Private Equity
Vancouver mining company International Tower Hill Mines Ltd (TSX: ITH) has closed a private placement deal, generating about $15.5 million (US$12 million) in proceeds. A fund managed by U.S. resources investment firm Electrum Group, a new shareholder of ITH, backed the deal alongside Paulson & Co, a U.S. hedge fund manager. Paulson & Co will as a result increase its ITH ownership stake to 32 percent of issued and outstanding shares, while Electrum will hold 10.7 percent. The company said it will use the proceeds for studies related to its Livengood Gold Project in Alaska and other priorities.
5 min read · 14 March 2018
Conexiom, a Vancouver-based provider of document automation software solutions, has secured an investment from Luminate Capital Partners, a U.S. enterprise software private equity firm. No financial terms were released. As a result, Luminate's Hollie Haynes, Mark Pierce, Scott Kingsfield, David Ulrich and Sanjay Palakshappa will join the board. Founded in 2001, Conexiom's cloud-based technology automates the processing of purchase orders, supplier invoices and other key business documents. President and CEO Brent Halverson said the deal will help Conexiom continue to grow in manufacturing and distribution, expand geographically, and enter new verticals.
3 min read · 14 March 2018
Canadian mining company Northern Vertex Mining Corp (TSX-V: NEE) has secured a commitment of up to US$100 million for acquisition and development initiatives from the private resource lending fund of Sprott Resource Lending Corp. The deal is in addition to a US$20 million senior secured credit facility provided by Sprott last year for the company's Moss Mine gold-silver project in Arizona, which recently saw its first gold pour. Vancouver-based Northern Vertex in 2017 also closed a US$20 million private placement deal with Greenstone Resources, giving the U.K. metals and mining private equity firm an initial 30.2 percent stake.
4 min read · 13 March 2018
Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has made a "significant" equity investment in Learning Care Group (US) Inc, a Novi, Michigan-based provider of care and education of children between the ages of six weeks and 12 years. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which will see the Canadian pension fund investing alongside majority shareholder American Securities, a U.S. private equity firm. American Securities first invested in the company in 2014. PSP Investments Head of Private Equity Simon Marc said Learning Care Group is "uniquely positioned to further capture growth in the early childhood education market."
4 min read · 13 March 2018
A sale of German metering group Techem is underway and bankers are looking at financing options of up to €2.8 billion ($4.4 billion) to back an acquisition valued at as much as €4.2 billion ($6.6 billion), banking sources told Reuters. First round bids in an auction process are due on April 5, which is expected to attract interest from a consortium comprising buyout firm CVC Capital Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) as well as another group that includes Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Swiss private-equity investor Partners Group is also expected to bid, the sources said.
3 min read · 13 March 2018
Canadian Solar Inc (Nasdaq: CSIQ) has sold its interests in three U.S. solar photovoltaic projects to Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO), a South Korean electric utility. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which saw KEPCO partner with Corporate Partnership Fund (COPA Fund), a South Korean private equity investor. Recurrent Energy LLC, the U.S. affiliate of Canadian Solar, developed the three 235 megawatt projects located in southern California, which reached commercial operation in 2016. Canadian Solar is a Guelph, Ontario-based solar power company.
3 min read · 13 March 2018
Showpass, a Calgary-based event and ticketing platform, has secured undisclosed mezzanine financing from the Growth and Transition Capital division of BDC Capital. Showpass serves more than 2,000 mid-size event organizers across Canada, including music, film and beer festivals, concerts and conferences, helping them improve mobile ticketing sales, management and tracking. The funds raised will help the company continue expanding its reach in the domestic market, in part by attracting more technical and sales talent to its team. Showpass was founded in 2014 by CEO Lucas McCarthy.
3 min read · 12 March 2018
OPTrust, which invests on behalf of OPSEU Pension Plan, earned an overall net investment return of 9.5 percent in 2017. As a result, assets managed by the Canadian pension fund increased to more than $20 billion at the end of December, compared to about $19 billion in 2016. OPTrust's private equity investments generated a net return of 21.6 percent in 2017, while infrastructure investments accounted for a net return of 11 percent. Last year, PE Hub Canada interviewed OPTrust Managing Director Sandra Bosela, who heads the global private equity group.
3 min read · 12 March 2018
Laborie Medical Technologies Inc has agreed to buy Cogentix Medical Inc (Nasdaq: CGNT), a Minnetonka, Minnesota-based urology-focused medical device company, for about US$239 million. The acquisition, expected to close in Q2 2018, will see Cogentix become a subsidiary of Laborie, a Toronto-based maker of medical diagnostics and devices for the pelvic health and gastroenterology market. Accelmed Growth Partners and Lewis Pell, which together own a 60 percent interest in Cogentix, have agreed to support the deal. Laborie was in 2016 acquired by Patricia Industries, an investment arm of Sweden's Investor AB, from Audax Private Equity.
4 min read · 12 March 2018
LOGiQ Asset Management Inc (TSX: LGQ) has agreed to acquire the issued and outstanding common shares of Toronto-based royalty financing firm Grenville Strategic Royalty Corp (TSX-V: GRC) on the basis of 6.25 shares of LOGiQ for each Grenville share. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which will see existing LOGiQ and Grenville shareholders together own about 33 percent and 67 percent of the combined business, respectively. Grenville's Vernon Lobo said the deal will create a "solid financial platform" for supplying alternative financing to high-growth companies. Purpose Investments Inc acquired LOGiQ's retail fund operation last year.
6 min read · 12 March 2018
