French food company Cérélia Group has acquired English Bay Batter Inc, a Vancouver-based bakery business that makes cookies, muffins, brownies and other pastries sold across North America. No financial terms were released. Cérélia said the deal creates a global business with an enlarged range of product offerings distributed via retail, in-store bakery and food-service channels. Founded in 1983 by CEO Jack Seguin, English Bay was acquired by Canadian investment holding company Kilmer Van Nostrand in 2014. Manulife Capital and BMO Capital Partners also invested. Cérélia has been backed by European private equity firm IK Investment Partners since 2015.
2 min read · 10 April 2017
WesternOne Inc (TSX: WEQ) has agreed to sell the manufacturing operations of its modular building business, Britco Manufacturing, to Triple M Modular Ltd, a Lethbridge, Alberta specialist in manufactured and modular housing. Under the terms of the agreement, Triple M will pay $2.5 million in cash upon closing and an additional $2.5 million contingent on earnings from the business. The deal is expected to close in May. Triple M has been a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners since 2013.
3 min read · 10 April 2017
Garda World Security Corp, a Montréal-based security services provider, said it plans to refinance existing indebtedness with its forthcoming sale to U.S. private equity firm Rhône Capital and Stephan Crétier, the company's chairman and CEO. GardaWorld said it expects to refinance the debt with a portion of the proceeds of financing deals consisting of: $71 million in equity; US$1.22 billion in new senior secured credit facilities, and; a US$630 million principal amount of new senior unsecured notes. Rhône will gain a 61 percent stake in GardaWorld with the close of the acquisition from Apax Partners, expected in July.
3 min read · 10 April 2017
Quark Venture has invested US$4.5 million as part of a research agreement with Harvard University. The funding will support the research of Dr Arlene Sharpe and Dr Dennis Kasper, who work in the fields of cancer immunology and microbiome science. Under the agreement's terms, the Canadian venture capital firm will have the option to negotiate a license for the intellectual property that arises from the research, enabling the launch a startup that would commercialize its applications and therapies. Last October, Quark and GF Securities Co Ltd raised the first US$100 million of a new health sciences fund.
3 min read · 07 April 2017
Imperial Capital Group, one of Canada’s oldest private equity firms, has raised $500 million for its sixth mid-market fund to create fresh opportunities for doing large-size deals. The Toronto investor in March closed Imperial Capital Acquisition Fund VI at its hard-cap target, 25 percent above its original goal of $400 million, Managing Partner Jeff Rosenthal told PE Hub Canada. It's the largest fund Imperial has raised in its 28-year history, exceeding by 70 percent the $295 million secured by Fund V in 2014.
3 min read · 07 April 2017
Hub International Ltd, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F), has acquired certain assets of Insurance Supermarket Inc, a Vaughan, Ontario insurance marketing organization that connects consumers with advisors. No financial terms were released. Hub, a global insurance brokerage with significant operations in Canada, was bought by H&F for about US$4.4 billion in October 2013. The company has its headquarters in Chicago.
2 min read · 07 April 2017
Canadian private equity firm Penfund has made a US$75 million second-lien debt investment in Aveanna Healthcare, an Atlanta, Georgia-based pediatric home healthcare company serving medically fragile children. Aveanna, which is owned by U.S. private equity firms Bain Capital, J.H. Whitney Capital Partners and other investors, including Penfund, was launched in a merger last month. The transaction brought together PSA Healthcare and Epic Health Services. PSA previously secured US$53.5 million in financing from Penfund. The Toronto-based investor raised $724 million for its fifth mid-market fund in 2016.
3 min read · 07 April 2017
Source Energy Services, a proppant-sourcing and oilfield-logistics company, revised its recently filed initial public offering to raise $175 million. Source, backed by Canadian private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners, updated its prospectus to sell common shares at $10.50 apiece, down from a prior range of $17 to $20 per unit. The repriced IPO is expected to raise more than $200 million, once its greenshoe option is exercised, and value the Calgary company at more than $500 million.
2 min read · 06 April 2017
U.S. private equity firm Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Co (HKW) has sold GMD Distribution Inc, a distributor to the Canadian pharmaceuticals industry. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which saw GMD sold to McKesson Corp, a U.S. pharmaceuticals distributor. Oakville, Ontario-based GMD, which specializes in supplying specialty ophthalmic pharmaceuticals to clinics, was recapitalized by HKW in early 2015. The transaction included the affiliated Ophthalmic Direct LP. During the investment period, the company acquired Adjuvantz Inc, a Canadian provider of patient support programs.
2 min read · 06 April 2017
4 min read · 06 April 2017
