Private Equity
Duravant LLC has acquired Wulftec International Inc, an Ayer’s Cliff, Quebec-based maker of customizable automation solutions for end-of-line packaging applications. No financial terms were disclosed. The seller was M.J. Maillis Group, a Luxembourg-based packaging solutions provider backed by U.S. private equity firm HIG Capital. Duravant, a Downers Grove, Illinois-based engineered equipment company, said the transaction expands its end-of-line packaging automation portfolio. Duravant was acquired last year by U.S. private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
3 min read · 21 December 2018
Seequent has acquired Geosoft, a Toronto-based provider of subsurface geoscience and exploration technology. No financial terms were disclosed. Canadian earth scientists Ian MacLeod, Geosoft's chief technologist, and Colin Reeves were responsible for the company's founding in 1986. Seequent, a Christchurch, New Zealand-based visual data science software provider, said the deal will accelerate its growth in the mining, civil engineering, energy, government and environmental sectors. In September, Seequent was backed by U.S. technology private equity firm Accel-KKR.
4 min read · 21 December 2018
Australia's Healthscope Ltd said it has extended exclusive takeover talks with suitor Brookfield Asset Management by a month, and that a rival suitor remained interested, potentially re-igniting a bidding war, Reuters reported. The private hospital operator has not yet committed to a binding A$4.5 billion (US$3.2 billion) offer from the Canadian investment firm. Healthscope also said rival bidder BGH Capital and its partners, which reportedly include Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, were prepared to commence due diligence even though their A$2.36 per share indicative offer was rejected as “less attractive”.
2 min read · 21 December 2018
U.S. private equity firm Virtù Equity Partners has agreed to invest in Kerotin, a Victoria, British Columbia-based direct-to-consumer hair care brand. No financial terms were disclosed. Founded in 2016, Kerotin is focused on hair treatments with supplements, shampoo, conditioner, masques and other products that are sold worldwide. Virtù said it will form a new board and management team led by President Marcos Fabio Lopes e Lima, one of the firm's partners. Kerotin’s founders will remain engaged in the business. Virtù plans to accelerate the company's growth in part by entering the Chinese market.
3 min read · 20 December 2018
Corel Corp has acquired Parallels, a Bellevue, Washington-based provider of cross-platform virtualization and automation solutions. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which confirms a November report by TechCrunch. Corel, an Ottawa-based graphics, productivity and digital media software company, said it plans to make a significant investment in the Parallels brand to support global growth opportunities. Corel is owned by U.S. private equity firm Vector Capital, which took the company private in 2003 and 2010.
3 min read · 20 December 2018
Oxford Living LLC, a Canadian senior housing platform, has launched with the acquisition of nine mid-market retirement communities. The deal is valued at $100 million. Oxford Capital Group, a U.S. real estate private equity firm, partnered in the consolidation and platform launch with with Starr Insurance Holdings, a U.S. insurance and investment firm. The nine communities acquired, all located in Ontario, feature 648 suites. Oxford Capital Senior Managing Director Lawrence Cummings, who will serve as president of Oxford Living, said the company is expected to acquire additional Canadian assets.
4 min read · 20 December 2018
An investor group led by Tim Morgan, CEO of Calgary-based Enerjet, is launching a Canadian ultra-low-cost-carrier (ULCC) service in 2019. Terms weren't released for the deal, which closed today. Consortium members include Canadian investors, among them mid-market private equity firm TorQuest Partners, family office Claridge and Stephenson Management. Indigo Partners, a U.S. aviation private equity firm, is also investing. The group will back the rebranding and expansion of Enerjet as a ULCC offering destinations in Canada and the United States. Indigo Managing Partner Bill Franke said the deal aims to "significantly increase the size and competitiveness of Canada's domestic and trans-border aviation market."
3 min read · 20 December 2018
Cassidy Asset Management has launched a private equity fund to invest in early-stage companies in the global medical and recreational cannabis industry. Cassidy Fund 1 LP is currently accepting commitments from accredited investors. It is expected to close in Q1 2019. Cassidy, a Toronto-based asset management firm, was established this year. It is led by CEO Rick Meslin, formerly head of Canadian equity sales and trading at Wells Fargo Securities, and CIO Michael Krestell, a co-founder of PharmaCan Capital, now Cronos Group.
4 min read · 20 December 2018
Western Investment Co of Canada has agreed to acquire a 50 percent interest in an undisclosed property and casualty (P&C) insurance provider based in Western Canada. Western, a Canadian private equity firm, agreed to pay about $2 million or 90 percent of book value as of the closing, which is expected to occur in April 2019. Western President and CEO Scott Tannas said the deal will mark the investor's entry into Western Canada's insurance industry. The insurance company's growth plan will include partnerships with a number of brokers in the region to identify new product niches and participate in existing programs.
2 min read · 20 December 2018
SureWerx has acquired the Jackson Safety and Wilson Safety brands from Kimberly-Clark Professional, a Roswell, Georgia-based supplier of workplace products and solutions. Terms weren't disclosed for the acquisition, which includes Kimberly-Clark's industrial welding business and portions of its industrial personal protective equipment businesses. Based in Vancouver, SureWerx is a supplier of professional tools, equipment and safety products for workers across North America. Last month, the company was acquired by U.S. private equity firm Riverside Co from Penfund, a Canadian junior capital provider.
3 min read · 20 December 2018
