Toronto-based waste management company GFL Environmental Inc has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a preliminary prospectus with Canadian securities regulators for an initial public offering (IPO). The number and price of subordinate voting shares to be sold have not been determined. The Globe and Mail reported GFL is looking to raise about $1.96 billion (US$1.5 billion). Following the IPO, GFL will have two classes of shares: subordinate voting shares and multiple voting shares. The latter will be held by Founder and CEO Patrick Dovigi. Last year, GFL was recapitalized by an investor group led by BC Partners (BC), Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) and others. The deal valued the business at $5.1 billion.
2 min read · 22 July 2019
Calgary-based energy infrastructure company AltaGas Ltd (TSX: ALA) has agreed to sell its portfolio of U.S. distributed generation assets to TerraForm Power Inc (Nasdaq: TERP), an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management. AltaGas said the deal, expected to close in Q3 2019, will result in proceeds of about $940 million. The portfolio, held by WGL Energy Systems Inc and WGSW Inc, consists of 322 megawatts of distributed generation assets in 20 states and the District of Columbia. In a separate release, TerraForm, a New York-based owner and operator of solar and wind assets, said the acquisition will make it one of the largest distributed generation businesses in the United States.
2 min read · 22 July 2019
Nemaska Lithium Inc (TSX: NMX), a Québec City-based lithium hydroxide supplier to the lithium battery market, has received a $600 million investment offer from Pallinghurst Group, a U.K. metals and mining private equity firm. Pallinghurst proposed to invest $200 million through a private placement as well as $400 million through a rights offering. The parties agreed to a three-month period to finalize an agreement. Nemaska shareholders will vote on a deal no later than October. The proceeds are intended to fund the company's Whabouchi project, which includes a lithium spodumene mine and electrochemical plant in Québec. Nemaska last year struck a US$150 million streaming deal with Orion Mine Finance.
7 min read · 19 July 2019
Toronto-based video monetization platform Veühub has raised $2 million in a seed-stage financing. The round was backed by Bethmann Lombard Bancorp, a Canadian venture capital, merchant banking and financial advisory firm. Veühub provides technology to bring together video publishers, brands and agencies in a data-driven, content sharing and monetization platform. Since launching in 2016, the startup reports sharing millions of videos from unique content creators. Led by CEO Hainsley Guthrie, Veühub will use the round's proceeds to scale development and its sales team, as well as finish building a new omni-channel ad-serving software-as-a-service product, Slyngshot.
2 min read · 19 July 2019
99 Cents Only Stores LLC, a Commerce, California-based discount retailer, has completed recapitalization deals intended to eliminate US$300 million of debt and enhance the company's liquidity position. As part of the transactions, 99 Cents Only Stores and its sponsors, Ares Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), entered into stakeholder agreements to convert all second lien debt and 92.1 percent of third lien debt into new preferred and common equity. Following the transactions, Ares and CPPIB continue to hold 73 percent ownership and majority control. Ares and CPPIB acquired 99 Cents Only Stores in 2012 for US$1.6 billion.
3 min read · 19 July 2019
Entrepreneur Capital has carved out a niche in Québec’s active private equity market, targeting small-cap opportunities often missed by other investors. Last month, Entrepreneur closed its fifth platform deal, acquiring a controlling stake in Spencer Supports Canada, a Montréal- and Stanstead, Québec-based apparel business. Partner André La Forge told PE Hub Canada the company’s unique competitive position in a fast-changing sector makes it a fit in Entrepreneur’s strategy. “In an industry that’s shrinking, Spencer has an edge as a high-volume, private-label garment business,” La Forge said. Entrepreneur plans to leverage Spencer’s “unexploited potential,” La Forge said, by looking into “new avenues of development,” such as acquisitions.
3 min read · 19 July 2019
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp has agreed to sell Jack’s Family Restaurants LP, a Homewood, Alabama-based operator of quick-service restaurants. The financial terms of the deal, along with the buyer, were not disclosed. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported Jack's was exploring a sale that could value it at US$800 million or more. Onex acquired Jack’s in 2015, investing US$234 million. With the deal's close, expected in Q3 2019, the firm will have received proceeds of about US$835 million, resulting in a gross multiple of invested capital of 3.6 x and a 38 percent gross return.
3 min read · 18 July 2019
Horizon Blockchain Games, a Toronto-based video game studio and blockchain infrastructure company, has raised $3.75 million in a seed-stage financing. Initialized Capital, the U.S. venture capital firm of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, led the round. It was joined by Golden Ventures, Polychain, Coinbase, Digital Currency Group and Inovia Capital. Founded in 2018 by CEO Peter Kieltyka and his team, Horizon creates games enabled by blockchain technology. The company's debut title, SkyWeaver, a digital card game, is set to enter open beta this fall, along with its crypto-arcade platform and wallet, Arcadeum.
4 min read · 18 July 2019
Thomson Reuters (TSX, NYSE: TRI) has acquired HighQ, a London, U.K.-based collaboration platform for the legal and regulatory market. No financial terms were disclosed. Launched in 2001, HighQ provides a secure cloud-based platform for business collaboration, workflow automation and client engagement to more than 400 global customers. In 2016, the company raised US$50 million from One Peak Partners, Morgan Stanley Merchant Banking and Goldman Sachs Private Capital. Thomson Reuters, a Toronto-based provider of business information services, said the deal will expand its cloud-based software offerings and help it meet demand from legal professionals.
3 min read · 18 July 2019
Fresh Direct Produce Ltd has acquired Emperor Specialty Foods Ltd, a Richmond, British Columbia-based distributor of mushrooms, pears, and other specialty fruits and vegetables. No financial terms were disclosed. The seller was President Bob McDonald, who has led Emperor since its founding in 1986. Fresh Direct Produce, a Vancouver-based distributor of fresh, ethnic, tropical, organic and specialty produce, said the purchase of Emperor’s products, customers and locations will create new growth opportunities. Fresh Direct Produce was acquired last year by U.S. private equity firm Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Co (HKW).
2 min read · 18 July 2019
