Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has agreed to a deal that will change the shareholder structure of Copenhagen Airports A/S, the operator of two Danish airports. Ontario Teachers', an existing shareholder, will acquire the stake held in Kastrup Airport Parents ApS (KAP), the airport company's parent organization, by Macquarie Group. Ontario Teachers' is partnering with Danish pension fund ATP, which will finance the deal, valued at about €1.3 billion (US$1.57 billion). With the transaction's completion, expected in Q4 2017, the partners will jointly own a 57.7 interest in KAP. Ontario Teachers' first invested in Copenhagen Airports in 2011.
6 min read · 14 September 2017
A group of investors in Norway’s gas pipeline network are going to the country’s highest court in a final attempt to overturn a government decision to cut pipeline tariffs that came into effect in 2016, Reuters reported. The government owns 45.8 percent of the Gassled pipeline network via state-owned Petoro, while majority state-owned Statoil has 5 percent. The four investors pursuing the case own a combined 43.9 percent stake. They are in turn owned by Allianz Capital Partners, UBS, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and France’s Caisse des Dépôts. The four have argued the cut in tariffs was unlawful and would cost them a combined 15 billion Norwegian crowns (US$1.8 billion) in lost earnings through 2028.
2 min read · 13 September 2017
St. Louis, Missouri-based agricultural biologicals company NewLeaf Symbiotics Inc has secured US$30 million in the second close of its Series C financing. S2G Ventures joined first close lead investors Monsanto Growth Ventures and Otter Capital, as well as other participating investors, among them Pangaea Ventures, a Canadian venture capital firm. NewLeaf said it plans to use the funds raised to commercialize seed treatment and in-furrow products for soybeans, corn, wheat, peanuts, and other crops. Vancouver-based Pangaea, which has backed NewLeaf since 2013, is currently raising its fourth advanced-materials fund.
3 min read · 13 September 2017
Hub International Ltd has acquired Delisle Agencies Ltd, a Delisle, Saskatchewan provider of personal lines and government automotive insurance solutions. No financial terms were released. Delisle, founded in 1980 as a family-owned insurer, is Hub's third Canadian acquisition this month. It follows the Chicago-based insurance brokerage's buys of Banco Management Inc and Integro (Canada) Ltd. Hub is a portfolio investment of U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F). H&F is reported to be exploring the sale of a stake in the company.
2 min read · 13 September 2017
DeepLearni.ng, a Toronto-based artificial intelligence company, has raised $9 million in a Series A financing. The round was backed by mutual funds managed by the Canadian subsidiary of Fidelity Investments. DeepLearni.ng was founded last year by Co-CEOs Stephen Piron and Eric Lee, Chief of Machine Learning Ragavan Thurairatnam and COO Vincent Wong to design, build and deploy applied AI systems for enterprises. The close of the Series A coincides with its plan to scale development of Frontiers, a machine learning platform. DeepLearni.ng will use the funds raised to grow its global footprint in financial services and other industries and add to its team.
2 min read · 13 September 2017
Manitok Energy Inc (TSX-V: MEI) has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Corinthian Oil Corp, a Calgary-based oil and gas company. Under the terms of the deal, $3.1 million Manitok shares will be issued to holders of Corinthian shares at $0.070486665 per Manitok unit. About 44 million Manitok shares will be issued in total. Corinthian was formed with the acquisition of Corinthian Exploration Corp by Legacy Oil + Gas Inc in 2014. It has since been a portfolio company of Canadian energy private equity firm ARC Financial Corp. Calgary's Manitok is an explorer and developer of conventional oil and gas reservoirs in Western Canada.
3 min read · 13 September 2017
Canadian venture capital firm ScaleUP Ventures has closed its debut fund, raising more than $100 million in committed capital. ScaleUP Ventures Fund I, launched last year, exceeded its original target of $50 million, bringing on the BC Tech Fund, managed by Kensington Capital Partners, and several West Coast limited partners in the final close. ScaleUP also announced the opening of a Vancouver office. Vancouver-based entrepreneur Derek Spratt was hired in July as a partner and managing director to help grow the firm's deal-making in Western Canada. Fund I has already made ten of a planned 20 to 30 investments, including Crowdcare Inc.
4 min read · 13 September 2017
Vancouver-based e-learning solutions provider Lambda Solutions Inc has secured $2.2 million in non-dilutive funding. The source of the capital was Quantius, a Canadian lender to innovative businesses. The deal's proceeds will be used to grow the company's international reach and accelerate product growth and innovation. Established in 2002 and led by CEO Shevy Levy, Lambda provides online learning management systems technology, training and services to enterprises in education, healthcare and other sectors. It has also received funding from TIMIA Capital Corp.
3 min read · 13 September 2017
Hub International Ltd, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F), has acquired certain assets of Banco Management Inc, a Halifax-based specialist in life insurance solutions. No financial terms were released for the deal, which involves Banco's managing general agent business. Hub, a Chicago-headquartered insurance brokerage, earlier this month bought another domestic insurer, Integro (Canada) Ltd. H&F, which acquired Hub for about US$4.4 billion in 2013, is reportedly exploring the sale of an interest in the company.
2 min read · 12 September 2017
Canadian family office Skidmore Development Group and Canadian private equity firm SouthPac Partners have partnered in the acquisition of Cinnaroll Bakeries Ltd, a bakery and maker of gourmet cinnamon rolls. Terms weren’t disclosed. Founded in 1987, Calgary’s Cinnaroll markets Cinnaroll by Baker Boys, a wholesale maker of branded baked products, and CinnZeo, a network of café-style cinnamon roll stores.
2 min read · 12 September 2017
