Toronto-based Hudson's Bay Co (TSX: HBC) has completed its buy of New York-based luxury retailer Saks Inc (NYSE: SKS) for US$16.00 per share, in a deal valued at US$2.9 billion, including debt. The all-cash transaction was financed by a combination of new debt financing, and US$1 billion of new equity issued by way of a bought deal prospectus offering of 16,050,000 subscription receipts, and a private placement of common shares and common share purchase warrants. As previously announced, affiliates of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and West Face Capital contributed to the funding of the deal. HBC is backed by U.S. private equity firm NRDC Equity Partners.
5 min read · 04 November 2013
Tricon Capital Group, a Toronto-based private equity firm focused on real estate, has announced a supplementary closing of US$40 million for its most recent U.S. distressed residential real estate fund, Tricon XI LP. As a result, the institutionally-supplied fund's size now totals US$301.5 million.This closing, which includes commitments from two existing institutional investors, increases Tricon's total capital under management to more than $1.6 billion.
2 min read · 04 November 2013
Toronto-based Valuelight Ltd, a lighting fixture manufacturer and distributor providing energy-efficient solutions, has been bought by Canadian private equity firm Lynx Equity. The financial terms of the deal were not published. The acquisition of Valuelight is Lynx’s eighth so far in 2013. The Toronto-based investor group, which focuses on buying small and medium-sized businesses from owners looking to retire, has also purchased Fine Line Imports Inc, JewelPop Inc, Lotus Imports Ltd, Majestic Media Ltd, NRG Equipment Inc, Superior Road Products Ltd and Techni-Lite Systems Inc.
2 min read · 04 November 2013
Westford, Mass.-based pulp and paper company Kadant Inc (NYSE: KAI) has agreed to acquire Carmanah Design and Manufacturing Inc, a Surrey, B.C.-based supplier of stranders and related equipment used in the production of oriented strand board, for $54 million. Carmanah is a portfolio company of Canadian mid-market private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners. In 2003, Birch Hill's predecessor, TD Capital Canadian Private Equity Partners, formed the company to facilitate a management buyout of CAE Wood Products GP, then a division of the forestry systems business of Saint-Laurent, Québec-based CAE Inc.
4 min read · 04 November 2013
BlackBerry Ltd is abandoning a plan to sell itself and will raise about $1 billion from its largest shareholder and other institutional investors as it tries yet again to revive its fortunes, reports Reuters. The smartphone maker said on Monday that Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins would leave in about two weeks, as soon as the private placement of convertible debentures closes. His interim successor will be John Chen, the former CEO of Sybase, a database software company that SAP AG acquired in 2010. Chen, who will also be BlackBerry's new executive chairman, joined private equity group Silver Lake as senior adviser a year ago.
2 min read · 04 November 2013
Calgary-based oil and gas drilling company Saxon Energy Services Inc is planning an initial public offering (IPO), reports The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. Saxon, which was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange until it was taken private in 2008 by U.S. energy-focused private equity firm First Reserve Corp and Schlumberger Ltd, might this time making a shares offering in London, sources said. First Reserve and Schlumberger, a Houston, Texas-based oilfield services provider, paid $592 million to acquire the company. Founded in 1995, Saxon in September 2013 named Derek Normore as the company's new president and CEO, replacing the retiring M.J. McNulty.
1 min read · 04 November 2013
Toronto-based private equity firm Lynx Equity said Monday that it has bought Valuelight Limited. No financial terms were disclosed. Valuelight Limited, which is also in Toronto, is a lighting fixture manufacturer.
2 min read · 04 November 2013
Edwin Watts Golf Shops LLC, which has about 90 stores in the U.S. Southeast, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to increased competition and waning enthusiasm for the sport, according to a court filing, sister news service Reuters reported.
2 min read · 04 November 2013
Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP said on Monday it has named Kewsong Lee as its deputy chief investment officer for corporate private equity, sister news service Reuters reported.
1 min read · 04 November 2013
Healthcare benefits provider Universal American Corp sued private equity firm GTCR LLC last month to undo a $222.3 million acquisition it said was induced by fraud, a day after GTCR filed its own lawsuit to block Universal’s claims, sister news service Reuters reported.
2 min read · 04 November 2013
