Shoes.com, an online footwear and apparel destination backed by Canadian merchant bank Hardy Capital Partners, has secured $45 million in a private placement transaction. The company said existing investors were the primary source of the funding. Roger Hardy, CEO of Shoes.com and head of Hardy Capital, told Reuters in March that he wanted to take an online shoe retailing company public sometime this year. The Vancouver-based Shoe.com owns and operates several related businesses acquired by Hardy Capital in 2014.
2 min read · 21 May 2015
Bain Capital will cut its 70 percent stake in Japanese restaurant chain Skylark Co Ltd to less than 50 percent.
1 min read · 21 May 2015
Joseph Bae, the Korean-American dealmaker that KKR & Co LP sent to Hong Kong 10 years ago to set up its Asian operations from scratch, will move back to the United States, the private equity firm has told its fund investors, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 21 May 2015
Canadian oil and gas company Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp (TSX: PRE) has agreed to be acquired by Alfa SAB de CV and Harbour Energy Ltd, which is backed by Noble Group Ltd and U.S. private equity firm EIG Global Energy Partners. The cash offer of $6.50 per share has a total value of $6 billion, including debt. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015, was previously reported by Reuters. Based in Toronto, Pacific Rubiales is focused on energy projects in Columbia and related opportunities throughout Latin America.
10 min read · 21 May 2015
Canadian oil and gas company TORC Oil & Gas Ltd (TSX: TOG) has closed its previously announced financing transactions, which raised about $438 million in total. The funding, which will support the company's acquisition of light oil assets in Saskatchewan and Manitoba from Surge Energy Inc, included an investment by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) of about $150 million. The acquisition is expected to wrap up by mid-June. CPPIB has been a cornerstone investor in the Calgary-based TORC since 2013.
10 min read · 21 May 2015
A.P. Plasman Inc (APP), a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Insight Equity, has closed two add-on acquisitions: A-Brite Plating Co and Thermotech Inc. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, A-Brite is a custom chrome plating company, while the Hopkins, Minnesota-based Thermotech is a maker of injection-molded electrical and mechanical components and assemblies. The financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed. Update: Founded in 1978, APP is a maker of injection-molded plastic automotive components with headquarters in Windsor, Ontario. Insight Equity acquired the company in December 2011.
4 min read · 21 May 2015
Ancestry.com LLC, the world’s largest family history website helping users trace their heritage, is exploring a sale that could value it at between $2.5 billion and $3 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
1 min read · 21 May 2015
Maximilian Biagosch has joined Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) as a senior principal, leaving UniCredit after a brief stint as head of the high-yield bond syndicate, Reuters reported. Before his time at UniCredit, Biagosch worked at private equity firm Permira for seven-years, becoming head of their financing group in 2011.
1 min read · 20 May 2015
Private equity firm BC Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) have agreed to sell a 70 percent interest in Suddenlink Communications, a U.S. cable system operator. The deal, which is expected to close this year, implies a total enterprise value for Suddenlink of about US$9.1 billion. The buyer is Altice SA, a European cable and telecommunications company. Upon the closing of the proposed sale, BC Partners and CPPIB, which jointly acquired Suddenlink in 2012, will each receive proceeds of about US$960 million and a vendor note of about US$200 million. A Reuters report discusses why BC Partners and CPPIB plan to keep minority stakes in the company.
4 min read · 20 May 2015
Thorpe Specialty Services Corp, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm CapStreet Group, has acquired Chem-Star Industries Ltd, a provider of industrial fibreglass, paint coatings and abrasive blastings located in Prince George, British Columbia. The financial terms of the deal were not released. Thorpe, a Houston, Texas-based multi-craft industrial service provider and manufacturer, said the deal expands its service and product offerings in Western Canada. The acquisition of Chem-Star follows Thorpe's acquisition of another Canadian business, Clayburn Refractories Ltd, in May 2014. CapStreet has backed the company since 2010.
3 min read · 20 May 2015
