Canadian specialty finance firm Crown Capital Partners has extended mezzanine debt financing to Corrosion Service, a Markham, Ontario-based provider of corrosion protection and engineering solutions for specialized engineered capital and infrastructure assets. The value of the investment was not disclosed. Corrosion Service said the deal, which was structured by Canadian investment bank FirePower Capital, will support management's purchase of the business from shareholders. Crown Capital, which has offices in Toronto and Calgary, recently filed a prospectus to launch an initial public offering.
2 min read · 02 June 2015
Private equity firm Silver Lake Partners LP said it would lead a $500 million investment in Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd, the Chinese travel website controlled by the country’s internet search engine company Baidu Inc, Reuters reported.
1 min read · 02 June 2015
OM Group Inc, a maker of magnetic and battery technologies and specialty chemicals whose sales have fallen for the past two years, has agreed to be taken private by Apollo Global Management LLC for about $1.03 billion in cash, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 02 June 2015
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has formed a new joint venture with U.K. shopping centre owner and manager Intu Properties plc to jointly hold the Puerto Venecia shopping centre in Zaragoza, Spain. CPPIB will take a 50 percent interest in the property valued at EUR 225.4 million ($311.6 million). The transaction adds to the existing partnership between CPPIB and Intu, which began through their joint acquisition of the Parque Principado shopping centre in Oviedo, Spain in October 2013.
4 min read · 02 June 2015
Green Cross Biotherapeutics Inc, an affiliate of South Korean health solutions business Green Cross Corp, has begun construction of its biopharmaceutical facility located on the Montréal Technoparc's Saint-Laurent campus. The $315 million project will result in the first intravenous immunoglobulin and albumin manufacturing plant in Canada. The private equity fund of Korean National Pension Service has committed $70 million in project funding, while Investissement Québec has committed $25 million. The facility is expected to ready for full commercial operations in 2019.
4 min read · 02 June 2015
British-based holiday resort group Center Parcs has been bought by Brookfield Property Partners, after previous its owner, U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group, opted to sell the company rather than float it, Reuters reported. The deal's value was not disclosed, however, reports said Blackstone had previously rejected a US$3 billion bid for Center Parcs from another bidder.
1 min read · 02 June 2015
Canadian alternative equity firm Alaris Royalty Corp has made a US$70 million contribution to DNT Construction LLC, a U.S. specialist in turnkey civil construction services to residential, commercial and municipal end markets. The investment entitles Alaris to an annualized full-year distribution of US$10.5 million, which will result in an 18 percent increase in the firm's annualized revenue. DNT, which is based in Austin, Texas, said the proceeds of the deal will allow it to serve existing clients and to explore new markets. Earlier in 2015, Alaris earned a substantial return on its repurchase of equity in Killick Aerospace Group.
10 min read · 02 June 2015
Scandinavian utility Fortum has closed the previously announced divestment of its Swedish electricity distribution business to an investor group that includes Borealis Infrastructure, the infrastructure investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), and several Swedish pension funds. The total consideration was about 6.5 billion euros (US$7.1 billion). As a result of the transaction, Borealis holds approximately 50 percent of the business.
2 min read · 01 June 2015
Kathleen Taylor has joined the advisory board of Canadian private equity firm Altas Partners. Taylor, the former president and CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, currently chairs the board of directors of RBC. She is also a current director of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). Based in Toronto, Altas Partners takes significant, long-term investment stakes in businesses that are hard to replicate. In 2014, the firm led a control-stake investment in Grenada-based St. George’s University.
3 min read · 01 June 2015
EPM Mining Ventures Inc (TSX-V: EPK) has closed the first tranche of a previously announced private placement deal that will potentially give the company up to $85 million to develop its sulphate of potash project at the Sevier Playa in Utah. EPM, a Toronto-based mining business focused on specialty fertilizers, received about $10.35 million in proceeds in a first installment from Australian private equity firm EMR Capital. As a result, EMR's Donald Carroll and Robert Curtis have been appointed to the company's board of directors. Subsequent deal tranches are tied to specific project milestones.
5 min read · 01 June 2015
