undisclosed sum, closing a transaction that took months to negotiate.
2 min read · 05 August 2014
Borrowers selling high-yield bonds in August to finance acquisitions will likely pay at least 1 percent more in interest costs as they get caught in volatility that has sent prices tumbling.
3 min read · 05 August 2014
