Private Equity
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has agreed to buy GE Capital's private equity lending portfolio for US$12 billion, in a deal that will greatly expand the Canadian pension fund manager's lending business, Reuters reported. GE's Chicago-based Antares unit is the leading lender to mid-market transactions in the United States. Over the past five years, it has provided over US$120 billion in financing.
2 min read · 09 June 2015
Patheon, a provider of outsourced pharmaceutical development and manufacturing services that was founded in Canada in 1974, has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an initial public offering. The terms of the offering have not yet been determined. Last year, Patheon was taken private by U.S. private equity firm JLL Partners, a backer of the company since 2007, and Dutch food and chemicals group Royal DSM. The deal valued the business at US$1.4 billion. Patheon was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange until March 2014.
2 min read · 08 June 2015
Compass Diversified Holdings, an affiliate of U.S. private equity firm The Compass Group, has agreed to buy Fresh Hemp Foods Ltd, a.k.a Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods, in a deal that values the company at $132.5 million. Upon the deal's closing, expected in the next 45 days, the initial equity ownership of Compass will be about 87 percent. White Road Investments, an existing backer of Manitoba Harvest, and certain managers are investing alongside Compass. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba Harvest is a provider of branded, hemp-based food products that are carried in about 7,000 retail stores across North America. It is a portfolio company of Canadian venture capital firm Avrio Capital.
6 min read · 08 June 2015
Advantage Rent A Car has wrapped up its previously announced acquisition of E-Z Rent-A-Car Group Holding LLC, a U.S. provider of car rental services. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Advantage said the combined business, which will serve a range of customers, including value-focused leisure travelers, independent business professionals, and under-served customers, will be a major player in the US$25 billion rent-a-car industry in the United States. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Advantage is a portfolio investment of Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group. Catalyst bought the company and related assets from Franchise Services of North America Inc in 2014.
4 min read · 08 June 2015
PaperWorks Industries Inc has agreed to purchase CanAmPac ULC, a paperboard and consumer packaging manufacturer based in Napanee, Ontario, for an undisclosed price. The transaction is expected to be completed in July. PaperWorks, a paperboard packaging supplier with headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been backed by U.S. private equity firm Sun Capital Partners since September 2008. The company is acquiring CanAmPac from Atlas Holdings LLC, a U.S. group of manufacturing, distribution, service and trading businesses.
2 min read · 08 June 2015
General Electric Co is near a deal to sell its private equity lending unit to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, a source told Reuters, as the conglomerate takes a big step in a planned massive pullback from its finance operations. The deal with the Canadian pension fund manager is expected to include GE's Antares Capital business, a middle-market lender for private equity-backed transactions.
2 min read · 08 June 2015
Shares of DavidsTea Inc, a specialty tea retailer that has grown rapidly in Canada and the United States since its founding in Montréal in 2008, rose as much as 39 percent in their U.S. debut, valuing the company at about US$600 million, Reuters reported. The company's IPO raised about US$97 million after the stock was priced at a revised US$19 per share. Highland Consumer Partners, DavidsTea's backer since 2012, also sold shares.
2 min read · 05 June 2015
TIAA-CREF and GreenWood Resources, a timber management company owned by TIAA-CREF, have launched Global Timber Resources LLC, a US$667 million timber investment platform. The platform's backers include Canadian pension fund manager the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, as well as TIAA General Account, AP2 and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund. Global Timber Resources will focus on investing in timberland assets across multiple geographies, including North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. GreenWood Resources will manage the new firm’s portfolio of timber assets.
5 min read · 05 June 2015
U.S. oil and gas company Apache Corp (NYSE, Nasdaq: APA) has completed the previously announced sale of its Australian subsidiary Apache Energy Ltd to a consortium of private equity funds managed by Brookfield Asset Management and Macquarie Corporate Holdings. The transaction had a total value of about US$2.1 billion, or US$1.9 billion net of US$225 million in post-closing adjustments. The sale's effective close date was October 1, 2014.
2 min read · 05 June 2015
The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management has completed its previously announced acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Armtec Infrastructure Inc, a Canadian manufacturer of infrastructure products and engineered construction solutions. While the deal's value was not published, Brookfield previously told peHUB Canada that its investment in the company totals about US$110 million. Prior to the acquisition, Brookfield was a lender to Armtec, providing it with a $125 million senior secured loan in 2011. The Armtec transaction follows last month's agreement by Brookfield to buy GrafTech International Ltd, a U.S. graphite material solutions provider.
2 min read · 04 June 2015
