Private Equity
Bravo Oilfield Safety Services LP, a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Yellow Point Equity Partners, recently announced its combination with Target Safety Services Ltd. No financial terms were released. The new entity, Bravo Target Safety LP, provides a one-stop shop for safety services and related products in the Western Canadian industrial and oilfield safety sector, the company said. Target was represented in the deal by Stormont Energy Advisors. Yellow Point, which acquired Bravo last year, closed its fourth fund, Yellow Point Equity Partners IV LP, in September.
2 min read · 04 November 2015
Canadian private equity firm CAI Capital Management has held the first close of Firethorn Capital Partners LP, the first in a series of CAI funds that will serve accredited individual investors, family offices, and smaller institutional investors in North America. The amount raised by the new fund was not released. Firethorn, which will be led by CAI Managing Partner Tracey McVicar, has already completed its inaugural deal, taking an undisclosed majority interest in White House Design Co Inc, a Canadian designer, manufacturer and wholesaler of women’s clothing. The interest was sold to Firethorn by Jan Stimpson, White House’s founder. John Evans will be the company’s new president and CEO.
4 min read · 04 November 2015
Cerberus Capital Management has issued a statement defending the lawsuit filed against the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce last week. Cerberus said it “provided CIBC the lifeline that it needed” during the financial crisis in 2008, but that CIBC “refused” to observe its contractual obligations. Cerberus added that it was “forced” into legal action following efforts to resolve the issue with CIBC. The bank sought the financial assistance from Cerberus to reduce its exposure to the U.S. residential real estate market. It said it had satisfied all its obligations by making payments totaling more than US$1.24 billion, according to a Reuters report.
3 min read · 04 November 2015
The Trigo Group has joined forces with The PIC Group, a Canadian provider of quality solutions to automotive and manufacturing industries in North America. No financial terms were disclosed. France’s Trigo said the merger of the companies will create the “largest and most comprehensive breadth of quality services being offered globally in the market today.” Trigo, which provides quality inspection, engineering and management services to manufacturers, is majority owned by European private equity firm IK Investment Partners. Oshawa, Ontario-based PIC is Trigo’s third add-on acquisition since IK bought the business in August 2011.
4 min read · 04 November 2015
Kahala Brands has bought Maui Wowi Hawaiian, a smoothie and coffee franchise business based in Denver, Colorado. No financial terms were disclosed. Kahala, a quick-service restaurant franchising platform, said the acquisition increases its list of smoothie concepts to four widely recognized brands and to 17 brands in the entire portfolio. It plans to consolidate operations and run franchising activity for the Maui Wowi brand from its headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. Kahala is a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Serruya Private Equity, which invests on behalf of the Serruya family. It is also backed by the Delavaco Group.
3 min read · 04 November 2015
SterlingBackcheck announced that it has acquired EmployeeScreenIQ, a provider of employment background checks and substance abuse screening services based in Cleveland, Ohio. No financial terms were released. New York's SterlingBackcheck, which offers services that are complementary to EmployeeScreenIQ, was itself acquired in June. The joint buyers were Canadian pension fund manager the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Goldman Sachs.
3 min read · 03 November 2015
Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD) has invested over $10 million in Courchesne Larose Ltd, operator of a distribution network for fruit and vegetable suppliers. CRCD provided the funding to support Courchesne Larose's purchase of 50 percent of the assets of Dandrea Produce Inc, a produce grower and importer based in Vineland, New Jersey. The deal was closed in August. A family business with a history that goes back to 1918, Courchesne Larose has its headquarters in Montréal. CRCD is a retail fund managed by Canadian private equity firm Desjardins Capital de risque.
2 min read · 03 November 2015
The Canadian affiliate of Australia's SomnoMed Ltd (SOM: ASX) has bought Strong Dental, the maker of a dental appliance that helps treat sleep disordered breathing. The acquisition's total consideration was $700,000. Patrick Strong, the owner of Leamington, Ontario-based Strong Dental, will as a result of the transaction assume responsibility for the day-to-day operations of SomnoMed Canada Inc. SomnoMed is a portfolio company of Australian private equity and venture capital firm Kestrel Capital. Kestrel recapitalized the business and has funded its growth.
3 min read · 03 November 2015
Canadian pension fund manager OPTrust, in partnership with Netherlands-based PGGM and U.K.-based Universities Superannuation Scheme, recently agreed to buy all of the shares of Globalvia Infraestructuras SA. The deal is priced at €420 million ($606 million). Headquartered in Madrid, Globalvia is a concession management business that oversees 29 projects, most of them focused on highways and railways. The sellers in the transaction are Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas and Bankia. OPTrust and the two other pension funds have backed Globalvia for several years.
3 min read · 02 November 2015
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said it saw no merit in a lawsuit filed against it by a special purpose vehicle controlled by U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, Reuters reported. The lawsuit filed late last week in New York relates to an October 2008 transaction in which CIBC issued a limited recourse note to Cerberus, which significantly reduced its exposure to the U.S. residential real estate market, during the depths of the financial crisis. CIBC says it had satisfied all its obligations by making 84 monthly payments totaling more than US$1.24 billion.
1 min read · 02 November 2015
