MTY Food Group Inc (TSX: MTY), a Canadian casual, fast casual and quick service restaurant company, has agreed to acquire most of the assets of the sweetFrog Premium Frozen Yogurt franchise system based in Richmond, Virginia. MTY agreed to pay about $46 million (US$35 million) for the system. The seller is Boxwood Capital Partners, the private equity arm of U.S. investment banking firm Boxwood Partners. Boxwood acquired sweetFrog's operating company in 2015. Founded in 2009, sweetFrog has 254 franchised locations and 78 corporate-owned locations, most of them in the United States. The deal is expected to close within 30 days.
3 min read · 04 September 2018
The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to acquire a 55 percent controlling interest in Ouro Verde Locação e Seviços SA, a Brazilian heavy equipment and light vehicle fleet management company. Brookfield Business Partners, the group's listed affiliate, and co-investors agreed to pay about US$170 million for the stake. Brookfield will commit up to US$70 million of the equity. Established in 1973, Curitiba, Paraná-based Ouro Verde leases more than 25,000 heavy equipment and light vehicles and provides related maintenance, operations, and other services to Brazilian and global corporate clients. The deal is expected to wrap up this year.
3 min read · 04 September 2018
Canadian specialty finance firm Crown Capital Partners has provided a $15 million loan to Triple Five Intercontinental Group Ltd, a Calgary-based explorer, developer and producer of petroleum and natural gas. Founded in 2014, Triple Five currently produces about 3,800 barrels of oil equivalent production per day from six Alberta wells, of which about 85 percent is natural gas. The loan's proceeds will be used to refinance a senior debt facility and provide capital to drill more wells, which are expected to grow production. Earlier in 2018, Crown raised an additional $75 million for Crown Capital Partner Funding, increasing its committed capital to $300 million.
3 min read · 04 September 2018
The Arctic Gateway Group LP has acquired the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill facilities from Omnitrax Inc, a U.S. provider of railroad transportation services. Terms weren't released for the deal, which closed on August 31. The buying group consisted of Fairfax Financial Holdings, AGT Food and Ingredients Inc and Missinippi Rail LP, a consortium of First Nations and communities. Earlier this year, Fairfax and Point North Capital agreed to back the proposed management buyout of AGT, a Regina-based supplier of pulses, staple foods and food ingredients.
5 min read · 04 September 2018
Mejuri, a Toronto-based direct-to-consumer fine jewelry brand, has secured $5 million in a Series A financing, bringing its total funding to $6 million. The round was led by U.K. venture capital firm Felix Capital. Real Ventures, Incite Ventures, BDC Capital Women in Technology Fund and Dash Ventures also invested. Founded in 2015 by CEO Noura Sakkijha and COO Maj Masad, Mejuri supplies handcrafted, everyday jewelry without the traditional retail markups. The company said it will use the funds raised to fuel additional growth by engaging with customers digitally and through physical stores. It also plans to open a second location in New York City.
5 min read · 04 September 2018
Whitehorse Liquidity Partners has closed its second secondaries fund at its US$1 billion hard cap. Whitehorse Liquidity Partners Fund II exceeded its US$800 million target with the help of insurance companies, pension systems, family offices, financial institutions and wealthy investors. The fund is more than twice the size of its predecessor, which raised US$400 million in 2017. Founded three years ago by Managing Partner Yann Robard, who previously led the secondaries and co-investments program of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Toronto-based Whitehorse focuses on making preferred equity investments in private equity portfolios. To date, the firm has invested more than $1 billion in 18 closed or pending deals.
3 min read · 04 September 2018
U.S. private equity firm Ampersand Capital Partners has invested in the management buyout of Neomed-Labs, a Laval, Québec-based provider of clinical immunology laboratory services for biologics drug development. Terms weren't disclosed. The seller was Neomed Institute. Launched in 2015, Neomed-Labs partners with pharmaceutical businesses, biotechnology companies and healthcare organizations in the development of vaccines and immunotherapies. It is led by President and CEO Benoit Bouche. Ampersand said it will support Neomed-Labs' organic and acquisition growth initiatives, which will include expansion into adjacent markets and geographies as well as continued growth in Québec.
4 min read · 04 September 2018
U.S. private equity firm Wind Point Partners has sold the Canadian unit of Dicom Transportation Group, a Montréal-based transportation and logistics services provider, to Royal Mail plc. Wind Point sold Dicom Canada to General Logistics Systems BV, the international arm of U.K.-based Royal Mail, for $360 million. Dicom Canada provides ground-based parcel, freight and logistics services in the domestic market. Wind Point, which in 2014 partnered with CEO Scott Dobak to buy Dicom Transportation Group, said it will continue to own the company's U.S. affiliate. In a separate statement, Royal Mail, a provider of postal and delivery services, said the deal will help it "capture higher growth segments outside Europe."
5 min read · 04 September 2018
OMERS Ventures has invested in DuckDuckGo, a Paoli, Pennsylvania-based internet search engine that protects web searchers’ privacy. The investment’s value was not disclosed; however, the Globe and Mail reported OMERS led the company’s $10 million financing. Founded in 2008 by CEO Gabriel Weinberg, DuckDuckGo’s technology facilitates private searching online without storing or sharing any personal information. DuckDuckGo’s other backers include Union Square Ventures and several angel investors.
1 min read · 29 August 2018
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec said it recently acquired 5.84 million additional shares in SPIE SA, a French provider of multi-technical services to the energy and communications sectors. The investment was valued at 100 million euros ($150 million). The Caisse, a Canadian pension system, has invested 280 million euros ($422 million) in the company since 2011. Established in 1900, Paris-based SPIE operates from 600 locations in 38 countries.
2 min read · 24 August 2018
