Ovivo Inc (TSX: OVI.A, OVI.B) has tied up its take-private acquisition by German family office SKion GmbH and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. The deal, announced in July, had an enterprise value of about $185 million, including debt. With its closing, Ovivo, a Montréal-based provider of water treatment equipment, technology and systems, will de-list from the Toronto Stock Exchange. The private company will be owned by SKion, with a 70 percent interest, and the Caisse, with a 30 percent interest.
4 min read · 16 September 2016
IKEA GreenTech, the venture capital arm of furniture retailer IKEA Group, has made an undisclosed investment in Vancouver ag-bio technology company Terramera Inc. The deal follows the company's financing round in May, led by Seed 2 Growth Ventures and joined by ACA Investments, Bold Capital Partners, Renewal Funds, Maumee Ventures and Export Development Canada. Founded in 2010, Terramera is a developer of plant-based products to replace the use of traditional pesticides in disease and pest control in agriculture. It said the funds raised will be used to get products to market and increase R&D efforts.
2 min read · 16 September 2016
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has agreed to acquire 100 percent of Ascot, the Lloyd’s of London platform of American International Group. The deal, which is being done in partnership with Ascot management, is valued at US$1.1 billion. It includes Ascot Underwriting Ltd and Ascot Corporate Name Ltd, as a capital provider for Syndicate 1414 at Lloyd’s. Upon closing, Ascot will continue to operate as a stand-alone business governed by its own board and led by CEO Andrew Brooks. CPPIB's Ryan Selwood, named head of direct private equity this week, said Ascot is "an ideal platform through which CPPIB can access diverse global insurance premiums at scale."
4 min read · 16 September 2016
IAM Private Debt Group has provided a $19 million loan to Wolverine Group Inc, an Edmonton-based supplier of equipment rentals, well site services, construction, seismic, trucking, logistics and other services to the oil and gas industry. The loan financed Wolverine's recent acquisition of HD Energy Rentals Ltd and Bearing Oilfield Services Ltd. IAM Private Debt Group, a corporate division of Toronto-based Integrated Asset Management Corp (TSX: IAM), raised $672 million in the final close of its fifth fund last November.
2 min read · 15 September 2016
Canada's ATX Networks Corp, acquired last year by U.S. private equity firm HIG Capital, has bought InnoTrans Communications Inc, a San Jose, California-based developer and maker of innovative optical transport solutions for cable operators. No financial terms were released. HIG Managing Director Camilo Horvilleur said the deal represents "a transformative investment" for Toronto-based ATX, allowing the company to become a diversified network infrastructure solutions provider. HIG acquired ATX in June 2015 from U.S. private equity firm Pamlico Capital.
4 min read · 15 September 2016
Montréal's SweetIQ has acquired the local marketing division of Connectivity, a direct-to-business local marketing company based in Burbank, California. The terms of the all-cash purchase were not disclosed. SweetIQ, a local marketing automation company, said the deal accelerates its expansion in the United States and increases its market share. As a result, the company has opened a new office in Irvine, California. Established in 2010, SweetIQ is backed by Plaza Ventures, Real Ventures, Rothenberg Ventures and other investors. Connectivity's investors included Double M Partners, Greycroft and Rincon Venture Partners.
3 min read · 15 September 2016
Financeit Canada Inc has partnered with Concentra in the acquisition of TD Bank Group’s indirect home improvement financing assets. The deal has a book value of about $339 million. As part of the agreement, about 45,000 TD loans were purchased by Concentra and over 800 merchant dealers were assigned to Financeit. Toronto's Financeit, a cloud-based point-of-sale financing platform, said the acquisition is its first since entering the market in 2011. It follows the $100 million strategic partnership struck with Concentra in April. Last year, Financeit secured a minority equity investment led by Goldman Sachs.
4 min read · 15 September 2016
Canadian specialty finance firm Wellington Financial has committed US$10 million in financing to marketing and analytics technology company Unified. Based in New York, Unified provides software that connects marketing data sets to create actionable intelligence for global brands and agencies. The latest investment follows last year's US$30 million Series B financing of the company. That round was led by iHeartMedia, with participation from Advance Publications, Upfront Ventures and Foundry Group. Wellington said its funding will support Unified's next stage of growth and product development.
3 min read · 15 September 2016
Axine Water Technologies Inc has secured $8 million in a Series B financing. The round, which brings the company's total funding to $15.7 million, was led by Japanese chemical company Asahi Kasei Corp. It was joined by existing investors Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital, BDC Energy Venture Capital and Roda Group. Vancouver-based Axine provides low cost, chemical-free solutions for treating ammonia and toxic organics in industrial wastewater. It said the funds raised, and the partnership with Asahi Kasei, will help scale-up commercial deployment, develop new applications, and expand the company's customer base.
3 min read · 14 September 2016
Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group has appealed a court ruling concerning allegations that West Face Capital misused confidential information when buying a stake in Wind Mobile Corp two years ago. The August 2016 decision, made by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, dismissed the lawsuit launched by Catalyst. Catalyst has asked the Court of Appeal for Ontario to set aside that ruling and order a new trial on the grounds of procedural unfairness and errors of law and fact.
4 min read · 14 September 2016
