Private Equity
Vancouver-based mining company Lundin Gold Inc (TSX: LUG) has closed its previously announced $400 million private placement financing for its Fruta del Norte gold project in Ecuador. As a result of the deal, Newcrest Mining Ltd now owns 27.1 percent of Lundin shares, while U.S. mining private equity firm Orion Mine Finance Group owns 11.4 percent, and Zebra Holdings and Lundin Family Trusts collectively own 22.3 percent. Also, Lundin has nominated Orion's Istvan Zollei to its board of directors. Zollei is a portfolio manager at Orion and formerly worked at Barclay's Capital natural resource private equity investment group.
3 min read · 27 March 2018
Commercial real estate firm Brookfield Property Partners LP said this week it would acquire the 66 percent of GGP Inc that it does not already own in a cash-and-stock deal that values GGP, one of the largest owners and operators of U.S. shopping centres, at about US$15.3 billion, Reuters reported. The agreement comes four months after a special board committee of GGP rejected a US$14.8 billion cash-and-stock offer from Brookfield as inadequate. Under the latest offer, GGP shareholders can elect to receive US$23.50 in cash per share, or either one Brookfield unit or one newly created share that trades as a real estate investment trust.
2 min read · 27 March 2018
Shares of Canadian specialty lender Callidus Capital Corp lost as much as 21.6 percent in two trading sessions, hitting an all-time low, after a Reuters report last week raised questions about the valuations that parent firm Catalyst Capital Group assigned to some of its portfolio companies. Callidus, which offers high-interest loans to distressed companies and went public in 2014, is one of the largest holdings in Catalyst’s private equity funds. Among other things, the Reuters report said that Callidus has so far been unable to find a buyer to take the company private.
2 min read · 26 March 2018
World Energy LLC, a Boston-based advanced biofuel supplier, has secured US$345 million from an investor group led by CFFI Ventures, the investment affiliate of Canadian family-owned holding company Clearwater Fine Foods Inc. Other investors included the family office of Bob Beamish, founder of Canadian foam products maker Woodbridge Group, and Tim Haig, founder of Canadian biodiesel fuel producer Biox Corp. With the deal, World Energy merged with Hamilton, Ontario's Biox, which was taken private by CFFI last September. Between 2006 and 2016, Biox was a portfolio company of Birch Hill Equity Partners.
3 min read · 26 March 2018
U.S. private equity firm Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Co (HKW) has exited Specialized Desanders Inc (SDI), a Calgary-based oilfield equipment company specializing in sand management solutions. The exit resulted from the previously announced investment in SDI by Morgan Stanley Energy Partners. No financial terms were released. HKW, which first invested in SDI in 2013, supported the company in "numerous initiatives," CEO Chris Hemstock said, including expanding it internationally.
2 min read · 26 March 2018
AppRiver LLC has acquired Roaring Penguin Software Inc, an Ottawa-based provider of anti-spam and anti-virus e-mail filtering software products. No financial terms were disclosed. Roaring Penguin was founded in 1999 by CEO Dianne Skoll and Vice President Marketing and Sales Bill White. AppRiver, a Gulf Breeze, Florida-based provider of cloud cybersecurity and productivity software and services, said the deal will increase its footprint in Canada, add to its global customer base, and enhance its technology platform. AppRiver was acquired last October by U.S. private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners.
4 min read · 26 March 2018
Ceridian HCM Holding Inc, a U.S. human resources software and service solutions provider, has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of its common stock. The company, which intends to list on both the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange, did not disclose the IPO's pricing; however, the Globe and Mail reported Ceridian is seeking US$200 million. Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Ceridian is led by David Ossip, a Canadian entrepreneur. The company was acquired in 2007 for US$5.3 billion by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Fidelity National Financial.
2 min read · 26 March 2018
Ottawa-based mining company Orezone Gold Corp (TSX-V: ORE) has launched a private offering of common shares intended to raise about $44.9 million. Resource Capital Funds (RCF), a U.S. mining private equity firm, has agreed to invest, as has Coris Capital SA, a Mauritius investment firm. With the deal's close, scheduled for early April, RCF will own about 19.99 percent of the company's issued and outstanding shares and have the right to nominate two board members. Orezone said it will use the proceeds to develop its 90 percent-owned Bomboré Gold Project located in West Africa's Burkina Faso, and other priorities.
5 min read · 26 March 2018
Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group has made a statement disputing a recent Reuters article that discussed the firm's investments and track record. Catalyst said it was "singularly disappointed" with Reuters and noted that the actions of reporters reflected an "intentional disregard of the facts." Catalyst said Reuters has proven to be "unobservant to the nature of private equity" and the firm's achievements in "rebuilding broken companies and making them leading players in their sector." Catalyst cited several examples, including Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd, which has "already returned over $300 million to shareholders."
3 min read · 26 March 2018
Agrisolutions has bought Trinity Logistics Corp, a U.S. provider of fasteners and other components to producers of machinery for the agricultural and construction end markets. Terms weren't disclosed. Agrisolutions, an agricultural wear components maker affiliated with Venanpri Group, said the buy will give its customers efficient inventory management and timely sourcing throughout the supply chain. Hamilton, Ontario-based Venanpri, which also has a hand tools unit, in 2015 secured a minority investment from ONCAP, the mid-market arm of Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. The company was then called Ingersoll Tillage Group Inc.
3 min read · 26 March 2018
