Private Equity
Canadian private equity firm Fulcrum Capital Partners has acquired Athletica Sport Systems Inc, a Waterloo, Ontario-based designer and manufacturer of arena services and products, including dasher board systems for hockey arenas and multi-sport athletic facilities. The deal's financial terms were not disclosed. Robert Naegele Jr, who founded Athletica in 1996, will continue to be involved with the business. Andrew McRae, Atheltica's CEO, said the partnership with Fulcrum will support the company's "next phase of growth.” Athletica is the eighth platform investment of Fulcrum Capital Partners V, which raised $344 million in 2015.
2 min read · 23 April 2018
Canadian waste management company GFL Environmental Inc said this week a group of investors led by U.K.-based BC Partners, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and others will provide new funding, giving GFL an enterprise value of $5.13 billion, Reuters reported. GFL, whose ‘Green for Life’ slogan is seen across major Canadian cities, said its current CEO Patrick Dovigi will remain in the role. Dovigi will also maintain his ownership in the company, while the new investors will acquire the interests of current partners including U.S.-based HPS Investment Partners, Australia's Macquarie Infrastructure Partners III and Canada's Hawthorn Equity Partners.
2 min read · 23 April 2018
Montréal-based printing company Transcontinental Inc (TSX: TCL.A/B) has closed a bought-deal subscription receipt offering, raising about $287.5 million. Investors in the offering included Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), the company said. Transcontinental plans to use the proceeds to help fund the acquisition of Coveris Americas, the U.S. packaging unit of Luxembourg’s Coveris Holdings SA. The deal, announced earlier this month, is valued at about $1.7 billion. Coveris Holdings is a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Sun Capital Partners.
5 min read · 20 April 2018
Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA this week received three binding bids for its gas pipeline network company Transportadora Associada de Gás SA (TAG), sources told Reuters. The bidding groups include one led by Australia’s Macquarie Group and joined by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, among others. All bids were higher than the US$5.2 billion Brookfield Asset Management paid in 2016 for another gas pipeline unit sold by Petrobras. Some of the proposals could be above US$7 billion.
2 min read · 20 April 2018
Boralex Inc (TSX: BLX) has agreed to acquire Kallista Energy Investment SAS, a French wind power company, for $348.7 million, including project debt. The seller is the infrastructure arm of French private investment firm Ardian. Boralex, a Kingsey Falls, Québec-based developer, builder and operator of renewable energy facilities, said the buy will increase its global installed wind power capacity by more than 11 percent, from 1,456 megawatts to 1,619 megawatts. Last month, Boralex raised a $200 million unsecured subordinated loan from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Fonds de solidarité FTQ to support its growth strategy.
4 min read · 20 April 2018
Vancouver-based mineral exploration company North American Nickel Inc (TSX-V: NAN) has closed a private placement deal, raising $17.5 million. China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd accounted for $15 million of the investment, while Sentient Group, a resource private equity firm based in the Cayman Islands, also contributed. As a result, Sentient holds about 46.9 percent of issued and outstanding shares. The proceeds will be used by NAN for a work program and additional exploration and drilling activities at its Maniitsoq nickel-copper-platinum-group-elements project in Greenland and other priorities.
5 min read · 19 April 2018
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec held a 7.8 percent stake in Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd at the end of last year, according to its annual report, making it the largest independent shareholder of the pipeline company at the centre of a contentious expansion project, Reuters reported. The Caisse said it acquired the stake in the period following Kinder Morgan Canada’s initial public offering last May and before it announced plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 25 percent per dollar invested last October. Kinder Morgan is at the centre of an escalating crisis over a planned $7.4 billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline project that will almost triple the capacity of its line from Alberta to British Columbia.
2 min read · 19 April 2018
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp has hired Sam Camens as a managing director responsible for health and benefits (H&B). Operating from New York, Camens will work with the investor's North American portfolio companies to drive enhanced outcomes for employee health and benefits programs. He will also support related due diligence activity. Camens joins Onex from Alterity Group, where he served as a managing director, advising private equity firms and their portfolio companies about overseeing health and benefits.
3 min read · 19 April 2018
GrafTech International Ltd raised US$525 million in its U.S. initial public offering on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter said, netting owner Brookfield Asset Management a smaller-than-expected windfall, Reuters reported. GrafTech manufactures graphite electrodes used in the production of steel. The underwhelming IPO investor reception illustrates that concerns about the volatility of its business persist. Brookfield acquired GrafTech for around US$1.3 billion, including debt, in 2015, and will receive all of the net proceeds from the IPO.
1 min read · 19 April 2018
Canadian private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners has invested in HPC Energy Services Ltd, a Calgary-based oil and gas product and service company. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which saw TriWest partner with HPC's management team, led by President and CEO Tyler Armstrong, and existing shareholders. Founded in 1998, HPC designs, develops, makes and sells primary cell and battery pack technology solutions that support drilling activity. TriWest Senior Managing Director Jeff Belford said the company is positioned to broaden its offering to enhance market share as well as explore opportunities to enter new markets outside the energy space.
3 min read · 19 April 2018
