Private Equity
Vertu Capital has teamed up with BDC Capital's growth equity group to acquire Firmex, a Toronto provider of virtual data rooms and secure document sharing solutions. Terms weren’t disclosed. Vertu and BDC partnered on the deal with top management, including Joel Lessem, the company’s co-founder and CEO. Debt financing was provided by Bank of Montreal. The seller is Novacap’s mid-market tech group, which acquired Firmex in 2016. Firmex is the inaugural investment of Vertu, a tech private equity firm founded two years ago by Lisa Melchior, a former managing director of OMERS Private Equity.
2 min read · 05 February 2019
Campus Energy Partners LP, an affiliate of Canadian mid-market private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners, has closed the acquisition of certain natural gas midstream, power, and commercial and industrial marketing assets from AltaGas Ltd. The deal, announced in September, reflected a purchase price of about $165 million. Campus Energy, based in Calgary, was recently formed by Birch Hill to hold and operate the acquired assets. It will be led by President and CEO Jeremy Baines, formerly senior vice president of strategic projects with AltaGas. Baines said Campus Energy will be actively seeking opportunities to "grow our business both organically and through acquisitions.”
2 min read · 04 February 2019
Capstone Infrastructure Corp (TSX: CSE.PR.A) has acquired the Watford Wind Facility, a 10-megawatt facility located near Ontario's Brooke-Alvinston municipality. No financial terms were disclosed. The seller was Zephyr Farms Ltd, a Toronto-based owner and operator of wind farms. Capstone, a Toronto-based power generation business, said the deal increases its Ontario wind assets to 194 megawatts. Capstone was acquired in 2016 by iCON Infrastructure, a U.K. infrastructure investment firm, for about $480 million.
2 min read · 04 February 2019
Finning International Inc (TSX: FTT), a Vancouver-based Caterpillar equipment dealer, has wrapped up its acquisition of 4Refuel LP, a Toronto-based provider of mobile on-site refueling services. Finning paid about $260 million. The sellers included U.S. private equity firm Kelso & Co, which acquired 4Refuel in 2013 from TorQuest Partners. The other owners were Penske Truck Leasing, TRP Capital Partners and Crescent Capital. Founded in 1995, 4Refuel serves construction, transportation, oil and gas, power generation and other sectors in North America.
1 min read · 04 February 2019
Corsair Infrastructure Partners (CIP), an affiliate of U.S. private equity firm Corsair Capital, has acquired Vantage Airport Group, a Vancouver-based airport developer, manager and investor. Terms weren't disclosed. CIP said a new fund managed by it acquired the business from Gateway Infrastructure Investments, another CIP-managed vehicle. Gateway has owned Vantage since 2008. The new institutional fund has not fixed duration. It is intended to provide Vantage with stable, long-term ownership as well as capital to pursue a pipeline of global opportunities. Founded in 1994, Vantage has worked with more than 30 airports, taking 20 from public to private management.
3 min read · 04 February 2019
An investor group led by U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman has agreed to acquire Ultimate Software (Nasdaq: ULTI), a Weston, Florida-based provider of human capital management solutions in the cloud. The group, which includes Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), agreed to pay US$331.50 per share in cash, representing about US$11 billion in total value. The deal is expected to close in mid-2019, after which Ultimate will operate as a privately held company. Founded in 1990, Ultimate had revenue of more than US$1.1 billion and served over 5,600 businesses worldwide at the end of last year.
8 min read · 04 February 2019
The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management said it will invest up to US$1 billion ($1.3 billion) of equity to fund its proposed acquisition of Healthscope Ltd (ASX: HSO), a Melbourne, Australia-based private healthcare company. The deal represents an implied equity value of A$4.3 billion ($4.1 billion) and enterprise value of A$5.7 billion ($5.4 billion). Brookfield said the transaction will also be funded with US$1.4 billion of long-term financing and US$1.7 billion from the sale and long-term leaseback of 22 freehold hospital properties. As reported by Reuters, Healthscope recommended Brookfield's offer after months of negotiations and counter bids from a rival group led by BGH Capital.
3 min read · 01 February 2019
OpenText Corp (TSX, Nasdaq: OTEX) has acquired Catalyst Repository Systems Inc, a Denver, Colorado-based provider of e-discovery software and services for corporate legal departments and law firms. The purchase price is about $100 million (US$75 million) in an all-cash deal. OpenText, a Waterloo-based enterprise information management company, said the acquisition confirms its position as an e-discovery technology provider to the legal industry. Founded in 2000, Catalyst has been backed since 2012 by FTV Capital, a U.S. growth equity firm.
2 min read · 01 February 2019
Deal values in Canada’s buyout and private equity (PE) market set a new record in 2018, according to final data released by Refinitiv. Investment activity reflected values of $37.2 billion in total last year, up 31 percent from 2017, and surpassing the prior record of $33.7 billion set in 2007. Transaction volumes, however, were down 10 percent year over year. Energy and environmental companies captured the largest share of dollar flows in 2018, or 33 percent. Dealmaking by Canadian PE funds abroad was also at an all-time high last year, as investors joined 162 transactions valued at $121 billion.
3 min read · 31 January 2019
Brookfield Asset Management has closed its latest flagship global private real estate fund, raising US$15 billion ($20 billion) in committed capital. Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners III (BSREP III), the Canadian alternative asset manager's largest private fund to date, exceeded its target of US$10 billion. In all, 150 limited partners backed the fund, including pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, endowments and foundations, family offices, and investors from Brookfield’s private wealth channel. Brookfield committed US$3.75 billion. BSREP III has so far deployed US$5 billion to 10 global real estate investments.
2 min read · 31 January 2019
