Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc. has completed the spin-out of Brookfield Property Partners LP (BPY), which owns Brookfield’s commercial real estate assets. The transaction was effected by way of a special dividend valued at C$920 million. The BPY spin-out is Brookfield's third involving a real assets platform, preceded by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners, which since their inceptions have delivered annual compound returns in excess of 15%.
7 min read · 16 April 2013
Toronto-based institutional advisory firm Caledon Capital Management recently hired Jeff DeBlock as vice president, peHUB Canada has learned. Mr. DeBlock, who began work at Caledon in early 2013, previously worked in the private investments group of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), where he invested directly in global infrastructure assets. During Mr. DeBlock's tenure at CPPIB, infrastructure assets grew to nearly C$10 billion, according to his biography on Caledon's website.
1 min read · 16 April 2013
Ottawa-based Fusebill Inc. has raised a C$2 million Series A round of financing from Canadian venture capital firms OMERS Ventures and Covington Capital. Earlier in 2013, the company secured investments from angel networks and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. FuseBill provides software for automating invoicing, billing and collections for subscription-based businesses.
2 min read · 16 April 2013
Don Bell, the co-founder of WestJet Airlines Ltd., has been appointed chairman of the board of directors of Jostle Inc., a Vancouver-based company start-up. Jostle, which provides next-generation enterprise software, is venture-backed, having raised funds from private investors totaling C$4.6 million to date. Bell has been both a company investor and director since 2009.
3 min read · 16 April 2013
Ottawa-based BTI Systems Inc. has named software industry veteran Tod Nielsen to the company's board of directors. Nielsen recently helped establish the EMC/VMware spin-off Pivotal Initiative. Prior to that he was with VMware, Borland and Microsoft. BTI, a provider of intelligent networking software and systems, has been venture-backed since 2000. Its investors include Bain Capital Ventures, BDC Venture Capital, Covington Funds, Export Development Canada, GrowthWorks and Kodiak Venture Partners.
3 min read · 16 April 2013
Texas power company Energy Future Holdings, formerly known as TXU Corp, has proposed a prepackaged bankruptcy that would restructure $32 billion of debt, but no deal has been reached, sister news service Reuters reported.
3 min read · 16 April 2013
Mobile service provider Mobilicity, a.k.a. Data & Audio-Visual Enterprises Wireless Inc., is in talks with Telus Corp. to be acquired in a deal that could value the company at up to C$400 million, according to The Globe and Mail. Competitor Public Mobile Inc. is also reported as hiring investment bankers to find a purchaser. Mobilicity is a portfolio investment of U.S. private equity firm Quadrangle Capital Partners, while Public Mobile is backed by a mix of Canadian and U.S. venture capital and private equity firms.
1 min read · 15 April 2013
Winnipeg, Manitoba-based medical diagnostic company Miraculins Inc. has agreed to acquire all assets related to the SCOUT DS® technology, a diabetes screening technology, from VeraLight, Inc. Financial terms of the proposed deal were not released. VeraLight, which is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is backed by a mix of U.S. venture capital firms and strategic investors, including Psilos Group, CMEA Ventures, vSpring Capital, EPIC Ventures, Dow Chemical and the Southern Ute Growth Fund.
5 min read · 15 April 2013
Canadian specialty pharmaceuticals and medical device company Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. has completed the sale of its interventional products business unit to Argon Medical Devices Inc. The divestiture, which received the approval of company shareholders on April 8th, has been estimated to value C$363 million. Plano, Texas-based Argon has been a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm RoundTable Healthcare Partners since 2003.
5 min read · 15 April 2013
Cordiant Capital, a Montréal-based manager of emerging-market private sector funds and investments, has completed the first closing its latest debt fund, Cordiant Emerging Loan Fund IV (CELF IV) at US$250 million. Backed by insurance, sovereign wealth and pension funds, CELF IV will provide senior secured loans to diverse private borrowers located around the globe, "filling the gap created by withdrawal of Western banks." Cordiant also manages a private equity fund, the Canada Investment Fund for Africa.
3 min read · 15 April 2013
