Mike Woollatt, CEO of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, is leaving the industry organization for Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, PE Hub Canada has learned. Woollatt told PE Hub Canada in an email that he is joining OMERS Platform Investments, the innovation arm of the $95 billion pension system. The division includes OMERS Ventures, led by CEO John Ruffolo. Woollatt, who joined CVCA in 2014, will take on the new role of director of strategic partnerships at the end of the summer.
2 min read · 31 July 2018
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) have agreed to back a joint venture that will acquire industrial properties in key U.S. logistics markets. The joint venture, which is being formed in partnership with WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), a Toronto-based investor in U.S. warehouse and distribution assets, will seek to deploy up to US$1 billion. CPPIB and AIMCo will each own a 45 percent stake in the joint venture. WPT Industrial REIT will hold the remaining interest and manage the acquired properties.
4 min read · 31 July 2018
Cequence Energy Ltd (TSX: CQE) has entered into a refinancing agreement with CPPIB Credit Investments, the credit arm of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, providing for a $60 million second-lien senior secured term loan facility. The facility will be used to retire an existing $60 million in senior notes held by CPPIB. As part of the deal, Cequence has agreed to issue share purchase warrants entitling CPPIB to buy up to 15 percent of the company's common shares. Cequence, a Calgary-based oil and gas producer, said the refinancing and related transactions will allow it to more actively develop its Dunvegan light oil play.
8 min read · 30 July 2018
A U.S. affiliate of BluEarth Renewables LP has bought a 795-megawatt wind development portfolio located in Wyoming. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which saw BluEarth acquire the assets from Boulder, Colorado-based wind developer Intermountain Wind LLC. BluEarth said it will advance development of the portfolio towards commercial operation. Based in Calgary, BluEarth builds, owns and operates wind, hydro and solar facilities across North America. It has been backed by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan since 2014. Ontario Teachers' acquired majority ownership in 2015.
2 min read · 30 July 2018
Premium Brands Holdings Corp (TSX: PBH) has acquired a 62.6 percent stake in Yorkshire Valley Farms Ltd, a Peterborough, Ontario-based processor and marketer of organic chicken products. Terms weren't disclosed. Founded in 2010 by group of farming families, Yorkshire operates a 40,000 square-foot processing facility in Harriston, Ontario. The company, which is led by President and CEO James Sculthorpe, mostly sells its products under the Yorkshire Valley Farms brand. Premium Brands, a Vancouver-based specialty food products company, said the deal allows it to expand into organic protein products. Premium Brands is a portfolio investment of Canadian family office Pender West Capital Partners.
3 min read · 30 July 2018
U.K. private equity firm Hilco Capital has sold Tilley Endurables Inc, a Toronto-based hat and apparel designer and manufacturer, to Gibraltar & Co. No financial terms were disclosed. Tilley, founded in 1980 by Canadian entrepreneur Alex Tilley, makes lightweight, hard-wearing clothing and accessories for adventurers and travellers. Its products, which include the iconic Tilley Hat, are sold in retail outlets worldwide. The company was acquired in July 2015 by Re:Capital Canada, a Hilco investment platform. Gibraltar & Co, a Canadian investment firm focused on consumer product companies, is led by Founder, CEO and Managing Partner Cam di Prata.
2 min read · 30 July 2018
Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has hired Eduard van Gelderen as a senior vice president and CIO. Van Gelderen will lead PSP's total fund strategy group, overseeing multi-asset class investment strategies and total fund allocations and exposures in terms of asset classes, geographies and sectors. Van Gelderen joins PSP from the University of California (UC), where he was a senior managing director at the Office of the Chief Investment Officer. He previously held top executive positions at several European institutions, including APG Asset Management and ING Investment Management.
3 min read · 30 July 2018
Laricina Energy Ltd, a Calgary-based development-stage oil sands company, has entered into a pre-acquisition agreement with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. Canadian Natural, a Calgary-based senior oil and natural gas producer, agreed to buy Laricina's issued and outstanding common shares for $0.0815 per unit. It also agreed to assume up to $48 million of the company's debt. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and CPPIB Credit Investments agreed to tender their shares to the offer. CPPIB, which has backed Laricina since 2010, and its credit affiliate hold an 88.6 percent interest in the company. The deal is the result of a strategic review launched by Laricina in February.
6 min read · 27 July 2018
Antin Infrastructure Partners has acquired FirstLight, a U.S. provider of fibre-optic data, internet, data centre, cloud and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers. Terms weren't disclosed. The sellers were Oak Hill Capital Partners, Novacap and Riverside Partners. Last year, Albany, New York-based FirstLight was merged with Oxford Networks, a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Novacap and Bank Street Capital Partners. Novacap, which acquired a majority stake in Oxford in 2014, sold the business to Oak Hill and invested in FirstLight.
4 min read · 27 July 2018
AGT Food and Ingredients Inc (TSX: AGT), a Regina-based supplier of pulses, staple foods and food ingredients, has received a non-binding proposal from management team members to take the company private. The group, led by President and CEO Murad Al-Katib, proposes to acquire AGT common shares not held by it and other shareholders for $18 in cash per unit. The Globe and Mail reports AGT has a market value of $319 million. Fairfax Financial Holdings and Point North Capital, which invested in the company last year, will retain their equity interests. Fairfax agreed to provide financing to the deal. AGT said its board will set up a committee to consider and respond to the proposal.
4 min read · 26 July 2018
