The WhiteWave Foods Co (NYSE: WWAV) has agreed to buy Vega, a Canadian natural health products and nutritional supplements company, for US$550 million in cash. Vega, which offers a range of plant-based nutrition products, such as powdered shakes and snack bars, generated net sales of about US$100 million over the last twelve months. It is majority owned by Founder and President Charles Chang and U.S. private equity firm VMG Partners. WhiteWave said the deal will broaden the scope of its food and beverage product platform. The acquisition, which will keep Vega at its Vancouver headquarters and led by its senior management team, is expected to close in the third quarter.
7 min read · 10 June 2015
ACCEO Solutions Inc has acquired Multipost Ltd, a Toronto-based developer of point-of-sale terminal software for small and mid-sized retailers. The financial details of the transaction were not published. Montréal's ACCEO, a specialist in business software solutions, said the acquisition will expand its product range and increase its expertise in the retail industry. In 2012, France's GFI Informatique SA sold its stake in ACCEO, then known as GFI Solutions Inc, to an investor group that included Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Investissement Québec.
2 min read · 10 June 2015
Sovereign wealth funds are relying more on in-house expertise to manage their funds in a drive to bring down costs and improve performance in the low-yield environment, according to a report by Invesco Asset Management released on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 10 June 2015
Bain Capital, Advent International and Clessidra are considering a bond issue of up to 1bn to back their acquisition of Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane (ICBPI), according to market sources, Reuters reported.
1 min read · 10 June 2015
Bahrain-based Islamic investment firm Arcapita said on Wednesday it had sold its real estate portfolio of retirement communities across the United States to NorthStar Healthcare Income Trust for $640 million, Reuters reported.
1 min read · 10 June 2015
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), already a major global investor, has signaled even greater ambitions with a $12 billion transaction with GE Capital that insiders and advisors said may herald larger deals, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 10 June 2015
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, already a major global investor, has signaled even greater ambitions with a US$12 billion transaction with GE Capital that sources said may herald larger deals, Reuters reported. The pension fund manager's decision not to seek a partner for the purchase of GE's private equity lending portfolio also highlights its confidence and suggests it may go it alone more often on future buys.
3 min read · 10 June 2015
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has made an additional equity investment of 100 million euros ($139 million) in portfolio company SPIE, a European provider of engineering and energy services. The Caisse said the commitment facilitated Spie's initial public offering on the Paris stock exchange. The company, which attempted to go public in 2014, recently issued 700 million euros in shares through an offering that gave it a market capitalization of about 2.5 billion euros. The Caisse, which has backed Spie since 2011, said it re-invested to provide the company with financial flexibility and to support its organic and acquisition-based growth strategy.
3 min read · 09 June 2015
Aspenleaf Energy Ltd, a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm ARC Financial Corp and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Arcan Resources Ltd, a Calgary oil and gas company. Aspenleaf paid 11 cents per share in cash for the company, or close to $300 million including debt, according to a Financial Post report. Founded in 2013, Aspenleaf is focused on the acquisition and development of light oil and liquids-rich gas assets in Western Canada. It is led by President and CEO Bryan Gould. ARC Financial recently closed its eighth energy fund, raising $1.5 billion in commitments.
2 min read · 09 June 2015
Famed U.S. gun maker Colt appears to be headed into a bankruptcy duel in the coming week if its private equity backers and bondholders cannot overcome widely differing views on the best way to heal the company’s financial wounds, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 09 June 2015
