Brookfield Property Partners LP (BPY), the recently spun-out commercial real estate platform of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, has joined with its institutional partners to acquire U.K.-based EZW Gazeley Ltd., a developer of logistics warehouses and distribution parks. The seller in the undisclosed deal was Economic Zones World, part of the state-owned Dubai World. BPY will take an approximate 30% stake in the company.
5 min read · 12 June 2013
The LongRiver Partners consortium, comprised of Borealis Infrastructure Management, the infrastructure investment arm of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, Kuwait Investment Office and the British Universities Superannuation Scheme, "walked away empty handed" in its bid to acquire U.K.-based water company Severn Trent PLC, reports Reuters. The consortium's third proposal, which was estimated to value US$8.2 billion, was recently turned down by Severn Trent. The deal's deadline, established by British regulators, was on June 11th.
1 min read · 12 June 2013
Kensington Global Private Equity Fund, which is managed by Toronto's Kensington Capital Partners, has made a $1.6 million direct investment in CGL Manufacturing Inc., a Guelph, Ontario-based supplier of machined castings and components, fabrications and assemblies. The Kensington fund was created as a mutual trust fund to give Canadian individuals and other investors access to a diversified portfolio of global private equity investments.
2 min read · 12 June 2013
Deerfield, Illinois-based Textura Corp., a provider of collaboration and productivity tools for the construction industry, recently priced its planned initial public offering of 5,000,000 common shares at US$15.00 per share. It was subsequently reported by Reuters that the company raised US$75 million on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE symbol: TXTR). Textura is a portfolio company of Toronto-based venture capital firm Northwater Capital Management.
2 min read · 12 June 2013
The ten largest Canadian pension funds - including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System - have contributed to Canada's prosperity and retirement security, says a new report by Boston Consulting Group. The report found the top 10 have invested roughly $400 billion in Canadian enterprises, including $100 billion in real estate, infrastructure and private equity.
6 min read · 12 June 2013
Rochester, New York-based Carestream Health Inc., a medical imaging systems provider, and portfolio company of Onex Corp., has raised US$2.4 billion of debt to fund a US$725 million distribution to shareholders. The new debt will also help refinance existing debt facilities and pay recapitalization expenses. Combined with prior distributions, Onex will have received approximately US$1.2 billion in total, representing a 2.6X gross multiple of invested capital and a 22% cash-on-cash rate of return, and will continue to own approximately 91% of Carestream.
3 min read · 12 June 2013
Longview, Wisconsin-based Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging Inc. has agreed to be acquired by KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. of Northbrook, Ilinois for US$1.03 billion in cash. The transaction, which is expected to close in the summer of 2013, provides an exit to Brookfield Capital Partners II, which forms part of the private equity group of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management. Brookfield invested in Longview, a manufacturer of containerboard, corrugated containers and paper products, in April 2007.
5 min read · 12 June 2013
Brampton, Ontario-based Par-Pak Ltd., a designer and manufacturer of plastic packaging with manufacturing facilities in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, has been acquired by U.S. private equity firm Olympus Partners and its portfolio company The Waddington Group Inc. of Covington, Kentucky. While the transaction value was not disclosed, estimates cited by peHUB in May have put it at over US$300 million. Waddington was acquired by Olympus Partners in October 2012.
3 min read · 12 June 2013
Montréal-based WAFU Inc., a producer of Japanese food dressings, has raised gross proceeds of about $230,000 through the issuance of shares via the U.S.-based crowd-funding platform CircleUp. The company, which claims to be the first Canadian business to close an equity crowd-funding round in the United States via CircleUp, said the investment also helped to bring in American angel investors to support its continued growth.
3 min read · 12 June 2013
The board of directors of U.K.-based water company Severn Trent PLC has turned down a pre-conditional possible offer by LongRiver Partners, according to a new statement issued by the company, noting that this third proposal fails to reflect the company's long-term value and potential. LongRiver is a consortium comprised of Borealis Infrastructure Management, the infrastructure investment arm of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, Kuwait Investment Office and the British Universities Superannuation Scheme. The latest acquisition bid, which is based on a 2,200 pounds per share cash proposal, is valued at US$8.2 billion, reports Reuters.
1 min read · 12 June 2013
