Lassonde Industries Inc (TSX: LAS.A) has closed its previously announced acquisition of Apple & Eve LLC for US$147.9 million. Lassonde, a Rougemont, Québec-based marketer and manufacturer of a wide range of fruit and vegetable juices and drinks, now will own 90 percent of Apple & Eve, while members of the Lassonde family will own the remaining 10 percent. Apple & Eve, a branded juice company with headquarters is Port Washington, New York, has been a portfolio investment of U.S. private equity firm ClearLight Partners since October 2007.
3 min read · 28 July 2014
Czech gas pipeline operator Net4Gas is in the final stages of overhauling its capital structure with equity financing, bonds and bank loans, Reuters reported. Investors Allianz and Borealis Infrastructure bought into the pipeline company last year, paying German utility RWE US$2.15 billion, and have taken advantage of favourable debt markets to seek better terms for the company's capital structure. Borealis is the infrastructure investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).
2 min read · 28 July 2014
The proposed management-led acquisition of Tuckamore Capital Management (TSX:TX), supported by Canadian private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners, has been terminated. The controversial deal, valued at around $60 million, was cancelled prior to the shareholders meeting called for July 31 to review it. Instead, U.S. investment firm Orange Capital has stepped up with $12.5 million in financing, which is intended to reduce Tuckamore's outstanding senior indebtedness. The transaction will give Orange Capital a 17 percent stake in the firm. Based in Toronto, Tuckamore is a private equity investor with holdings in seven companies.
10 min read · 28 July 2014
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp has announced that Nigel Wright has returned to the firm. He will join Onex's London team as a managing director. In 2010, Wright took a leave of absence to work as chief of staff for the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada. He had previously been with Onex for 13 years. Update: Wright left the Prime Minister's office in May 2013 after cutting a personal cheque to pay back alleged improper expenses for Senator Mike Duffy. Based in Toronto, Onex currently manages about US$21 billion of assets under management, including US$6 billion of Onex capital, in private equity and credit securities.
2 min read · 28 July 2014
Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is seeking to buy the rest of Britain's Bristol Airport in a deal worth up to US$424.6 million, a source told Reuters. The pension fund, which already owns 49 percent of the regional airport, has the right of first offer for the 50 percent owned by Australian asset manager Macquarie Group. Ontario Teachers is eyeing the stake as it seeks to expand its infrastructure holdings from US$12 billion to around US$18 billion.
2 min read · 28 July 2014
Canadian alternative assets manager Brookfield Asset Management has acquired 611,220 shares of Wilmington Capital Management Inc for a consideration of $2,298,187. The transaction increases Brookfield's stake in Wilmington to a total of 1,286,220 shares, representing approximately 17 percent of total issued and outstanding shares. Based in Calgary, Wilmington is an investment firm that emphasizes activity in real estate and energy sectors. Update: It holds a 50 percent interest in Canadian energy-focused private equity investor Network Capital Management.
2 min read · 28 July 2014
URS Corp, an engineering and construction services company with a market value of $3.5 billion, has recently held talks with industry rivals and buyout firms about a potential sale of the company, people familiar with the matter said.
1 min read · 28 July 2014
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and energy-focused peer Riverstone Holdings LLC will form a U.S. oil and natural gas venture that would be one of the largest producers in the Barnett Shale in Texas, the private equity firms announced said on July 9.
1 min read · 28 July 2014
Swiss private aviation firm VistaJet is in talks with bankers over a potential sale of the business that could fetch up to $900 million, two financial sources closely monitoring the deal said.
2 min read · 28 July 2014
THL Credit’s outgoing CEO Jim Hunt recalls a recent New Yorker cartoon that depicts two vultures sitting on a branch below the edge of a steep cliff. One looks up in anticipation. “Be patient. We’ll soon be pigging out on lemmings,” the other says.
5 min read · 28 July 2014
