Private Equity
Avison Young Inc has acquired a Munich, Germany-based office property on behalf of two unidentified Canadian pension funds. The seller was an unnamed family-owned office property investment firm specializing in refurbishments and developments. No financial terms were disclosed. Avison Young Investments served as the investment manager for the pension funds. Avison, a Toronto-based provider of commercial real estate services, is backed by Parallel49 Equity, a Canadian private equity firm. Between 2011 and 2015, the company was backed by Parallel49’s predecessor, Tricor Pacific Capital.
4 min read · 22 May 2018
Velvet Energy Ltd has begun an offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Iron Bridge Resources Inc (TSX: IBR), a Calgary-based junior oil and gas company focused on a Montney Oil play in Western Canada. Velvet proposes to pay $0.75 per share, valuing Iron Bridge at about $120 million. Velvet, a Calgary-based oil and gas exploration and development company, said Iron Bridge's board and management have refused to engage in discussions about the all-cash offer, compelling Velvet to appeal directly to shareholders. Velvet is backed by Warburg Pincus, Trilantic Capital Partners, 1901 Partners Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
7 min read · 22 May 2018
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has agreed to acquire an additional interest in Invenergy Renewables LLC, a renewable energy business affiliated with Chicago-based Invenergy LLC. No financial terms were released for the deal, which will see CDPQ obtain a 52.4 percent economic ownership in Invenergy Renewables, building on an initial investment made in 2013. Invenergy will continue to be the company's managing member. Invenergy Renewables has developed wind and solar power generation and advanced energy storage projects of about 14,000 megawatts. It has a presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
3 min read · 22 May 2018
Rampant corruption scandals and a deep recession soured many foreign investors on Brazil in recent years, but one Canadian group saw opportunity, Reuters reported. Brookfield Asset Management and its subsidiaries have made nearly a dozen major acquisitions there since 2013. The firms have spent about US$10 billion on energy, infrastructure and real estate assets few others would touch due to the legal, political and economic risks involved. "A crisis is a good time to find value," said a person close to the group, who called Brookfield a "contrarian investor."
4 min read · 22 May 2018
Canada's Brookfield Property Partners is in talks to acquire a stake in a Manhattan office tower majority-owned by a company that was previously run by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, a source told Reuters. Brookfield would oversee the redevelopment of 666 Fifth Avenue, a 41-storey tower controlled by Kushner Companies. The acquiring entity would be a Brookfield private real estate fund, the source said. The seller was not indicated nor the size of stake to be acquired.
2 min read · 18 May 2018
Integrated Asset Management Corp (IAM) has provided a senior loan to Macrodyne Technologies Inc, a Concord, Ontario-based manufacturer of heavy duty, custom hydraulic presses, press lines and die handling equipment. No financial terms were disclosed. IAM said the capital infusion will be used to finance a management buyout transaction. Based in Toronto, IAM is an alternative asset management firm that invests in real estate and private debt.
1 min read · 18 May 2018
Crown Capital Partners has provided a 10-year loan of $10 million to Mill Street & Co, a Toronto-based private investment firm. Founded in 2013, Mill Street acquires privately-held small and medium-sized companies, primarily based in Southern Ontario, supplying entrepreneurs with a succession plan and liquidity. The firm's diversified portfolio of nine operating companies includes Dfendus Security Solutions Inc, an advanced security solutions provider backed by Mill Street in January. Mill Street President Noah Murad said the long-term loan from Crown, a Canadian specialty finance firm, will enable it to "further capitalize on growth opportunities."
3 min read · 18 May 2018
Music publisher Ole said its founder and CEO, Robert Ott, has sold his stake in the company to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. No financial terms were disclosed. Launched in 2004 with the backing of Ontario Teachers', Ole manages the rights of more than $550 million in music intellectual property. The catalogue of the Toronto-based business includes more than 55,000 songs and 60,000 hours of TV and film music across a range of genres. Ziad Hindo, senior managing director, capital markets, at Ontario Teachers', said the pension fund plans to further support the growth of the "iconic, Canadian-based company."
4 min read · 18 May 2018
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board this week reported an 11.6 percent return on investments in its latest fiscal year but warned double-digit growth was not sustainable with competition for assets intensifying, Reuters reported. CPPIB ended the year with net assets of $356.1 billion, compared with $316.7 billion a year ago, the second largest annual growth since the fund’s creation in 1997. However, its President and CEO Mark Machin warned that returns will slow, with competition for assets being the biggest challenge facing CPPIB.
2 min read · 17 May 2018
Canadian private equity firm Lynx Equity has acquired Day 2 Interiors Ltd, a London-based office furniture dealer and commercial furniture scheme consultant. No financial terms were released. Founded in 2001 by Managing Director Jim Meier, Day 2 manages every stage of the interior furnishing process for a wide range of organizations. Meier will remain with the company for at least five years following the change in ownership. Day 2 is Lynx's third acquisition in the United Kingdom. The investor's first two British deals, closed last year, were Label Express Ltd and Signalhome Ltd.
3 min read · 17 May 2018
