Private Equity
Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp will buy up to 9.9 percent stake in Canada-based Nemaska Lithium Inc and invest up to $99.1 million through a private placement as part of the agreement, Reuters reported. The investment, which SoftBank said was its first in the lithium industry, will be used to fund the construction and commissioning of Nemaska’s Whabouchi Mine in Québec and its Shawinigan plant. The investment comes at a time when lithium batteries are increasingly being installed in electric cars, including Tesla Inc's top-of-the-line Model X and General Motors Co's modestly-priced Chevy Bolt.
2 min read · 06 April 2018
U.S. private equity firm Lion Equity Partners has acquired the Canadian motor repair business of Siemens Canada Ltd. No financial terms were released for the carve-out deal, which was closed last month by Lion Equity's affiliate, the newly formed NorthPoint Technical Services ULC. NorthPoint provides new motor sales, engineering services and repair services for a range of equipment used in the oil and gas, power generation, mining, pulp and paper, infrastructure, marine and transportation industries. It has eight facilities, including at its Calgary headquarters. Lion Equity Operating Partner Tom Carney said his firm will support NorthPoint's long-term growth strategy.
3 min read · 05 April 2018
Vision Travel Inc has acquired Uniglobe One Travel, a Vancouver-based corporate travel solutions provider and franchise of Uniglobe Travel International LP. No financial terms were disclosed. Vision, a Toronto-based travel management company affiliated with Direct Travel Inc, said the deal continues its strategy to expand in key Canadian markets. Vision was acquired last year by Direct, a Denver, Colorado-based travel manager backed by U.S. private equity firm ABRY Partners.
2 min read · 05 April 2018
Hub International Ltd, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F), has acquired the shares of Windsor, Ontario-based The Benefits Company Inc (TBC), an insurance broker that specializes in group benefits, pensions and retirement plans. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which will see TBC's operations joined with those of Hub Ontario. A global insurance brokerage with significant operations in Canada, Hub was acquired by H&F for about US$4.4 billion in 2013. The company has its headquarters in Chicago.
2 min read · 05 April 2018
Trescal SA, recently acquired by OMERS Private Equity (OPE), has closed acquisitions of four calibration specialists. The companies acquired are Vale Balanças of Brazil, Aicher Kalibrierdienst of Germany, Atlas Copco's calibration activity in Germany, and Boston-based Massachusetts Metrology. OPE agreed to buy a majority interest in Trescal, a Paris-based provider of calibration services for the test and measuring equipment market, last November. The €670 million (US$787 million) deal closed this week.
2 min read · 05 April 2018
Blue Point Capital Partners has acquired and recapitalized Spector & Co, a Montréal-based supplier of writing instruments, journals and other business gifts for promotional uses. No financial terms were released for the deal, which saw Blue Point, a U.S. private equity firm, partner with management. Established in 1950, Spector's customized, branded products are supplied to advertisers and brands mostly through North American promotional product distributors. CEO Rob Spector said the partnership with Blue Point will help his business "pursue the next chapter of growth."
3 min read · 05 April 2018
U.S. wallboard distributor GMS Inc (NYSE: GMS) has agreed to acquire 100 percent of WSB Titan, a Toronto-based gypsum specialty dealer with key products including wallboard, insulation, lumber, roofing, steel framing and other building products. The deal is valued at about $800 million (US$627 million). The seller is Canadian private equity firm TorQuest Partners, which acquired Titan in 2016. Tucker, Georgia-based GMS said the buy will give it a leading position in Canada and the ability to pursue growth opportunities in a fragmented market. With the deal's close, expected in Q2 2018, Titan CEO Doug Skrepnek will become president of GMS Canada.
6 min read · 05 April 2018
Mergers and acquisitions among Canadian companies are expected to pick up pace after a sluggish first quarter, driven by non-resource deals and a rebound in outbound transactions as pension funds and private equity firms put massive pools of capital to work, M&A advisers told Reuters. Canadian M&A activity in the first quarter of the year dropped to US$54.2 billion, down 37 percent compared with a year ago, data from Thomson Reuters showed this week, weighed down by lower energy deals which were the biggest driver of 2017 activity.
2 min read · 05 April 2018
U.S. private equity firm Ridgemont Equity Partners has backed the launch of Clairus Group, a Laval, Québec-based automotive glass and claims management provider. No financial terms were disclosed. The deal was done in partnership with Uniban Canada Inc and PH Vitres d’Autos Inc, which together operate an auto glass distribution and installation network in Canada. Clarius, which is led by CEO and President Marc Desmarais, will focus on penetrating new markets organically and through acquisition with Ridgemont's support. Ridgemont said the company is well-positioned to do this in a "very fragmented" North American industry.
3 min read · 04 April 2018
Twin Rivers Paper Co Ltd has agreed to acquire the Pine Bluff, Arkansas paper mill of Mondi Group, a European paper and packaging company. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter. Twin Rivers, a Madawaska, Maine-based forest products company with pulp operations in Edmundston, New Brunswick, said the buy complements its overall mill system, product offering and strategy. Twin Rivers was bought by Atlas Holdings and Blue Wolf Capital Partners from Brookfield Asset Management in 2013.
3 min read · 04 April 2018
