Private Equity
Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management has acquired a 99-year lease on a flagship New York office tower controlled by the family of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, capping a long saga to refinance the building, Reuters reported. Brookfield said it gained a leasehold on the office portion of 666 Fifth Avenue, a marquee property whose US$1.8 billion sale to Kushner Companies in 2006 was the highest price paid for a New York office building at the time. No financial terms were disclosed. Upgrades and renovation will cost between US$600 million and US$700 million, a source with knowledge of the plans said.
2 min read · 07 August 2018
TransCanada Corp has agreed to sell its 62 percent stake in Cartier wind power facilities in the Gaspé peninsula in Québec to Innergex Renewable Energy Inc for about $630 million, Reuters reported. The assets include five wind farms with a total generating capacity of 590 megawatts, of which TransCanada’s share is 365 megawatts. The sale is expected to close in Q4 2018. Longueuil, Québec-based Innergex, which is backed is backed by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, currently owns the remaining interests in the Cartier wind farms and Cartier operating entities.
1 min read · 03 August 2018
China’s Xpeng Motors raised 4 billion yuan ($587 million) in its latest fundraising round, valuing the electric car startup at nearly 25 billion yuan, it said on Thursday.
1 min read · 02 August 2018
Canadian building-interior manufacturer DIRTT Environmental Solutions Ltd has abandoned an effort to sell itself after soliciting offers from private equity firms and other companies, sources told Reuters. Private equity firms seeking to raise debt financing for the deal have struggled to convince banks to finance a business that is vulnerable to changes in the cyclical construction industry, the sources said. DIRTT also entertained offers for a private investment in public equity transaction, that would give a private equity firm a minority stake but choose not to pursue one in the end. DIRTT, which has a market capitalization of $553.38 million, had also been a target of a U.S.-based activist investor Iron Compass.
2 min read · 01 August 2018
Canadian home services company Enercare Inc said it would be bought by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners for $4.3 billion as the asset management firm looks to expand its business across Canada, Reuters reported. Brookfield Infrastructure’s offer of $29 per Enercare share represents a 53 percent premium to Enercare Tuesday’s close. Based in Markham, Ontario, Enercare provides water heaters, water treatment, furnaces, air conditioners and other HVAC rental products, plumbing services, protection plans and related services. It serves about 1.6 million Canadian and U.S. customers annually.
1 min read · 01 August 2018
Canada's Brookfield Asset Management said it would buy Forest City Realty Trust Inc in a deal valued at US$11.4 billion, including debt, months after Forest City ceded board control to activist shareholders, Reuters reported. Forest City had been looking to sell itself and had reached out to more than 50 potential buyers, but failed to strike a deal. In March, it abandoned the sale process. Forest City’s portfolio includes office space, life science assets, retail space and multifamily units, as well as large-scale projects in New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
1 min read · 31 July 2018
Canada’s Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) has reached an agreement with Brazilian private equity firm IG4 Capital Investimentos SA to inject 400 million reais (US$107.26 million) in the Brazilian water and sewage service holding company Iguá Saneamento SA for an undisclosed stake, Reuters reported. The proceeds will be used to finance capital expenditures in Iguá’s 18 existing concessions and public-private partnerships in five Brazilian states. IG4 Capital has been Iguá’s controlling shareholder since 2017 and will maintain that position after the capital injection.
1 min read · 31 July 2018
Australia’s Jervois Mining Ltd has bought almost 5 percent of shares in eCobalt Solutions Inc, which is developing a high grade cobalt mine in the United States, days after two of its biggest shareholders called for management overhaul, Reuters reported. Vancouver-based eCobalt owns 100 percent of the Idaho Cobalt project, a high grade cobalt deposit with a partially completed mine site and mill. Australia-based hedge funds Tribeca Investment Partners and Regal Funds Management last week called for management change at eCobalt or the launch of a sales process, saying ongoing mine development delays were wasting a windfall from high battery sector demand.
2 min read · 30 July 2018
Chesapeake Energy Corp plans to sell all of its Ohio natural gas acreage to privately owned Encino Acquisition Partners (EAP) for about US$2 billion, Reuters reported. The sale to Houston-based EAP includes 320,000 net acres in Ohio’s Utica shale and 920 wells that currently produce about 107,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. EAP is backed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Encino Energy Ltd. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2018. Last year, CPPIB said it would invest up to US$1 billion to buy oil and gas assets in the United States through the partnership with Encino Energy.
3 min read · 27 July 2018
Thomson Reuters Corp’s Financial and Risk unit, in which U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group is buying a majority stake, will be renamed Refinitiv once the deal closes, the company said in a statement on Friday. The Thomson Reuters unit provides information and related services to financial services professionals. David Craig, current head of Financial and Risk, will be CEO of Refinitiv, Thomson Reuters said. The US$20 billion deal is expected to close this year.
1 min read · 27 July 2018
