Partners Group, a European private equity firm, and Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) have agreed to acquire Cerba HealthCare SAS, a Paris-based operator of clinical pathology laboratories. No financial terms were disclosed. The seller is PAI Partners, which acquired a majority stake in the business from IK Investment Partners in 2010. Simon Marc, managing director of private equity (Europe) at PSP Investments, said the pension fund and Partners Group will work with Cerba's management team, led by CEO Catherine Courboillet, to support the company's growth in France and internationally.
5 min read · 23 January 2017
Clairvest Group is seeing a lucrative payday following its sale of a Canadian out-of-home advertising business and the refinancing of a U.S. casino. This month Clairvest sold Cieslok Media, a Toronto operator of large-format digital and static billboards. The sale was preceded by a US$600 million recapitalization of Rivers Casino, a Des Plaines, Illinois, gaming and entertainment complex backed by Clairvest. These two deals, occurring a month apart, brought realized returns of Clairvest Equity Partners IV to 5.4x of invested capital and an IRR of 49 percent.
3 min read · 20 January 2017
Nutreco NV has agreed to acquire Hi-Pro Feeds LP, an Okotoks, Alberta-based maker and distributor of high performance animal feed in North America. No financial terms were released for the deal, which is expected to close by 2017's second half. The seller is Canadian private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners, the company's majority owner. Hi-Pro Feeds, which currently serves more than 5,000 customers, was created in 2012 with the management buyout of Viterra Inc's feed products unit. Birch Hill invested in the buyout. Nutreco, a Dutch animal nutrition and aquafeed company, said the acquisition will extend its market presence in Canada and create a new base in the United States.
4 min read · 19 January 2017
Canada's Vistara Capital Partners has provided US$5 million in a growth capital facility to InvestEdge Inc, a U.S. provider of digital wealth solutions to financial advisors. The deal, which represents the first external financing of Philadelphia's InvestEdge, is intended to accelerate the growth of a new area in digital investment product delivery, and expand markets for the company’s portfolio analytics, risk management and client reporting solutions. Vistara, a growth debt and equity investor in technology companies, raised its debut fund in 2015. Last November, it led a $13.4 million investment in financial software company Zafin.
2 min read · 19 January 2017
IFS has closed its acquisition of Mxi Technologies Ltd, a Canadian provider of maintenance software for the global aviation industry. No financial terms were released for the deal, which was announced in December. It provided an exit to Moelis Capital Partners, a U.S. private equity firm that acquired Ottawa's Mxi in May 2012. Moelis currently co-manages a private equity capital pool with NexPhase Capital. Linköping, Sweden-based IFS, an enterprise applications company, is backed European private equity firm EQT.
2 min read · 19 January 2017
Avison Young Inc has acquired Hotel Assets Group LLC, an Atlanta, Georgia-based hotel real estate brokerage company. No financial terms were disclosed. With the deal, Toronto-based Avison, a commercial real estate services provider, launched a new hospitality service line that will operate across the United States. Avision, which over the past eight years has grown from 11 to 79 offices, is a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Parallel49 Equity. Between 2011 and 2015, it was backed by the firm’s predecessor, Tricor Pacific Capital.
9 min read · 18 January 2017
Canadian specialty finance firm Crown Capital Partners has increased the size of its fourth special situations fund to $175 million. Crown Capital Fund IV, which initially closed in September 2015, received an additional commitment of $50 million. It has a maximum limit of $300 million, which may be reached through additional closings expected up until September 2018. As reported by PE Hub Canada in 2015, Crown Capital is pursuing a two-track fundraising process that includes public sources. To date, Fund IV has invested $110 million of debt and quasi-equity in six deals. This includes the $15 million invested last month in Source Energy Services.
3 min read · 18 January 2017
Canadian private equity firm Newlook Capital has made an investment in Direct Elevator Services Ltd, a Toronto-based provider of elevator maintenance and modernization services. No financial terms were disclosed. The investment, made via Newlook Capital Industrial Services LP, is strategic and will help expand the fund's industrial services portfolio, the firm said. Newlook also said it secured additional fund commitments from Industrial Alliance Securities Inc, a securities brokerage firm, and Raintree Financial Solutions, a private capital markets dealer.
4 min read · 18 January 2017
Alithya, a Canadian provider of consulting services in information technology and organizational management, has raised $17 million in additional funding. Existing investors Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD), Investissement Québec (IQ) and Telus Ventures participated in the deal, as did new investor iA Financial Group. Québec City-based Alithya, which reports growth of more than 400 percent over the past five years, said the funds raised will help increase its market presence in Canada and abroad. Led by President and CEO Paul Raymond, Alithya last October acquired Pro2p, a Montréal provider of business consulting services.
4 min read · 18 January 2017
Next Gear Solutions, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Serent Capital, has acquired Luxor CRM, a Toronto provider of a customer relationship management (CRM) solution for restoration contractors. No financial terms were disclosed. Oxford, Mississippi-based Next Gear, the maker of DASH, a restoration management software solution, said the deal brings a deluxe CRM into its product suite. Next Gear secured an investment from Serent in 2016. Founded in 2000, Luxor CRM was led by CEO Lukas Szczurowski. With the acquisition, he becomes vice president of sales at Next Gear.
3 min read · 18 January 2017
