Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman have given $100 million to the University of Toronto (U of T) to create a complex anchoring a cluster of artificial intelligence, biomedical and other technology researchers. The soon-to-be-built 750,000-square-foot Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre will also support U of T's entrepreneurship network and student and faculty-led startups. U of T said the donation is the largest in its history and for Canada's innovation sector. Schwartz is the founder, chair and CEO of Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. Reisman is the founder, chair and CEO of Canadian book retailer Indigo.
7 min read · 25 March 2019
Canadian non-bank lender Fairstone Financial Inc has closed an inaugural asset-backed security (ABS) transaction totalling $322.4 million. Fairstone said the deals marks the first personal loan ABS transaction in Canada and "signals the creation of a new asset class" in the market. Based in Montréal, Fairstone provides lending solutions to near-prime and non-prime borrowers. Formerly CitiFinancial Canada, the company was acquired in 2016 from Citigroup Inc by a consortium led by U.S. private equity firms J.C. Flowers and Värde Partners.
2 min read · 25 March 2019
USSC Group has acquired Child Check-Mate System Inc (CCM), an Ottawa-based school bus safety technology company. Terms weren't disclosed. Founded in 1993 by President Gordon Both, CCM provides an alarm system that reminds drivers to ensure children have safely disembarked. It works with more than 500 school districts and its products are installed in over 400,000 commercial vehicles. USSC, an Exton, Pennsylvania-based maker of extreme-duty safety and survivability solutions, said it will implement the technology across a range of commercial transportation markets. USSC was acquired in 2015 by U.S. private equity firm Dubin Clark & Co.
3 min read · 25 March 2019
Innergex Renewable Energy Inc (TSX: INE) has agreed to sell Magma Energy Sweden AB, holder of a 53.9 percent interest in Icelandic geothermal operator HS Orka hf, for $408.8 million. The buyer is a European fund managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, the infrastructure and real assets arm of Australia's Macquarie Group. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. HS Orka owns two operating geothermal facilities totalling 174 megawatts. Based in Longueuil, Québec, Innergex is a developer, acquirer and operator of hydroelectric facilities, wind farms, solar farms and geothermal power generation plants.
4 min read · 25 March 2019
Dane Creek Capital Corp has acquired RawPaw Natural Foods, a Dorval, Québec-based distributor and marketer of natural pet health supplements. No financial terms were disclosed for the cash-and-stock deal. Founded in 2012 by President Farah Socran, RawPaw sells supplements designed for a raw pet food diet to specialty retailers across Canada. Dane Creek, a Canadian pet-focused merchant bank, will hold RawPaw through its pet supplements holding vehicle, United Supplements Inc. The RawPaw deal follows Dane Creek's recent acquisition of Bonnie & Clyde Premium Pet Goods.
3 min read · 25 March 2019
Pure Alumina Ltd has agreed to acquire Polar Sapphire Ltd, a Toronto-based maker of high-purity alumina (HPA), according to a statement by the Australian company. Pure agreed to pay $25.75 million in cash and stock to Polar's private investors, which include ArcTern Ventures, Crux Capital Corp and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund. Upon completion, three Polar representatives, including Founder and CEO Scott Nichol and ArcTern Managing Partner Tom Rand, will join Pure's six-member board. Founded in 2013, Polar’s low-cost HPA product is used in LED lighting, lithium batteries for electric vehicles, and other applications.
1 min read · 25 March 2019
Kineticor Resource Corp has acquired a 32 megawatt cogeneration facility from Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd, a Calgary-based provider of midstream energy solutions. Kineticor, a Calgary-based power developer focused on thermal generation, paid $85 million in cash for the facility, which is under construction. Kineticor agreed to supply power and heat to Tidewater's Pipestone Gas Plant once construction is complete. Kineticor is backed by Canadian pension fund manager OPTrust. OPTrust invested $125 million in the business in 2017. Tidewater is a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners. Birch Hill increased its stake last year as a result of asset purchases from AltaGas Ltd.
2 min read · 25 March 2019
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp has agreed to acquire 100 percent of Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc (TSX: GS), a Toronto-based wealth management firm. The deal, expected to close in H1 2019, will see Onex pay about $14.25 per share for the company, for a total cash consideration of about $445 million. Established in 1984 by Ira Gluskin and Gerald Sheff, Gluskin Sheff will continue to be led by existing management and operate under its brand. Onex Chairman and CEO Gerry Schwartz said the combination of his firm's private equity and private debt platforms and Gluskin Sheff’s public securities investing platforms will provide clients of both with "greater investment options.”
5 min read · 25 March 2019
3 min read · 25 March 2019
OMERS Ventures has taken another step in its plan to create a global platform, launching a €300 million ($456 million) fund to invest in European startups. Capitalized by OV’s parent organization, OMERS, the fund will make life-cycle investments in companies in key European tech hubs, Head of Ventures Damien Steel told PE Hub Canada. To manage the London-based fund, OV is assembling a team of investment pros reflecting a mix of VC and operational skills, Steel said. They include Harry Briggs, formerly a senior investment pro with European venture firms BGF Ventures and Balderton Capital, who joined late last year as a managing partner.
3 min read · 25 March 2019
