Apollo Global Management LLC said it had completed fundraising for its latest flagship global private equity fund, amassing $17.5 billion from investors, the most any such fund has raised since the financial crisis, sister news service Reuters reported.
2 min read · 10 January 2014
Franchise Services of North America Inc (TSX Venture: FSN) announced that a Mississippi bankruptcy court has appoved the sale to Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group of certain assets of its subsidiary Simply Wheelz LLC, which does business as leased vehicle fleet operator Advantage Rent A Car. The previously announced transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014, subject to procedural matters and arrangements with third parties. Franchise Services, which has its Canadian head office in Calgary, acquired Advantage from Hertz Global Holdings Inc in 2012.
4 min read · 09 January 2014
Healogics Inc, a private equity-owned provider of wound care services, is exploring a sale that could value the company at close to $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, sister news service Reuters reported.
1 min read · 09 January 2014
Hellman & Friedman LLC is exploring a sale of Catalina Marketing Corp, which claims to have the world’s largest shopper history database and could fetch as much as $2.5 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter, sister news service Reuters reported.
2 min read · 09 January 2014
Thomas H. Lee Partners is looking for a $585 million financing package to back its leveraged buyout of 1-800 CONTACTS, sources told sister news service Thomson Reuters LPC.
1 min read · 09 January 2014
Royal Bank of Canada led investment banks in advising on equity issues and mergers and acquisitions in Canada in 2013, but share issues overall rose only slightly in the year and M&A activity fell hard, reports Reuters. In a year in which gold prices plunged and base-metal and oil industry activity was hit by uncertainty over global economic growth, the total value of M&A deals in 2013 fell by 31 percent to US$144.7 billion, according to data released by Thomson Reuters. RBC also was the leader in debt issues as low interest rates and favorable market conditions led to a banner year for corporate and government debt in Canada in 2013. Top law firms advising on M&A deals were Torys, which guided US$38.8 billion in deals, Davis Ward Phillips & Vineberg, which advised on US$31.8 billion in deals, and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, which advised on US$30.6 billion.
4 min read · 09 January 2014
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd will buy another $250 million worth of BlackBerry Ltd's convertible debentures, the companies said Wednesday, providing the struggling smartphone maker with much-needed cash. Fairfax is exercising a previously announced option linked to BlackBerry's recent $1 billion debt financing, in which it had initially bought $250 million. Other backers of the initial offering included an arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, Brookfield Asset Management, and Markel Corp. Canso Investment Counsel Ltd had bought $300 million.
2 min read · 09 January 2014
Donald Raymond, senior vice-president and chief investment strategist at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has resigned his position effective March 31, 2014. CPPIB announced that he will thereafter assume a leadership role at Toronto-based alternative assets manager Alignvest Management Corp. Raymond joined CPPIB in 2001 and was appointed to his current role in Apr. 2010. CPPIB indicated that a process is currently underway to identify Raymond’s successor.
2 min read · 09 January 2014
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp has announced the promotion of two senior investment professionals, David Hirsch and Tawfiq Popatia. Hirsh, who joined Onex in 2003 after working at J.P. Morgan Partners and CIBC World Markets, has been appointed managing director with a focus on European deal opportunities. Popatia, who worked at Hellman & Friedman and Morgan Stanley before joining Onex in 2007, has also been appointed managing director with a continuing focus on transportation-focused industries.
2 min read · 08 January 2014
Aptalis Pharma Inc, a specialty pharmaceutical company created in 2011 by Montréal-based Axcan Pharma Inc's acquisition of Eurand N.V., has agreed to be bought by New York-based Forest Laboratories Inc (NYSE:FRX) for US$2.9 billion. The primary seller in the transaction is U.S. private equity firm TPG, which acquired Axcan Pharma for US$1.3 billion in 2008. The deal, which will be financed by Forest through a combination of cash on hand and debt, is expected to close in the first half of 2014. Aptalis Pharma, which provides therapies for cystic fibrosis, gastrointestinal disorders and other medical needs, was previously the focus of other potential sales and a potential initial public offering, reports Reuters. The company has manufacturing and commercial operations in the United States, the European Union and Canada.
6 min read · 08 January 2014
