Private Equity
Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has appointed Neil Cunningham as its president and CEO. He replaces André Bourbonnais, who is leaving to lead a new initiative at BlackRock later this year. Bourbonnais took the helm at PSP Investments in 2015 after running Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's private investments group. Cunningham, who joined PSP Investments in 2004, was most recently senior vice president and global head of real estate and natural resources. Before then he held real estate investment positions at Merrill Lynch, Brazos Advisors Canada, National Bank of Canada and Coopers & Lybrand.
4 min read · 08 February 2018
Claridge, the family office of Stephen Bronfman, has signaled an interest in making new investments in the food and beverage sector in Canada and the United States. Claridge, which has specialized in investing in mid-market food and beverage companies over the past two decades, said it offers a differentiated partnership model based on long hold periods and working closely with management teams to achieve growth. It plans to give particular focus to opportunities that emphasize nutrition, health and wellness. One of Claridge's investments, Les Plats du Chef Inc, a Canadian frozen food company, was sold last year to C.H. Guenther & Son Inc.
4 min read · 07 February 2018
Hudson’s Bay Co said this week it has rejected Austrian property and retail group Signa Holding GmbH’s 3 billion euro bid (US$3.7 billion) for Hudson’s Bay’s Kaufhof unit, Germany’s largest retail chain, Reuters reported. The potential deal would have combined Germany’s two largest department store operators: Kaufhof and Signa’s Karstadt. Hudson’s Bay said in November it would review Signa’s offer for Kaufhof, but also called it incomplete, non-binding and unsolicited, with no evidence of financing. The Canadian retailer bolstered its financial position to support Kaufhof, agreeing last year to sell its flagship Lord & Taylor building in New York for US$850 million and bring on a US$500 million investment from U.S. private equity firm Rhône Capital.
3 min read · 07 February 2018
TerraForm Power Inc, controlled by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management, has launched a 995 million euro (US$1.2 billion) takeover bid for Spanish renewable energy company Saeta Yield to expand its presence in Western Europe, Reuters reported. Saeta’s main shareholders, Spanish construction company ACS, headed by Real Madrid Chairman Florentino Perez, and U.S. fund Global Infrastructure Partners, which both hold 24 percent stakes, have agreed to sell their holdings. TerraForm said the deal would be financed with a US$400 million equity offering backed by Brookfield. Brookfield last year acquired TerraForm, formerly a unit of U.S. solar company SunEdison Inc, for US$$656 million.
2 min read · 07 February 2018
Vancouver-based mining company Fireweed Zinc Ltd (TSX-V: FWZ) has launched a private placement financing targeted to raise gross proceeds of up to $10 million, or up to $11.5 million if the deal's greenshoe option is exercised. Resource Capital Funds (RCF), a U.S. mining private equity firm, agreed to join the deal by buying 4 million of the company's common shares. The proceeds will be used primarily for exploration and development activity this year at Fireweed's Macmillan Pass Project in the Yukon, which hosts large zinc-lead-silver deposits. Founded in 2015, Fireweed is led by CEO Brandon Macdonald.
4 min read · 06 February 2018
Innergex Renewable Energy Inc (TSX: INE) has closed its acquisition of Alterra Power Corp (TSX: AXY), a Vancouver-based renewable energy company. The buy, announced in October, reflects a total consideration of $1.1 billion, including debt. Innergex, a Longueuil, Québec-based developer, acquirer and operator of hydroelectric facilities, wind farms, solar farms, and geothermal power plants, said the acquisition will increase its capacity to 1,609 megawatts and accelerate growth opportunities. The deal was backed by a $150 million subordinated unsecured loan from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), an existing Innergex investor.
5 min read · 06 February 2018
Telus International, a provider of business process solutions, has wrapped up its acquisition of Simi Valley, California-based Xavient Digital, a provider of IT consulting solutions and software services. As previously reported, the deal was valued at US$250 million. Rothschild and Citibank were financial advisers to both Telus International and Xavient for the deal. Telus International is an affiliate of Canadian telecommunications service provider Telus Corp. In 2016, Telus announced it had sold a 35 percent stake in the unit to Baring Private Equity Asia.
5 min read · 06 February 2018
Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc, a Richmond, British Columbia-based industrial wood pellet maker and distributor, has closed its initial public offering and secondary offering, raising $150 million. The company's shares will begin trading today on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PL. The IPO's greenshoe option may increase proceeds to more than $172 million. ONCAP, the mid-market investment arm of Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp, effected capital changes prior to the close, giving ONCAP control over 42.9 percent of Pinnacle's outstanding common shares. ONCAP acquired a majority stake in the company in 2011.
4 min read · 06 February 2018
Canadian private-markets investor Northleaf Capital Partners has hired Matt Shafer as a managing director on the firm’s private equity team. Shafer will focus on the origination and execution of secondary opportunities from Northleaf's new office in New York, which is scheduled to open this spring. He will lead the office and a team that includes Brad Blowes and Mitch Reeves, who are relocating from the firm's Toronto headquarters. Shafer joins Northleaf from Vision Capital, where he served as a partner and head of the Americas operation. He was previously a managing director at Nomura International.
4 min read · 06 February 2018
Canada’s Frontera Energy Corp has suspended operations at its Cubiro oilfield in northeastern Colombia after threats and attacks against workers, Reuters reported. Protests, attacks by National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels and community and judicial efforts to ban extractive industries are widely considered the top threats to Colombia’s oil industry. Frontera, formerly known as Pacific Exploration & Production Corp, is a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group. The company closed a US$500 million restructuring deal with Catalyst and other creditors in 2016.
2 min read · 05 February 2018
