Private Equity
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has invested $50 million in Pomerleau Inc, a Saint-Georges, Québec-based construction company specializing mainly in the building, infrastructure, civil engineering and renewable energy sectors. The deal, which gives the Caisse a minority interest, will support the company's strategic growth plan in the coming years. It will also allow Pomerleau to innovate and leverage new technologies that draw on building information modelling, virtual reality, robotics and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1966 and led by President and CEO Pierre Pomerleau, the company has more than 150 work sites across Canada.
3 min read · 21 June 2018
Kingsey Falls, Québec-based renewable energy company Boralex Inc (TSX: BLX) has agreed to acquire interests in five Québec wind farms with a total net installed capacity of 201 megawatts. Boralex will pay $215 million in cash for the stakes to Invenergy Renewables LLC, an affiliate of Chicago-based Invenergy LLC. The deal will see Boralex increase its net installed capacity to 1,820 megawatts. It plans to fund the buy through a $180 million public offering and a $45 million private placement with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, an existing Boralex shareholder. The Caisse also backs Invenergy, agreeing in May to increase its interest in the company to 52.4 percent.
10 min read · 21 June 2018
Toronto-based mining company Dalradian Resources Inc (TSX: DNA) has agreed to be acquired by Orion Mine Finance, a U.S. mining private equity firm and existing investor. The buy, which values Dalradian’s equity at about $537 million, will see certain shareholders receive $1.47 in cash for each share held. The shares held by certain other investors, including senior management and Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd, will not be acquired. The deal, which reportedly has the support of top shareholder M&G Investment Management, is expected to close in Q3 2018. Dalradian, led by President and CEO Patrick Anderson, is currently developing its Curraghinalt Gold Project in Northern Ireland.
8 min read · 21 June 2018
Activist investor Land & Buildings this week resumed its criticism of Canadian department store owner Hudson’s Bay Co, urging it to correct its under-performance and extract value from its substantial real estate holdings, Reuters reported. The hedge fund agreed in December to cease public statements about the company until its shareholder meeting on June 12. Now, Land & Buildings founder Jonathan Litt is again pushing HBC to boost its share price, which is below the value of its assets following a run of earnings disappointments, and to monetize its prime property assets.
2 min read · 21 June 2018
Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management launched a $685 million (US$515 million) bid for Australian retirement village owner Gateway Lifestyle Group this week, topping an earlier bid from Hometown America Corp and setting up a takeover tussle, Reuters reported. The North American pair are jostling for exposure to Australia’s wealthy and ageing population, as well as a real estate market that has until recently run strongly. Gateway shares hit their highest in a year in anticipation of a battle. Only Brookfield was granted due diligence.
2 min read · 21 June 2018
Swedish private equity firm EQT and Canadian pension fund manager PSP Investments have entered into exclusive discussions to acquire Azelis SA, a Belgian distributor of specialty chemicals and food ingredients. No financial terms were released for the deal, which is expected to close in Q4 2018. The seller is U.K. private equity firm Apax Partners, which acquired the business in 2015. Established in 2001 through a merger, Azelis serves more than 43,000 customers globally. PSP Managing Director and Head of Private Equity Simon Marc said the company is a leader in an "attractive market that has strong consolidation prospects."
4 min read · 20 June 2018
Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Canada’s fourth largest pension system, is seeing the benefits of a three-year strategy that changed the way it invests in private equity and infrastructure, in part by doing more direct deals. PSP Investments last week issued its report for fiscal 2018, ended in March, which shows PE deployments of $4.4 billion last year. Of the total, more than half went to co-sponsorships and co-investments. The activity marks a third year of unprecedented PE outlays, totalling $9.9 billion since 2015.
2 min read · 20 June 2018
U.S. private equity firm Third Century Investment Associates has recapitalized and acquired a stake in Decisive Technologies Inc, an Ottawa-based provider of enterprise information technology infrastructure services, and the affiliated BriteSky Technologies Inc, a provider of managed cloud services. Terms weren't disclosed for the deal, which included financing from Roynat Capital. Canadian investment banking firm FirePower Capital Corp announced the transaction, on which it advised. President Mike Smith, who founded Decisive in 2001 alongside Joey Harrison and Richard Losier, said the partnership with Third Century will help accelerate the company's growth.
4 min read · 20 June 2018
Investment Management Corp of Ontario (IMCO) has appointed Jean Michel as its chief investment officer effective July 3. Michel, who will be based in Toronto, is responsible for designing and managing IMCO's global investment activities and leading its investment team. He joins the firm from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, where for two years he was executive vice president, depositors and total portfolio. Before then, Michel headed Air Canada Pension Investments. Launched in 2017, IMCO oversees $60 billion in assets on behalf of Ontario Pension Board and Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
3 min read · 20 June 2018
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has committed $175 million to acquire a 20 percent interest in Goodman Brazil Logistics Partnership, a new vehicle for investing in logistics and industrial assets in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Launched by Australia's Goodman Group, the $880 million partnership is also backed by APG, First State Super and GIC. It is initially acquiring four Class A warehouse logistics facilities and two development land sites. Hilary Spann, who heads CPPIB's real estate investments in the Americas, said the goal is to deliver over 1 million square metres of logistics space, a "supply-constrained segment in Brazil.”
3 min read · 20 June 2018
