Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) has formed Maritime Finance Co., a new specialty finance company created to lend to maritime assets in offshore oil field services and traditional shipping sectors. The company will initially be capitalized with US$580 million, over 45% of which has been provided by KKR and MerchCap Solutions, KKR's recently established mid-market focused merchant banking venture with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Stone Point Capital. Maritime Finance is intended to fill a funding gap left by European financial institutions.
4 min read · 20 August 2013
We all know that mid-market lending is on fire. Talk to any lender, private equity professional or investment banker, and they will tell you that they have never seen so much debt capital looking to be deployed.
3 min read · 20 August 2013
U.S. securities regulators charged a former private equity fund manager at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc’s Oppenheimer & Co on Aug. 20 with misleading investors about the valuation and performance of some funds, sister news service Reuters reported.
2 min read · 20 August 2013
Toronto-based private equity firm Lynx Equity said Tuesday that it has acquired Fine Line Imports Inc. No financial terms were disclosed. Also based in Toronto, Fine Line Imports is a provider of contemporary women's fashion in Canada. Update: Lynx Equity pursues investments in mid-market businesses based primarily in Ontario. The firm's other acquisitions so far this year include NRG Equipment Inc., Superior Road Products Ltd. and Techni-Lite Systems Inc.
2 min read · 20 August 2013
Ares Management LLC and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan will buy CPG International Inc, betting on the long-awaited recovery in the building products industry, which has lagged the rebound in the broader U.S. housing market.
2 min read · 19 August 2013
FrontStream Payments Inc., a portfolio company of Arsenal Capital Partners, said Monday that it has acquired Artez Interactive. No financial terms were disclosed. Headquartered in Toronto, Artez Interactive is a provider of multichannel fund-raising solutions for nonprofits and charities. Update: Arsenal Capital Partners is a New York-based mid-market private equity firm. It invested in Reston, Virginia-based merchant solutions provider FrontStream in 2010.
3 min read · 19 August 2013
It perhaps takes a university professor with tech savvy to invent an online company that helps teachers to grade students better. That description fits James Colliander, a math professor at the University of Toronto, who after 22 years of academic life became co-founder and CEO of Crowdmark, a web app that cuts the time instructors spend grading exams and papers, and helps improve learning outcomes. The technology might be catching on – in June, Crowdmark received seed funding to advance product testing. And it may even be on the cusp of scoring a Series A round.
3 min read · 19 August 2013
Lignol Energy Corp. (TSXV: LEC), a Burnaby, British Columbia-based company focused on advanced biofuels and renewable chemicals, has secured a new revolving credit facility of up to $12.5 million from Canadian merchant bank Difference Capital Financial. Prior to the transaction, Difference Capital owned 33.9% of the company. Lignol has stakes in two Australian producers, Australian Renewable Fuels Ltd. and Territory Biofuels Ltd.
7 min read · 16 August 2013
Toronto-based Livingston International Inc., a specialist in customs brokerage and trade compliance, has appointed Steven C. Preston as its new CEO. He replaces Peter Luit, who remains a Livingston board member. Preston was previously CEO of Oakleaf Global Holdings and, subsequently, CFO and vice president of Waste Management, which acquired Oakleaf in 2011. Livingston was taken private for $324 million by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and U.S. private equity firm Sterling Partners in 2010.
3 min read · 16 August 2013
Chicago-based private equity firm Wynnchurch Capital, which has offices in Detroit, Toronto and Montréal, has acquired Imperial Group LP for an undisclosed amount from U.S. vehicle components manufacturer Accuride Corp. The deal was done in partnership with BMO Mezzanine Fund, a private equity investment arm of the Bank of Montreal, and the company's management team. Denton, Texas-based Imperial makes precision metal stampings, fabricated components and value-added assemblies for the heavy truck, bus, and industrial end-markets.
3 min read · 16 August 2013
