The close of Encana Corp's sale of its Denver Julesberg Basin oil and gas assets in Colorado to an investment vehicle led by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has been moved to the second quarter of 2016. The previously announced deal, valued at US$900 million, was originally scheduled to wrap up before the end of this year. CPPIB's partner in the transaction is The Broe Group.
3 min read · 23 December 2015
Calgary-based Long Run Exploration Ltd (TSX: LRE) has agreed to be acquired by an unnamed group of Chinese investors. The deal, valued at about $770 million, including net debt, is expected to close in April 2016. The company's board of directors and management team said Long Run's sale is "the best alternative" for stakeholders in light of challenging market conditions. Long Run is an intermediate oil and natural gas company focused on development, exploration and production in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. It has been a portfolio investment of Canadian private equity firm Sprott Resource Corp since 2009.
8 min read · 22 December 2015
BDC Capital has recruited Darren Oko, a Canadian commercial banker and investment pro, to serve as director in its Growth and Transition Capital group. Oko previously worked at HSBC Bank Canada, where he served in a number of executive roles, including in the bank's private equity group.
2 min read · 22 December 2015
Axios Mobile Assets Corp, a Canadian smart supply chain logistics provider, has secured $14 million in a financing led by Canadian mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures. As a result, Relay Managing Partner John Albright will join the company's board of directors. Based in Mississauga, Ontario, Axios has developed a pallet-based logistics system used in the perishable food category. It said it will use the proceeds of the investment to meet demand for its system from food producers in the United States. Concurrent with its financing, Axios said it has wrapped up the acquisition of Axsense Inc, a Canadian provider of sensors technology that Axios believes will enhance its pallet system.
6 min read · 22 December 2015
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has deployed a further US$1 billion in equity to the Goodman China Logistics Partnership, which owns and develops logistics assets in Mainland China. Goodman Group, CPPIB's partner in the venture, has also committed a further US$250 million. CPPIB and Goodman, which began investing together in 2009, said the partnership has continued to see strong demand in China's core logistics markets, including in Shanghai and Beijing. Separately, it was announced that the partnership will buy nine projects valued at US$650 million from Goodman.
3 min read · 22 December 2015
North American Palladium Ltd (NAP) (TSX: PDL), a Canadian precious metals producer, has secured US$25 million from its majority owner, Brookfield Asset Management. The Toronto-based company also extended its US$60 million revolving operating line of credit by two additional years. The money from both sources will be used to fund working capital and capital expenditures for NAP's Lac des Iles palladium mine in Ontario. In August, Brookfield's private equity group completed the recapitalization of NAP, a deal that provided Brookfield with 92 percent of the company's outstanding common shares.
4 min read · 21 December 2015
New York-based WorkFusion, an enterprise smart process automation company, has secured US$14 million in Series C financing. The round was led by U.S. venture capital firm Nokia Growth Partners and was joined by existing investors, including Canadian firm iNovia Capital, which led the company's Series A round in 2013. Mohr Davidow Ventures, Greycroft Partners and RTP Ventures also invested. WorkFusion's technology is used to automate high-volume, labour-intensive processes historically performed by business process outsourcing. It said it will use the new funding to accelerate growth and expand business development efforts.
3 min read · 21 December 2015
TriWest Capital Partners recently completed the debut investments of its fifth private equity fund, closed at $500 million earlier this year. They included a small Canadian service company, Prostar Energy Holdings LP, which is looking to fill a very big need: helping hard-pressed energy producers reduce costs through innovation.
3 min read · 14 December 2015
Brookfield Asset Management's private equity group has acquired additional shares in CWC Energy Services Corp (TSX-V: CWC), a Calgary-based provider of well services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies operating in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Brookfield bought 8.1 million of the company's common shares for $0.12 per share. As a result, it now owns approximately 70 percent of current issued and outstanding common shares. CWC was founded in 2005 and has been backed by Brookfield since 2007.
3 min read · 14 December 2015
TorQuest Partners scored a 5x return on total invested capital in the sale of its interest in Array Marketing to Carlyle Group, representing a 61 percent internal rate of return, TorQuest said. Carlyle earlier this week took a majority stake for an undisclosed amount in Array, a Canadian provider of in-store merchandising systems to high-end cosmetic brands.
2 min read · 11 December 2015
