Private Equity
Investment Management Corp of Ontario (IMCO) earlier this month acquired a stake in a 413-megawatt Canadian hydroelectric portfolio from Brookfield Renewable Partners. Terms weren't released. IMCO made the investment as part of a consortium that acquired a 25 percent interest. The portfolio, which Brookfield will continue to manage, includes the 349-megawatt Great Lakes Power system in Ontario, the 19-megawatt Carmichael facility in Ontario, and the 45-megawatt Kokish facility in British Columbia. In a separate statement, Brookfield said it intends to sell an additional 25 percent stake in the same assets to another consortium this year.
2 min read · 13 November 2018
Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Eolia Renovables de Inversiones SCR SA, a Spanish renewable energy company. No financial terms were disclosed. The seller is U.S. private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management, which acquired the business in 2015. Last year, Bloomberg reported Oaktree was looking to sell Eolia in a deal that could value the company at more than €1 billion (US$1.5 billion). Eolia develops, constructs and operates wind farms and solar photovoltaic plants. It has a portfolio of 38 assets with a net attributable capacity of about 669 megawatts.
3 min read · 13 November 2018
The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management has partnered with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the power solutions unit of Johnson Controls International Plc. Brookfield Business Partners, the group’s listed affiliate, the Caisse and co-investors agreed to pay about US$13.2 billion. The deal is expected to close by June 30, 2019. Johnson Controls’ power solutions unit makes batteries for automakers and aftermarket distributors and retailers for use in a range of vehicles, including hybrid and electrical models. The transaction will be funded with about US$3 billion of equity and about US$10.2 billion of long-term debt financing.
4 min read · 13 November 2018
Johnson Controls International Plc said this week it would sell its power solutions business, which makes car batteries, to Canadian investment firm Brookfield Business Partners LP, in a cash deal valued at US$13.2 billion, Reuters reported. Johnson Controls’ power solutions business makes and distributes about 154 million lead-acid batteries for passenger cars and light trucks annually. The transaction, expected to be completed by June 30, 2019, will see Brookfield Business Partners, the listed vehicle of Brookfield's private equity group, partner with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
2 min read · 13 November 2018
Canadian mid-market private equity firm TorQuest Partners has acquired Bartek Ingredients Inc, a Stoney Creek, Ontario-based specialty chemical manufacturer. Terms weren't disclosed. Founded in 1969, Bartek produces and distributes malic acid, fumaric acid and other products used in food and beverage and industrial applications. It has a network of more than 40 distributors selling in over 35 countries. John Burrows, Bartek's incoming CEO, said the partnership with TorQuest will support the company's next phase of global growth by expanding the commercial team and building on recently increased production capacity. Bartek is TorQuest's sixth platform deal in the specialty chemicals sector.
3 min read · 13 November 2018
Alate Partners, a Toronto startup focused on the property-tech market, launched today with the close of a $40 million seed financing, according to a news release. The round was backed by real estate company Dream Unlimited, the affiliated Dream Office REIT, and mobile venture capital firm Relay Ventures. The seed deal is the largest in Canada in two years, Refinitiv data show. Along with funding it, Dream and Relay incubated Alate. Its creation is intended to drive development of an ecosystem that brings proptech companies together with real estate owners and operators.
2 min read · 13 November 2018
IAM Private Debt Group has provided a senior term loan to JMB Crushing Systems ULC, a Bonnyville, Alberta-based producer and distributor of gravel, sand, rocks and other materials. Terms weren't disclosed for the deal, which is IAM's third with the company. Established in 1985, JMB supplies materials to industrial projects, oilfield companies and road construction. It has been backed since 2011 by U.S. private equity firm Westward Partners. IAM Private Debt Group is overseen by Integrated Asset Management Corp, a Toronto-based alternative asset management firm.
2 min read · 12 November 2018
BGH Capital, an Australian private equity firm run by three star dealmakers, was rebuffed in its bid to acquire hospital operator Healthscope Ltd, Reuters reported. On Monday, Healthscope said it had picked Brookfield Capital Partners’ sweetened offer that values the business at up to A$4.5 billion (US$3.25 billion). Melbourne-based Healthscope, which had in May snubbed offers from Brookfield and BGH, said Brookfield’s new offer was superior and it would grant the Canadian investment firm exclusive access to due diligence to facilitate a binding offer. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan were partnering with BGH in its bid, Reuters reported last month.
3 min read · 12 November 2018
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) could benefit from trade tensions between the United States and China by buying Chinese assets at knock-down prices, Reuters reported, citing comments made by CEO Mark Machin. CPPIB, one of the world’s biggest investors in real estate and infrastructure, has 8 percent of its funds invested in China and has said it expects to increase that number significantly in the next few years. “The thing for us is to be patient and look for good opportunities that are arising as a result of market stress and economic stress,” Machin said. “I think we’ll find very interesting opportunities in China over time as this continues.”
2 min read · 09 November 2018
C&V Portable Accommodations Ltd has sold the assets of its custom manufacturing division to an affiliate of Horizon North Logistics Inc (TSX: HNL), a Calgary-based provider of industrial services and modular construction solutions. Terms weren't disclosed. C&V, a Calgary-based supplier of portable accommodations to the energy and infrastructure sectors, was acquired in 2012 by Signal Hill Equity Partners, a Canadian mid-market private equity firm. Signal Hill Managing Partner James Johnson, who is also C&V's chairman, said the unit sale will strengthen the company's balance sheet and support its growth in Western Canada.
2 min read · 09 November 2018
