Private Equity
Canadian mid-market private equity firm Clearspring Capital Partners has acquired a majority interest in Voyages Traditours, a Laval, Québec-based tour operator of curated cultural circuits. Terms weren't disclosed for the deal, which saw Clearspring acquire a majority of the shares owned by Entrepreneur Capital, a Canadian private equity firm. Entrepreneur, which invested in 2014, will retain a stake, as will CEO Sébastien Forest and Founder Jacques Rodier. Established in 1999, Voyages Traditours designs Francophone-focused travel itineraries in more than 70 countries on five continents. Partner Marie-Claude Boisvert said the transaction brings her firm's investment in Québec to over $100 million.
4 min read · 10 June 2019
Foodtastic Inc has acquired Big Rig Brewery, an Ottawa-based supplier of craft beers, and the affiliated Big Rig Restaurants, a casual dining restaurant chain. Terms weren't disclosed. Foodtastic, a Montréal-based franchisor of restaurant concepts, said the deal is in line with a strategy of acquiring local brands with growth potential that complement its existing portfolio. It added that it will preserve the Big Rig brand and grow the restaurant system. Last year, Foodtastic secured a $47 million investment from Restaurant Royalty Partners, a joint venture of Oaktree Capital Management and JHR Capital.
2 min read · 10 June 2019
A group of shareholders of Hudson’s Bay Co, including Executive Chairman Richard Baker, has offered to take the Canadian department store operator private, according to a news release. The proposed deal reflects a purchase price of $9.45 per unit in cash, representing a total value of $1.74 billion, Reuters reported. The group, which owns a combined 57 percent interest in Hudson’s Bay, includes U.S. private equity firm Rhône Capital, which in 2017 agreed to invest US$500 million in the company. The deal is conditional on the sale, announced today, of Hudson’s Bay’s stake in its German real estate joint venture, and divestment of its related retail joint venture, to Signa for $1.5 billion.
1 min read · 10 June 2019
Navacord Corp has acquired Demers Insurance Ltd, a Bonnyville, Alberta-based provider of personal and small business insurance. Terms weren't released for the deal, which follows Navacord's acquisition of Future Benefits Management Inc, announced earlier this week. Demers Insurance, sold by owner Guy Demers, will operate as a division of Lloyd Sadd Insurance, a Navacord founding broker. Navacord, a Toronto-based commercial broker, in 2018 undertook a management-led buyout of its minority partner with the support of U.S. private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP).
2 min read · 07 June 2019
Canadian healthcare private equity firm DW Healthcare Partners (DWHP) has acquired a majority stake in WillowWood, a Mount Sterling, Ohio-based designer, maker and distributor of prosthetic products and services. No financial terms were disclosed. The seller was the Arbogast family, which has owned and operated WillowWood since its founding in 1907. WillowWood said the partnership with DWHP will enable the addition of new products to its portfolio through a combination of in-house innovation and acquisitions. The deal comes on the heels of DWHP's acquisition of Spectrum Solutions LLC and Go-2 Fulfillment Co Inc, announced earlier this week.
3 min read · 07 June 2019
The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management has closed its take-private acquisition of Healthscope Ltd, a Melbourne, Australia-based private hospital operator. The deal, announced earlier this year, is valued at about $4.1 billion (A$4.4 billion). Brookfield topped an offer from a consortium led by Australian private equity firm BGH Capital. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan were reportedly partnering with BGH. Toronto-based Brookfield is currently raising its fifth mid-market private equity fund.
2 min read · 06 June 2019
BMS, an insurance broker arm of U.K.-based Minova Insurance Holdings, has agreed to an investment by British Columbia Investment Management Corp (BCI) and Preservation Capital Partners. The deal, expected to close in the third quarter, values BMS at £500 million ($852 million). Based in London, BMS specializes in the fields of reinsurance, wholesale and direct insurance. Gordon Fyfe, CEO and CIO of BCI, a $146 billion Canadian pension system, said the investment will help grow BMS and provide region and sector diversity to BCI's private equity portfolio.
4 min read · 06 June 2019
Northleaf Capital Partners has acquired a 49 percent interest in Odfjell Holdings (US) Inc, a portfolio of bulk liquids storage terminals in the United States. No financial terms were disclosed. Odfjell SE, a Bergen, Norway-based provider of chemicals and other bulk liquids transportation and storage, will continue to hold the remaining 51 percent stake. Toronto-based Northleaf is a global private equity, private credit and infrastructure manager, overseeing more than $12 billion in capital commitments.
2 min read · 06 June 2019
Altas Partners is poised to generate an about 3.5 x return on MyEyeDr through a sale of the optometry giant valued at US$2.7 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter. Goldman Sachs through West Street Capital Partners VII this week agreed to acquire the well-known brand by buying its management services company, Capital Vision Services. Toronto’s Altas partnered with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in 2015 to acquire Capital Vision Services for US$775 million, the source said. The pending acquisition — the largest sponsor-backed transaction in vision care history — concludes a process that kicked off earlier this year.
1 min read · 06 June 2019
Jeff Parr is the 2019 recipient of the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association's (CVCA) Ted Anderson Community Leadership Award. Parr, the vice chairman and managing director of Canadian mid-market private equity firm Clairvest Group, won the award for his involvement in multiple non-profits. Parr's activities include fundraising for Stratford's Shaw Festival Theatre, membership on the University of Western Ontario's President’s Council and Investment Committee, and numerous roles promoting research and fundraising for battling Parkinson’s Disease and cancer.
5 min read · 06 June 2019
