Private Equity
Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ: CSIQ) has purchased solar assets in Ontario from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR). The enterprise value of the deal was $270 Million (US$203.7 Million). The acquired assets are three operating solar projects totaling 59.8 megawatts AC located in Sault Ste. Marie. Guelph, Ont.-based Canadian Solar, a solar power business, plans to assume the roles of both the owner and operator of the projects. In 2013, the infrastructure investment arm of KKR bought SSM Solar from an affiliate of Starwood Capital.
3 min read · 05 October 2015
Bombardier Inc is in discussions with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which manages Québec's public pension plans, on a deal that could inject more cash into the troubled plane and train maker, sources told Reuters. One source said the Caisse, already one of Bombardier's biggest shareholders, was contemplating taking a larger stake in the Montréal-based company.
3 min read · 05 October 2015
Stericycle Inc (NASDAQ: SRCL) has closed its purchase of Shred-it International Inc, a Canadian provider of secure information destruction services. As reported by PE Hub Canada in July, Stericycle agreed to pay US$2.3 billion to acquire the business from Canadian private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners, Cintas Corp and other equity holders. It said the deal will add business-to-business compliance solutions and help expand Stericycle's global reach. Oakville, Ont.-based Shred-it, which planned an initial public offering prior to the acquisition's announcement, has been a portfolio company of Birch Hill and other investors since 2009.
4 min read · 02 October 2015
JPMorgan Chase, the lead advisor to General Electric Co on the sale of its finance assets, vaulted to the top of the Canadian M&A league tables following a string of GE asset sales to Canadian buyers, Reuters reported. Thomson Reuters data showed US$191 billion in mergers and acquisitions involving Canadian entities year-to-date, up 28 percent from a year ago.
2 min read · 02 October 2015
Canadian private equity firm NorthSpring Capital Partners has completed five new investments to date this year. The firm made investments in: ComTech CNG, a supplier of natural gas refuelling stations in Canada; Eve Medical and Intellijoint Surgical TM, both medical technology companies; ParkLane Holdings, which bought a food and consumer products retailer and wholesaler; and Synergy Disc Replacement, a medical device provider. It also exited two portfolio investments: Pegasus Direct Mail Worx and Exocor. NorthSpring provides risk capital ranging from $250,000 to $1 million for businesses located within a 100 kilometer radius of its Cambridge, Ontario headquarters.
5 min read · 02 October 2015
Bonnefield Financial, a private equity firm that specializes in investing in Canadian farmland, has earned an "A" rating from the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI). UN-PRI is a global network of investors that work together to put six principles for responsible investment into practice. Toronto-based Bonnefield became a signatory in December 2014. Early last year, the firm closed its third fund, Bonnefield Canadian Farmland LP III, at $261 million.
2 min read · 01 October 2015
Canada's primary market for initial public offerings (IPOs) saw fewer new issues, but higher values, in the third quarter of 2015, according to a report by PwC. A total of five IPOs raised more than $795 million in new equity, up from Q3 2014, and pushing the total raised to date this year to $2.2 billion. PwC said the largest issuer in Q3 2015 was Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc, a portfolio investment of Canadian private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners, which raised $300 million. The period also saw new offerings by private equity-backed TMAC Resources Inc and Crown Capital Partners, a Canadian specialty finance firm.
3 min read · 01 October 2015
Canadian private equity firm Tuckamore Capital Management has sold its interest in Gemma Communications, a Toronto-based provider of call centre outsourcing solutions. The total consideration was about $7 million. The buyer was DealNet Capital Corp (TSX-V: DLS). DealNet said the acquisition will lower costs for its consumer finance business and expand its operational footprint. Last year, Tuckamore's management attempted to acquire the publicly-traded firm in a deal backed by Birch Hill Equity Partners. The deal was terminated in July.
3 min read · 01 October 2015
Shareholders of Manac Inc (TSX: MA) have approved the previously-announced acquisition of the company by Québec investors and the Dutil family. In August, Saint Georges, Québec-based Manac, a manufacturer of specialty trailers in North America, agreed to be taken private by a consortium that is made up of Marcel Dutil, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec and Fonds Manufacturier Québécois. The deal, which is expected to close this month, values the business at $186 million.
5 min read · 01 October 2015
Canadian real estate private equity firm Tricon Capital Group has cancelled the previously-announced initial public offering (IPO) of its affiliate Tricon Investment Partners (TIP). Tricon President and CEO Gary Berman cited "market conditions" as the reason for not proceeding with the offering, which was priced to raise gross proceeds of about $140 million. TIP was intended to be the firm's platform for land and home-building investment activity in North America, carrying on and replacing the activity of Tricon's private funds.
3 min read · 01 October 2015
