Island Star Mall Developers Pvt Ltd, a retail development investment platform of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and the Phoenix Mills Ltd (PML), has acquired a land parcel in Pune, India for about $32 million. The acquisition, Island Star's first, will be used to develop a second PML shopping mall location in the city. In April, CPPIB bought an initial 30 percent stake in Island Star and agreed to invest $330 million to grow the stake to 49 percent. The combined investment will support acquiring, developing and operating retail-led, mixed-use developments across India.
4 min read · 14 August 2017
Canadian luxury goods and jewelry company Birks Group Inc (NYSE MKT: BGI) has agreed to sell its U.S. subsidiary, Mayor's Jewelers Inc, to Aurum Holdings Ltd, a fine watch and jewelry retailer in the United Kingdom. The deal, expected to close this fall, is valued at about US$104.6 million. As part of the deal, Birks struck a five-year distribution agreement with Aurum to sell its products in the United Kingdom. It will also continue to sell products in the United States via Mayor's. Montréal-based Birks will use the sale's proceeds to invest in its brand and Canadian retail operations. Aurum has been owned by U.S. private equity firm Apollo Global Management since 2012.
5 min read · 14 August 2017
Pattern Energy Group Inc (Nasdaq, TSX: PEGI) has closed its buy of a 51 percent interest in the 179 megawatt Meikle wind power facility in the Peace region of British Columbia. The San Francisco power company paid US$68 million for the stake. The remaining 49 percent was acquired by Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). In June, PSP Investments agreed to co-invest US$500 million in projects acquired by Pattern, including the Meikle facility. Pattern Energy Group LP, Pattern's main shareholder, is backed by U.S. private equity firm Riverstone Holdings.
3 min read · 14 August 2017
Onex Corp held an initial close on fundraising for its fifth flagship private equity fund, securing 80 percent of the US$6.5 billion target. In its report of second-quarter 2017 results, Onex said it raised US$5.2 billion for Onex Partners V in July. Included in the amount is US$3.1 billion of third-party capital. Additionally, Onex, a listed firm, committed US$2 billion, while management made a minimum 2 percent commitment. The close positions the fund to become the biggest in the Toronto investor’s 33-year history.
2 min read · 14 August 2017
Canadian specialty coffee retailer Second Cup Ltd (TSX: SCU) has closed its $8 million debt exchange transaction with SPE Finance LLC, an affiliate of Serruya Private Equity (SPE). Each of the four SPE shareholders now hold about 6.9 percent of Second Cup's outstanding shares or about 7.2 percent if warrants are exercised. SPE Managing Directors Michael Serruya and Aaron Serruya have as a result joined the company's board of directors. SPE is a Canadian family office that specializes in consumer-brand investments.
2 min read · 11 August 2017
Auvik Networks Inc, a Canadian provider of network monitoring and management software for managed service providers, has secured C$15 million in a Series B financing. The round was led by OpenView with participation from Celtic House Venture Partners and Rho Canada Ventures. As a result, OpenView Partner Ricky Pelletier will join the board. The funds raised will be used for product development, partner initiatives, and growth into new markets.
2 min read · 11 August 2017
U.S. private equity firm Milestone Partners has sold Precision Partners Holding Co, a Canadian automotive tooling and hot-and-cold stamped solutions provider, to AK Steel Corp (NYSE: AKS). The purchase price was US$360 million. Founded in 1955, Windsor, Ontario-based Precision Partners serves global original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 clients. It was acquired by Milestone via a carve-out deal in 2013. During Milestone’s ownership period, the company's revenue and EBITDA increased at compound annual growth rates of 24 percent and 32 percent, respectively, Milestone said. Based in West Chester, Ohio, AK Steel is a producer of flat-rolled steel.
3 min read · 11 August 2017
Canadian specialty lender Callidus Capital Corp has denied recent allegations made in a Wall Street Journal story about the firm and its majority investor, Catalyst Capital Group. The story said whistleblowers filed statements with Ontario regulators accusing Callidus and Catalyst of fraud. The firms are accused of inflating the value of assets and deceiving borrowers on the terms of loans. Callidus said it "knows of no legitimate basis for any whistleblower complaint" and called the Wall Street Journal story "completely false." It added that the individuals behind the complaints may be abusing the whistleblower process.
4 min read · 10 August 2017
Davis-Standard LLC has agreed to acquire Maillefer International Oy, a Vantaa, Finland-based provider of wire, cable, pipe and tube production technologies. No financial terms were released for the deal, which is expected to close in August or September. Davis-Standard, a Pawcatuck, Connecticut-based maker of plastic and rubber extrusion and converting systems, said the combination of the brands will create a "market leading global extrusion systems and services provider." Davis-Standard is a portfolio investment of ONCAP, the mid-market platform of Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. ONCAP acquired the company in 2011.
3 min read · 10 August 2017
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has agreed to acquire a significant minority stake in Sebia Group, a Lisses, France-based in-vitro diagnostics company focused on oncology, genetic haemoglobin and metabolic disorders. No financial terms were released. CDPQ is buying the position from European private equity firms Astorg Partners and Montagu Private Equity. Astorg and Montagu jointly acquired Sebia in 2014. CDPQ Head of Private Equity Stéphane Etroy said the Canadian pension fund's investment will "support the company as it expands into new opportunities in the diagnostics sector."
4 min read · 10 August 2017
