CPI Card Group Inc (Nasdaq, TSX: PMTS), a Littleton, Colorado-based provider of financial payment cards and related services, has sold its U.K. business to SEA Equity, a British private equity firm. No financial terms were released. CPI said the transaction will allow the company to sharpen its focus on core businesses, including card manufacturing, personalization, instant issuance and prepaid. CPI, which went public in 2015, is a portfolio investment of Canadian private equity firm Parallel49 Equity. Parallel49's predecessor, Tricor Pacific Capital, acquired the company in 2007.
3 min read · 10 August 2018
Northleaf Capital Partners late last month led and arranged senior and mezzanine debt facilities backing the acquisition of Emerald Textiles LLC by Encore Textile Services LLC. No financial terms were disclosed. Both companies in the transaction are U.S. providers of outsourced linen management services to the healthcare and hospitality industries. Encore is a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Highland Avenue Capital Partners. Based in Toronto, Northleaf is a private equity, infrastructure and private credit investment firm.
3 min read · 09 August 2018
Relogix, an Ottawa-based sensor-as-a-service provider for workplace performance management, has raised $1.4 million in a seed-stage financing, according to a report by the Ottawa Business Journal. The round was led by Canadian early-stage venture capital firm Mistral Venture Partners, the report said. Relogix, founded in 2010 by CEO Andrew Millar, considers the latest deal to be a top up to a $1.4 million financing closed last year, the report said. The 2017 round was backed by Capital Angels Network and other angels. Relogix's technology uses Internet-of-Things sensors to monitor workspace utilization, workplace design effectiveness, and employee engagement.
1 min read · 09 August 2018
3 min read · 09 August 2018
Métal 7 Inc has acquired Les Équipements Megatraction Inc (Megatraction Equipment), a Québec City-based designer and maker of lifting equipment for heavy electric shovels or hydraulic excavators used in North America's mining industry. No financial terms were released. Métal 7, a Sept-Îles, Québec-based designer and maker of equipment for the primary sector, said the acquisition will broaden its line of specialized mining products and solutions. Métal 7 was acquired in 2014 by a consortium led by NCP Investment Management and including Fonds de solidarité FTQ, BDC Capital, Fondaction and other investors.
3 min read · 09 August 2018
Hub International Ltd has acquired Blackstone Insurance, Benefits & Bonding Inc, a Saskatoon-based commercial insurance and employee benefits brokerage company. No financial terms were released for the deal, which will see Blackstone Insurance executives join Hub Manitoba. The announcement comes a day after Hub said it acquired Benefit Broker Services Inc, a Wallaceburg, Ontario-based employee benefits and pension plans solutions provider. Hub, a Chicago-based full-service insurance business, was acquired in 2013 by U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F) for about US$4.4 billion.
2 min read · 09 August 2018
U.S. private equity firm Sentinel Capital Partners has sold WellSpring Pharma Services Inc, an Oakville, Ontario-based pharmaceutical contract manufacturing organization operating across North America. Terms weren't disclosed; however, U.S. specialty pharmaceutical company ANI Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq: ANIP) said in a release it bought Wellspring for US$18 million in cash. Sentinel acquired WellSpring in 2011. Ancor Capital Partners also invested. Over the investment period, Sentinel said the company sharpened its focus through divestitures and add-on deals. WellSpring's consumer healthcare business was sold last year to Audax Private Equity.
3 min read · 09 August 2018
OMERS Infrastructure has agreed to acquire a 24 percent stake in Puget Holdings LLC, which holds Puget Sound Energy, the oldest and largest energy utility in Washington state. Terms weren't disclosed. In a statement, Puget said Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) and British Columbia Investment Management Corp (BCI) are also increasing positions they have held since 2009 to 13.6 percent and 20.9 percent, respectively. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, also an investor since 2009, continues with a 31.6 percent stake. Investments by OMERS, AIMCo, BCI and Dutch pension system PGGM will acquire the 44 percent interest held by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners.
2 min read · 08 August 2018
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has agreed to partner with Asian real estate company ESR in a new investment vehicle that will deploy up to US$500 million in modern logistics facilities in South Korea. Kendall Square Asset Management, ESR's Seoul-based affiliate, will identify new assets, support the acquisition process, and manage the portfolio. The vehicle will initially invest in a seed portfolio of six logistics facilities already managed by Kendall Square. CPPIB began investing with ESR in Korea's logistics sector in 2015.
2 min read · 08 August 2018
Eventbrite has acquired Picatic, a Vancouver-based online ticketing and event registration platform. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which will see Picatic CEO Jayesh Parmar, who helped launch the company in 2008, join Eventbrite. Eventbrite, a U.S. ticketing and event technology platform, said the deal adds technical talent to its workforce and broadens the company's Canadian operations. Founded in 2006, Eventbrite has raised venture capital funding from DAG Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and others. Picatic's investors included BDC Capital, CrossPacific Capital Partners and Extreme Venture Partners.
3 min read · 08 August 2018
