Private Equity
U.S. retail giant Walmart Inc (WMT.N) is acquiring Indian e-commerce player Flipkart, the chief executive of one of Flipkart’s biggest shareholders, SoftBank Group (9984.T), Reuters reported.
2 min read · 09 May 2018
ReNew Power Ltd filed for an initial public offering this week that could raise more than US$1 billion in one of India’s biggest listings so far this year, Reuters reported. Goldman Sachs and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are among the backers of the company, which has about 3,921 megawatts of operational wind and solar power generation capacity and another about 1,668 megawatts under development. ReNew, which in April agreed to buy Ostro Energy Private Ltd in one of India’s biggest renewable energy deals, said in a filing it plans to raise 26 billion rupees (US$387 million).
2 min read · 08 May 2018
Hudson’s Bay Co is working with investment bankers and consultants to identify deals and new measures to turn around its Lord & Taylor department store chain, once the cornerstone of its retail empire, sources told Reuters. The Canadian retailer has been working with investment bank PJ Solomon Co for advice on potential deals regarding its department store portfolio, and is also working with consulting firm AlixPartners LLP on cutting costs and reforming its business. Much of their focus has been on Lord & Taylor, which accounts for about one-tenth of Hudson’s Bay’s stores.
5 min read · 08 May 2018
Canadian department store owner Hudson’s Bay Co and joint venture partner RioCan REIT have signed a conditional agreement to sell HBC’s flagship store in Vancouver for about $675 million to an Asian buyer, a source told Reuters. The buyer, who owns a closely-held real estate company, is seeking to arrange interim financing from at least one Canadian lender. The deal is expected to close in June. It progresses HBC’s efforts to extract value from its substantial real estate holdings as it battles a retail industry-wide slump and faces investor pressure to lift its share price.
2 min read · 07 May 2018
Shareholders of Crescent Point Energy Corp voted to elect the Canadian energy producer’s full slate of directors after a contentious battle with activist investor Cation Capital, Reuters reported. The proxy fight, the biggest in the Canadian energy sector in at least about four years, was closely followed by investors and brought to the forefront new activist investor Cation. Cation, which owns a 0.3 percent stake in Calgary-based Crescent Point, began its public push for change at the company last month. The private investment firm, founded by Sandy Edmonstone, a former deputy head of global oil and gas at Macquarie Capital, called for changes in the board due to share value that was lost in recent years.
1 min read · 07 May 2018
Canadian plane and train maker Bombardier Inc has agreed to sell its Toronto aircraft assembly site to a pension fund as part of efforts to raise extra cash under a five-year recovery plan, Reuters reported. The company, whose quarterly results beat estimates for profit by a cent, will make US$635 million ($816 million) gross from the sale to Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). Bombardier had said earlier this year it was looking for buyers for the sprawling Downsview property, where it assembles the Q400 and several business jets.
3 min read · 03 May 2018
Ping An’s Good Doctor online healthcare platform has raised US$1.12 billion in its initial public offering, pricing its shares at the top of its range in Hong Kong’s largest new listing this year, sources told Reuters. Founded in 2014, the company was among several tech startups backed by Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd. Its IPO attracted more than 200 investors, a source said. The offering had seven cornerstone investors, among them Singapore’s GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and U.S.-based BlackRock.
2 min read · 27 April 2018
Australian hospital operator Healthscope Ltd said it had received a US$3.1 billion buyout approach from a new but high-profile domestic private equity firm and its consortium partners just four years after listing, Reuters reported. The indicative offer, one of the highest for an Australian company in the past year, is an audacious debut for BGH Capital. AustralianSuper, the country’s second-biggest pension fund investor, is part of BGH’s consortium and has an existing stake of 14 percent in Healthscope. The group also includes Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Singapore’s GIC, according to a separate regulatory filing.
3 min read · 26 April 2018
Canadian telecommunications gear maker Mitel Networks Corp is selling itself to an investor group led by U.S. private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners for about US$2 billion ($2.6 billion), Reuters reported. Excluding Ottawa-based Mitel’s net debt, the deal is worth about US$1.34 billion, according to Thomson Reuters calculation. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2018. Terry Matthews, Mitel's co-founder and chairman, said the transaction will provide Mitel with "additional flexibility as a private company to pursue the company’s move-to-the-cloud strategy.”
1 min read · 24 April 2018
Canadian gaming company The Stars Group Inc said it had agreed to buy Sky Betting and Gaming from owners European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and Sky Plc, in a deal worth US$4.7 billion, Reuters reported. It had been expected that CVC, 80 percent owner of the online betting site Sky Bet, would list the company publicly. But Toronto-based The Stars Group announced a deal that it said would create the world’s largest publicly-listed online gaming business. The deal comprises US$3.6 billion in cash and the rest in newly-issued shares.
2 min read · 23 April 2018
