Hostess Brands LLC, the U.S. bakery company whose snack cake brands include Twinkies and Ding Dongs, has pulled itself from the auction block because it believes it can command a higher valuation in an initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported exclusively.
2 min read · 07 July 2015
China’s move to curb initial public offerings to contain a stock market meltdown could endanger nearly $32 billion worth of deals announced this year by Chinese companies planning to drop their listings on U.S. exchanges and return home, Reuters reported.
3 min read · 07 July 2015
Extendicare Inc (TSX: EXE) has wrapped up the previously announced sale of its U.S. business for US$870 million. The buyer was a group of investors led by U.S. private equity firm Formation Capital and an affiliate of Dubai's Safanad. Headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Extendicare operates a network of 112 senior care centres as well as a home healthcare business. The company's President and CEO Tim Lukenda said the sale of its U.S. assets will facilitate its strategic re-positioning as a pure-play Canadian senior care and services provider.
4 min read · 07 July 2015
U.S. private equity firm Excelsior Capital Partners has acquired all of the assets of Artissimo Designs, a designer and manufacturer of ready‐to‐hang wall décor based in Montréal and Los Angeles. Excelsior has created a new El Segundo, California-headquartered platform business, Artissimo Designs LLC, to hold the assets. The new platform's Canadian division will remain in Montréal. Artissimo Designs has been a portfolio investment of U.S. private equity firm Huron Capital Partners since 2010. Excelsior said the objective of the reconstituted business will be to expand its North American product offering into the premium category.
3 min read · 07 July 2015
Telecon Group has bought the assets of AGIR Consultants Inc, a telecommunications services provider with offices in Québec. The financial terms of the deal were not published. Telecon, a Canadian specialist in the design, location, construction, maintenance and repair of telecommunications networks, said the acquisition will reinforce its Québec market presence. Based in Pointe-aux-trembles, Québec, the company is a portfolio investment of Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Last year, the two investors financed Telecon's buy of the engineering services unit of Netricom.
2 min read · 07 July 2015
U.S. private equity firm High Road Capital Partners has bought Ariad Communications, a Toronto-based strategic marketing agency that provides Canadian business clients with content, digital marketing and consumer activation capabilities. The acquisition's value was not disclosed. High Road said it plans to combine Ariad with an existing portfolio company, U.S.-based Bluespire Marketing, with the aim of creating a cross-border platform with distinct operating brands and enhanced capabilities. Ariad President Mike Beckerman will serve as CEO of the merged entity. High Road's other Canadian investments include Accentus and Celco Controls Ltd.
4 min read · 07 July 2015
A 2.2 billion euro ($2.43 billion) loan and bond financing backing the buyout of Saint-Gobain’s glass bottle unit Verallia remains on hold after Greece rejected a compromise with international creditors, bankers said on Monday, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 06 July 2015
Blackstone Group LP announced that it has hired Liping Zhang as its chairman for Greater China as private equity deals boom in the region, confirming an earlier Reuters story.
2 min read · 06 July 2015
Cross Country Pipeline Supply Co Inc has bought Sideline Specialty Equipment, a manufacturer of specialized pipeline equipment with offices in Spruce Grove, Alberta and Conroe, Texas. The financial details of the transaction were not published. Cross Country, a provider of equipment and supplies to the U.S. oil and gas pipeline construction industry, said the acquisition has facilitated its entry into the Canadian market. Based in Aurora, Colorado, Cross Country is a portfolio investment of U.S. private equity firm Odyssey Investment Partners. Odyssey invested in the company in June 2013.
3 min read · 06 July 2015
Crescent Point Energy Corp (TSX, NYSE: CPG) recently closed its acquisition of Legacy Oil + Gas Inc (TSX: LEG), a Calgary-based company focused on light oil opportunities located predominantly in Western Canada. The deal, which had a total consideration of about $1.53 billion, including the assumption of debt, provided an exit to Canadian private equity firm KERN Partners. Calgary's Crescent Point said the Legacy acquisition provided it with a number of strategic benefits, including entrance into the Midale light oil resource play.
9 min read · 06 July 2015
