Private Equity
Virgin Hotels, the lifestyle hotel brand of Virgin Group's Richard Branson, has partnered with a group of investors to acquire the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. No financial terms were released. The group, which plans to open a refurbished property called Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in 2019, was led by Canada's Fengate Real Asset Investments and U.S.-based Juniper Capital Partners. Laborers’ International Union of North America’s Central and Eastern Canada Pension Fund also invested as a Fengate partner. The seller was a private real estate fund managed by Brookfield Asset Management.
6 min read · 02 April 2018
ReNew Power Ventures Pvt Ltd has acquired Ostro Energy Private Ltd, a New Delhi-based wind energy business. No financial terms were disclosed. The deal was supported with financing of US$247 million from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which initially invested in ReNew Power in January. CPPIB’s combined investment now stands at US$391 million. ReNew Power, a Gurgaon, India-based renewable energy developer and operator, said the acquisition, its largest to date, increases the capacity of the company's assets to more than 5600 megawatts.
3 min read · 02 April 2018
Canadian private equity firm Ardenton Capital Corp has invested in Achieve One LLC, a Richmond, Virginia-based information technology architecture and service business. No financial terms were released for the deal, which marks Ardenton’s twelfth investment and its first in the United States. Patrick Barry, a director of strategic development in Ardenton's operations team, will support the partnership between the investor and Achieve One. Achieve One President and CEO Mike Thomas said the partnership will help his company "execute our growth plans."
3 min read · 02 April 2018
Amenity Holdings Inc, a Winnipeg-based operator of retail pharmacies, has merged with Rubicon Pharmacies Canada Inc, a Weyburn, Saskatchewan-based company that operates in the same sector. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which will see the new entity, doing business as Rubicon Pharmacies, owning and operating more than 100 pharmacies across Western Canada. It will be led by Rubicon CEO Mike Wright and continue to focus on acquiring independent pharmacies. Amenity was acquired last year by Canadian private equity firm TorQuest Partners. It was the second investment of TorQuest Partners Fund IV, which raised $925 million in 2016.
3 min read · 02 April 2018
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has agreed to acquire a portfolio of six Canadian operating wind and solar power projects from NextEra Energy Partners LP (NYSE: NEP), a U.S. renewable energy company. The purchase price is $741 million, inclusive of working capital and adjustments. The portfolio includes four wind and two solar projects with a total capacity of 396 megawatts located in Ontario. Under the terms of the agreement, NextEra, which developed the assets, will continue to operate them. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.
3 min read · 02 April 2018
Transcontinental Inc said it would buy the U.S. packaging business of Coveris Holdings SA for about $1.70 billion (US$1.32 billion) as the Canadian publisher looks to join other top North American companies in the flexible packaging space, Reuters reported. As part of the deal, Transcontinental will take control of privately held Coveris Americas’ 21 production facilities that make rollstock, bags and pouches, shrink films and labels, among others. Luxembourg's Coveris Holdings is a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Sun Capital Partners. It was formed in 2013 through a merger of five packaging businesses.
2 min read · 02 April 2018
1 min read · 02 April 2018
Boralex Inc (TSX: BLX), a Kingsey Falls, Québec-based developer, builder and operator of renewable power facilities, has raised a $200 million unsecured subordinated loan. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec accounted for $170 million of the loan, while Fonds de solidarité FTQ invested $30 million. The deal includes the potential for a $100 million increase in the loan's size within 12 months of the close. The company said the proceeds will be used for its growth strategy. Last year, the Caisse acquired Cascades Inc's 17.3 percent interest in Boralex for $287.5 million.
4 min read · 30 March 2018
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has appointed Emmanuel Jaclot as executive vice president of infrastructure as of June 1. In the role, Jaclot will oversee the Caisse’s infrastructure portfolio, which totals more than $16 billion in assets. He will also eventually head CDPQ Infra, the pension system's affiliate for developing and operating infrastructure projects. Jaclot joins the Caisse from Schneider Electric SE, where he served as senior vice president and head of M&A. His prior roles included senior executive positions with EDF's renewable energy group.
2 min read · 29 March 2018
U.S. private equity firm Platinum Equity has wrapped up its acquisition of Husky IMS International Ltd, a Bolton, Ontario-based supplier of injection molding equipment and services to the global plastics industry. The deal, announced in December, is valued at approximately $4.95 billion (US$3.85 billion). Husky was sold to Platinum by OMERS Private Equity and Berkshire Partners, which bought the company in 2011 from Onex Corp for US$2.1 billion. As reported by Buyouts and PE Hub Canada, the Husky exit contributed to OMERS Private Equity achieving a net return of 18.2 percent from its direct investments in 2017.
3 min read · 29 March 2018
