Private Equity
Canadian automotive parts supplier Magna International Inc said this week it will invest US$200 million in Lyft Inc and work with the U.S. ride-hailing company to manufacture self-driving cars, Reuters reported. The news comes three months after San Francisco-based Lyft made its international debut in Toronto, taking on much bigger rival Uber Technologies Inc, which has been operating in Canada for over five years. Lyft has previously secured investments from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).
1 min read · 16 March 2018
Swiss packaging maker SIG Combibloc is preparing an autumn stock market listing in Zurich that could value it at about 4.5 billion euros (US$5.5 billion), sources told Reuters. Its Canadian private equity owner Onex Corp has hired Rothschild as an IPO adviser, and other investment banks have also been contacted regarding their interest in helping organize a potential deal. SIG, which makes cartons for beverages and food, was acquired by Onex in 2015 from New Zealand billionaire Graeme Hart in a deal valued at 3.75 billion euros (US$4.62 billion).
2 min read · 16 March 2018
President Donald Trump’s move to block a Singapore-based company’s takeover of U.S. rival Qualcomm Inc threatens to stunt crucial Chinese investment in the country’s startup capital, according to Silicon Valley venture capitalists and tech executives.
3 min read · 15 March 2018
A sale of German metering group Techem is underway and bankers are looking at financing options of up to €2.8 billion ($4.4 billion) to back an acquisition valued at as much as €4.2 billion ($6.6 billion), banking sources told Reuters. First round bids in an auction process are due on April 5, which is expected to attract interest from a consortium comprising buyout firm CVC Capital Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) as well as another group that includes Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Swiss private-equity investor Partners Group is also expected to bid, the sources said.
3 min read · 13 March 2018
Senior participants are warning that today’s market could be as good as it gets, despite a robust global economic backdrop and buoyant mood in the private equity and leveraged loan markets, Reuters reported. Comparisons to 2007’s pre-crisis conditions are becoming more common and industry figures are debating whether today’s robust conditions constitute a bubble, as purchase prices rise, jumbo buyouts proliferate and deal terms become more aggressive. Leveraged buyout purchase price multiples hit a record high of 11.2 times average Ebitda in 2017 and average buyout sizes also hit a new record of US$675 million in the third quarter of 2017, up from 10 times in 2016, according to a recent report by Bain & Co.
4 min read · 12 March 2018
Higher oil prices and a positive earnings outlook for energy companies are expected to fuel a rebound in North American oil and gas initial public offerings in 2018, with bankers betting investors will remain optimistic about the sector even if the broader stock market remains volatile, Reuters reported. IPOs in the United States and Canada could reach their highest in four years, and oilfield services companies are seen leading the recovery, given their pressing capital needs. Potential Canadian exploration and production candidates for IPO include Canbriam Energy and Velvet Energy, two sources said. Calgary's Canbriam and Velvet are both private equity-backed.
4 min read · 12 March 2018
General Electric Co (GE.N) is exploring a sale of the electrical engineering business which it acquired for $3.2 billion in 2011, as the U.S. industrial conglomerate continues to shed unwanted assets, Reuters reported.
2 min read · 12 March 2018
At least three bidders are expected to submit final offers for global miner Rio Tinto’s Hail Creek and Kestrel coal mines in Australia, which could fetch up to US$2.5 billion, sources told Reuters. The Anglo-Australian mining company made a strategic decision in 2017 to exit coal and focus on growth in iron ore, copper and its aluminum division. Hail Creek and Kestrel are Rio Tinto’s last two coal mines. The expected bidders include a consortium led by U.S. private equity firm Apollo Global Management and that includes Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, strong>Xcoal Energy & Resources and a former Glencore executive.
3 min read · 09 March 2018
Chinese drug developer Hua Medicine is planning to raise at least $400 million in an initial public offering in Hong Kong in the latest in a series of biotech floats in the city, sources told Reuters.
3 min read · 09 March 2018
Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) is considering raising around US$5bn of loans though its UK-based tech firm ARM Holdings, banking sources said.
2 min read · 08 March 2018
