Private Equity
Pivotal Payments, a Montréal-based provider of payment processing solutions, has been rebranded as Nuvei. Nuvei said the rebranding reflects its focus on partner growth initiatives and creates a "first-ever community of payment experts." It also merges the company’s corporate arm with its GlobalOnePay division. As reported by PE Hub Canada, Nuvei was backed last year by Novacap and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). The deal valued the business at about $525 million.
3 min read · 23 October 2018
ESentire has acquired Versive, a Seattle, Washington-based cybersecurity artificial intelligence company. No financial terms were disclosed. Cambridge, Ontario-based eSentire said the acquisition will add advanced AI capabilities to its managed detection and response service platform, allowing it to more effectively address security threats. Last year, eSentire secured financing from U.S. private equity firm Warburg Pincus, providing exits to its venture capital investors. Georgian Partners continues to back the company. Founded in 2012, Versive has raised about US$55 million from Bloomberg Beta, Formation 8, Goldman Sachs, Madrona Venture Group, Vulcan Capital and others.
4 min read · 23 October 2018
Increases in U.S. production, coupled with increased costs and regulatory uncertainty in Canada, have contributed to a general investment decline in the domestic oil and gas sector since the highs of 2014. At the same time, new investment in Canada’s clean energy sector has been relatively stable. In a PE Hub Canada feature article, Torys LLP Partners Stephanie Stimpson and Michael Pedlow and Associate Andrew Cooley look at a range of consolidation and opportunistic M&A energy deals done in Canada in recent months and share their thoughts about what these transactions can tell us about emerging, cross-sector trends.
4 min read · 22 October 2018
First Bauxite Corp (TSX-V: FBX) has entered into a going private transaction with U.S. mining private equity firm Resource Capital Funds (RCF), the company's majority shareholder. The deal will be done partly through a consolidation of First Bauxite's common shares, increasing RCF's ownership to 100 percent. RCF earlier converted its outstanding convertible debt held in First Bauxite, valued at more than $43 million, into equity, raising its stake to about 90.7 percent. Shareholders will vote on the deal later this year. First Bauxite, a Canadian natural resources company, explores and develops bauxite deposits in Guyana. It has its head office in New Orleans.
7 min read · 22 October 2018
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is looking to buy part of a stake in Gatwick Airport that could be worth more than 3 billion pounds (US$3.92 billion), Reuters reported, citing a Sky News story. CPPIB is said to be part of a group of investors proposing to buy out Global Infrastructure Partners’ (GIP) 42 percent stake in the second-busiest airport in Britain. The Canadian pension fund would invest “hundreds of millions of pounds” in the airport, if the deal gets finalized, insiders told Sky News.
1 min read · 22 October 2018
A consortium of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Brazil’s Votorantim Energia won a privatization auction this week to buy a controlling stake in power company Companhia Energética de Sao Paulo SA (Cesp) from the government of Sao Paulo state, Reuters reported. The consortium will pay 14.6 reais per Cesp share, a 2.09 percent premium over the minimum sale price at the auction. Considering the government's stake of 40.6 percent, the consortium will pay a total of 1.7 billion reais (US$458.25 million). CPPIB and Votorantim Energia already have a joint venture in Brazil that plans invest in renewable power sources.
1 min read · 19 October 2018
Canadian mining private equity firm Waterton Global Resource Management said it would call for a special meeting of Hudbay Minerals Inc’s shareholders after the Canadian miner refused its proposal for changes to its board, Reuters reported. Waterton, which said it owns a 7 percent stake in Hudbay, had also asked the miner to avoid any near-term acquisition or joint venture in a filing this week. Hudbay is in talks to buy Chilean miner Mantos Copper SA, according to media reports. “Hudbay’s recent market performance has been atrocious, as the company currently trades at a material discount to its peer group on multiple key valuation metrics,” Waterton said in a statement.
1 min read · 19 October 2018
Canadian private equity firm TerraNova Partners has acquired York Analytical Laboratories Inc, a Stratford, Connecticut-based environmental laboratory operating in the Northeastern United States. No financial terms were disclosed. Founded in 1990, York provides analysis of environmental samples, including water, soil, air and drinking water, for regulated contaminants. The company said the partnership with TerraNova enabled it to expand its lab testing facility in New York and will support additional growth opportunities. Toronto-based TerraNova invests in growth, turnaround, carve-out and comparable deals in a range of sectors.
3 min read · 19 October 2018
U.K. shopping centre owner Intu Properties said it was considering a 215 pence per share preliminary takeover offer from a consortium led by its deputy chairman John Whittaker, Reuters reported. The proposed deal, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Olayan Group and Canadian property investor Brookfield Asset Management, values the FTSE 250 firm which owns Manchester’s Trafford Centre at 2.91 billion pounds (US$3.8 billion). Whittaker’s consortium initially offered 205 pence per Intu share on October 11. Olayan and Whittaker’s Peel Group already hold 29.9 percent of Intu.
2 min read · 19 October 2018
NEOGOV has acquired High Line Corp, a Markham, Ontario-based provider of human resources, payroll and time and talent management software. No financial terms were disclosed. Founded in 1974, management-owned High Line has been led by President Megan Rogister. NEOGOV, an El Segundo, California-based human resources software provider for the public sector and higher education markets, said the deal will create an integrated solutions suite. NEOGOV has been backed since 2016 by U.S. private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
3 min read · 18 October 2018
