Private Equity
Nxt-ID Inc (Nasdaq: NXTD), a U.S. technology company focused products and services that enable the Internet of Things (IoT), has raised a US$16 million senior secured term loan. The loan's supplier was Sagard Credit Partners (SCP), a Canadian provider of direct credit financing to mid-market companies across North America. Melbourne, Florida-based Nxt-ID said it will use the proceeds to refinance its existing revolving loan facility, provide working capital, and fund capital expenditures, among other priorities. SCP, an affiliate of Power Corp's investment arm Sagard Holdings, earlier this year raised $325 million in the first close of its debut credit fund.
4 min read · 29 May 2018
Tacora Resources, an iron ore mining and processing business backed by U.S. private equity firm Proterra Investment Partners, this week priced its recently filed initial public offering in Canada. The company is seeking to raise $125 million, the updated prospectus shows, an amount that could increase to $144 million if the IPO’s greenshoe option is fully exercised. Tacora will use the proceeds to help finance the restart of the Scully Mine in Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador, which the company acquired last year.
3 min read · 29 May 2018
Ottawa will buy Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd’s Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion in hopes of saving the project that faces formidable political and environmental opposition, Reuters reported. Finance Minister Bill Morneau said purchasing the pipeline was the only way to ensure that a planned expansion could go ahead. Ottawa backs plans to boost capacity of the line to a Vancouver-area port so Canadian crude gets greater access to foreign markets. Earlier this year, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec disclosed a 7.8 percent stake in Kinder Morgan Canada.
3 min read · 29 May 2018
Artis Exploration Ltd, a Calgary-based oil and gas exploration and production company, has closed a $180 million growth investment with U.S. private equity firm Warburg Pincus. As a result, Warburg joins existing Canadian private equity investors in the company: Annapolis Capital, Lex Capital and 32 Degrees Capital. Founded in 2015 and led by President and CEO Darryl Metcalfe, Artis is focused on the Duvernay East Shale Basin of Western Canada, where it holds a contiguous acreage position of more than 260,000 net acres. Warburg Managing Director David Krieger said his firm sees "many compelling opportunities for future growth and development" in the Alberta basin.
4 min read · 29 May 2018
Vancouver-based lumber products manufacturer Conifex Timber Inc (TSX: CFF) has launched an offering of subscription receipts intended to generate about $65 million to $72 million (US$50 million to US$55 million). The proceeds will be used to help finance the company's acquisition of BW Group, which holds interests in the Suwannee sawmill in Cross City, Florida and the Caddo River sawmill in Glenwood, Arkansas. The $258 million cash-and-stock deal, announced earlier this month, will see BW Group's majority owner, Blue Wolf Capital Partners, become an investor in Conifex.
3 min read · 28 May 2018
U.S. private equity firm ESW Capital has acquired ResponseTek Networks Corp, a Vancouver-based provider of enterprise customer experience management (CEM) software solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. Founded in 1999, ResponseTek today operates in more than 30 countries in North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia. It has been backed by BDC Capital, Beedie Capital Partners, GrowthWorks and MMV Capital Partners, raising its most recent disclosed financing in 2014. ResponseTek joins ESW Capital's family of more than 75 enterprise software companies and will be led by CEO Kyle Ford, an executive with ESW Capital.
2 min read · 28 May 2018
U.S. private equity firm Wincove Private Holdings earlier in May recapitalized Nordock Inc, a Bowmanville, Ontario-based maker and distributor of a full line of loading dock, safety and lift equipment. No financial terms were released. Wincove said Nordock will join U.S.-based Bluff Manufacturing Inc and Wesco Industrial Products Inc to form a platform serving the material handling and warehouse safety products market. Nordock will continue to be led by its current management team, headed by President and CEO Denis Gleason, which founded the company in 2001. Wincove acquired Wesco and joined it with Bluff in January.
3 min read · 28 May 2018
Blackstone Property Partners (BPP) and Ivanhoé Cambridge have closed their acquisition of Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust (TSX: AAR.UN), a Vancouver-based owner and operator of industrial properties. The all-cash transaction, announced in January, is valued at $3.8 billion, including debt. It gives BPP and Ivanhoé ownership of 62 percent and 38 percent of the business respectively. Pure, which holds 168 properties across North America, will cease trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange today. BPP and Ivanhoé are respectively the real estate investment arms of Blackstone Group and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
3 min read · 25 May 2018
A consortium led by Swiss asset manager Partners Group Holding will buy Techem from Macquarie in a deal that values the German metering company at an enterprise value of 4.6 billion euros (US$5.4 billion), Reuters reported. The buyers include Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan as well as Techem’s management team. They plan to further develop the company, which supplies energy invoicing and energy management in buildings, in existing markets and expand into new geographic markets.
1 min read · 25 May 2018
FirePower Equity, a division of FirePower Capital, recently acquired Interwork Technologies Inc, a Toronto-based specialty distributor of cyber security and service provider solutions. No financial terms were released for the deal, which resulted in FirePower's Anthony Lipschitz becoming the company's chairman. Established in 1991 and led by President and General Manager Joe Graci, Interwork serves vendors and solution providers in Canada and the United States. It said the acquisition will help the company "address under-served areas in the channel." Last year, PE Hub Canada profiled Toronto-based FirePower’s private capital division, launched in 2016.
3 min read · 24 May 2018
