Private Equity
Toronto-based venture firm iGan Partners has hired Stacey Kline as an impact partner. Kline is the managing director of The Good Fund, an impact fund that invests in startups "solving some of the world's biggest challenges." Prior to founding The Good Fund, Kline worked at Goodmans LLP where she was the director of innovation projects.
2 min read · 01 October 2019
7shifts, a Saskatoon-based provider of restaurant employee scheduling solutions, has secured $7.9 million (US$6 million) in financing. Napier Park Financial Partners, which led the company's $13.4 million Series A round earlier this year, also led the supplementary round. It was joined by existing investor Relay Ventures and new investor Conexus Credit Union. 7shifts will use the new funds raised to expand its North American restaurant footprint.
3 min read · 01 October 2019
The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to acquire half of the interest held by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in BrandSafway, a Kennesaw, Georgia-based industrial services company. Terms weren't released, however, Brookfield said its investment will be funded with about US$1.3 billion of equity. With the deal's close, expected in Q1 2020, Brookfield and CD&R will each own about 45 percent of BrandSafway.
5 min read · 30 September 2019
Canadian impact venture capital firm Renewal Funds has closed its latest fund, Renewal4, at $145 million. The fund was backed by more than 140 investors, including BDC Capital, The Co-operators and the clean technology stream of Ottawa's Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI). Based in Vancouver, Renewal Funds invests in environmental technology and sustainable consumer products across North America. The fundraising brings the firm's total assets under management to $240 million.
3 min read · 30 September 2019
Los Angeles-based fashion retailer Forever 21 Inc said it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States and that its Canadian subsidiary was granted protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) in Toronto. Forever 21 has also obtained US$275 million in financing from JPMorgan Chase Bank, as well as US$75 million in new capital from TPG Sixth Street Partners, to facilitate the company's restructuring.
3 min read · 30 September 2019
Brookfield Asset Management has closed its acquisition of 61.2 percent of Oaktree Capital Group, a Los Angeles-based alternative investments manager. The cash-and-stock deal saw Brookfield buy all of the outstanding Oaktree class A units and about 20 percent of the units of Oaktree Capital Group Holdings (OCGH) held by founders, senior management, and current and former employees. Brookfield said cash payable to class A unit-holders and OCGH unit-holders is about US$2.4 billion. Reuters previously estimated the deal's total value at US$4.8 billion.
3 min read · 30 September 2019
Georgian Partners is targeting nearly $1 billion (US$750 million) for its fifth growth equity fund, according to an SEC filing. The filing confirms a June report by the Globe and Mail. Toronto-based Georgian has a North America investment strategy focused on applied analytics, as well as applied artificial intelligence, conversational business, and security in software design. The firm closed Georgian Partners Growth Fund IV last year at its $715 million (US$550 million) hard cap.
1 min read · 27 September 2019
BDO Canada is sponsoring The51, a new woman-focused investment firm. Founded in Calgary, The51 was launched by Judy Fairburn, Shelley Kuipers and Alice Reimer.
3 min read · 27 September 2019
Westinghouse Electric Company, which is owned by the private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management, has agreed to acquire Rolls-Royce's civil nuclear systems and services business in North America. No financial terms were disclosed. Rolls-Royce operates 11 sites in Canada, France, the United Kingdom and the U.S. Pennsylvania-based Westinghouse Electric Company is a supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities.
2 min read · 27 September 2019
FACIT's Prospects Oncology Fund has provided seed capital to Ontario-based medical device and new therapeutic platform technologies. The recipients to secure this financing are Xpan Inc, a medical device startup; Dr. Igor Stagljar of the University of Toronto; and the Drug Discovery Program at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. Xpan Inc is developing surgical access ports that aim to increase safety and efficiency of minimally invasive surgeries. Dr. Stagljar is developing a system for detecting protein-protein interactions in real time for drug discovery applications while OICR's Drug Discovery Program is developing a platform targeting multiple members of the WD40 repeat domain family with small molecules. No financial terms were disclosed.
4 min read · 26 September 2019
