Private Equity
Unisync Corp has agreed to acquire the issued and outstanding capital stock of Utility Garments Inc, a Montréal-based designer and maker of corporate uniforms, for $19.5 million in cash and about 1.27 million shares of Unisync. The sellers are Canadian private equity firm BDG & Partners and two minority shareholders. Utility Garments, which has operated in the Québec market since 1935, was acquired by BDG last year. Unisync, a Vancouver-based supplier of corporate apparel and protective garments, said the acquisition will expand its geographic reach into Québec. The deal will see BDG CEO and Managing Partner Christian Turgeon join Unisync's board.
6 min read · 23 August 2018
The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management and Macquarie Capital have agreed to sell Quadrant Energy, a Perth, Australia-based oil and gas company, for US$2.15 billion. The buyer is Australian oil and gas company Santos Ltd. The deal includes a contingent payment linked to Quadrant's exploration interests, such as the Dorado-1 oil discovery in Western Australia. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Quadrant was established in 2015 as a result of the US$2.1 billion acquisition of Apache Corp’s Australian energy operations by Brookfield and Macquarie. Brookfield currently holds a 48.3 percent stake in the business, while Macquarie holds 21.8 percent.
3 min read · 23 August 2018
Australian property developer Goodman Group Pty Ltd and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) have committed an extra US$1.75 billion of equity to their Chinese logistics partnership to further expand in China, Reuters reported. The funds, 80 percent of which will come from CPPIB, will take the partners’ total equity commitment to US$5 billion. The investment increase is the latest in China’s logistics industry which is experiencing a boom in demand for warehousing and delivery from e-commerce companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and JD.com Inc.
2 min read · 23 August 2018
U.S. private equity firm New Water Capital has acquired Trillium Health Care Products Inc, a Brockville, Ontario-based contract maker of prescription and over-the-counter products for pharmaceutical companies. No financial terms were disclosed. The deal will see Trillium's executive team continue to manage the company. Going forward, Jay Webb, previously Trillium's general manager, will serve as president. New Water Partner Jason Neimark said his firm will help identify opportunities to expand Trillium's capacity and support its customers. Trillium was formerly backed by Canadian private equity firm Richardson Capital. Richardson acquired a majority stake in the business in 2005.
2 min read · 22 August 2018
Canada Infrastructure Bank has provided a $1.28 billion loan to help build the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) project in Montréal. The investment, the bank's first, wraps up the project's $6.3 billion financing. Construction of the 67-kilometre electric rail network began in April. The first trains are scheduled to run in 2021. CDPQ Infra, the infrastructure arm of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, proposed the REM project in 2016. CDPQ Infra is providing $2.95 billion of the financing, giving it a stake of about 70 percent. Earlier this year, Canada Infrastructure Bank hired Pierre Lavallée from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to be its president and CEO.
3 min read · 22 August 2018
Canadian private equity firm Bonnefield Financial has secured an additional $80 million in committed capital in the third close of its fourth farmland fund. The commitments, which came from new and existing limited partners, brings Bonnefield Canadian Farmland LP IV's total fundraising to date to $211 million. As a result, the Toronto-based firm now oversees more than $650 million across three funds. Bonnefield, founded in 2009 by President and CEO Tom Eisenhauer, provides land-lease financing to farmers to help them grow, reduce debt and manage succession events. The firm's portfolio currently reflects about 100,000 acres, operated by more than 100 farmers.
2 min read · 22 August 2018
Syndication of the US$13.5 billion debt package backing Blackstone Group’s buyout of Thomson Reuters’ Financial and Risk division is expected to launch in the first week of September, at the same time as a €7.3 billion debt financing backing the buyout of Akzo Nobel’s specialty chemicals business, bankers close to the deal told Reuters. Thomson Reuters’ loan and bond package is expected to launch in Europe on September 3 and in the United States on September 4 after the Labour Day holiday. The deal is the largest buyout financing since the crisis and its launch has been eagerly awaited since the deal was underwritten in January.
3 min read · 22 August 2018
U.S. financial services provider BTIG LLC and its affiliate, Pacific View Asset Management LLC, have invested in Indigena Capital, an investor in partnerships with Indigenous Nations. Terms weren't disclosed. Based in Dallas and Calgary, Indigena identifies, capitalizes and executes on opportunities generated from the rights and resources controlled by Tribal Nations in the United States, and First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. The firm has investments in agriculture, renewable power, real estate, infrastructure and other sectors. Indigena is led by CEO John Jurrius, who previously headed Native American Resource Partners, a Calgary-based, private equity-funded investment firm.
3 min read · 22 August 2018
Caprion Biosciences Inc has acquired Primity Bio Inc, a Fremont, California-based provider of biomarker and immune monitoring services. Terms weren't disclosed. Caprion is a Montréal-based provider of immunology and proteomics laboratory services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. It said the buy will expand its immunology and molecular profiling service offering and give the company an operational location in the United States. The add-on deal is Caprion's second since it was acquired two years ago by U.K. healthcare private equity firm GHO Capital Partners. GHO bought the business from Chicago Growth Partners.
4 min read · 22 August 2018
A joint venture that includes Public Service Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has agreed to acquire Bengerang Ltd, an owner and operator of agricultural land and water assets in Australia. The joint venture, called AFF JV, is buying the business from Webster Ltd for about A$132.7 million ($126.8 million). As part of the deal, PSP Investments will become the largest shareholder in Webster, an Australian agribusiness, acquiring a 19.15 percent stake and the right to a board seat. PSP Investments' partner in AFF JV is the holding company of Australia's Robinson family.
5 min read · 21 August 2018
