Private Equity
Comvest Credit Partners, the credit affiliate of U.S. private equity firm Comvest Partners, has provided a $40 million senior term loan to Cash 4 You Corp, a Cambridge, Ontario-based consumer finance retailer. The funds raised will be used to refinance the company's existing debt and fund growth opportunities. Established in 2001, Cash 4 You serves near prime and subprime consumers through more than 100 financial service centres located across Ontario. It is led by CEO Amir Mahmoudzadeh.
2 min read · 08 January 2018
Neo Performance Materials Inc, an advanced materials supplier, has wrapped up the greenshoe option of its recent initial public offering in Canada. The option generated an additional $19.8 million, bringing the issue's total proceeds to about $220 million. The company's majority owner, U.S. distressed investor Oaktree Capital Management, accounted for the entire amount, leaving it with 65.7 percent of issued and outstanding shares. Toronto-based Neo Performance, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2016, commenced trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “NEO” in December.
4 min read · 08 January 2018
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp has hired Nehal Abdel Hakim as managing director, capital markets. Operating from New York, Abdel Hakim will be responsible for leading the firm's capital markets activities in support of new private equity investments and existing portfolio companies. Abdel Hakim joins Onex from the global capital markets group of Morgan Stanley, where she served for seven years, most recently as executive director, leveraged and acquisition finance. Toronto-based Onex in November closed its fifth private equity flagship fund at US$7.15 billion.
2 min read · 08 January 2018
Neiman Marcus Group Ltd has named Geoffroy van Raemdonck, an executive at upscale clothing manufacturer Ralph Lauren Corp, to succeed Karen Katz as CEO of the debt-burdened luxury retailer next month, Reuters reported. Van Raemdonck was Ralph Lauren’s group president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and head of travel retail. He previously was CEO at St. John Knits International Inc, where he oversaw a turnaround of the luxury apparel retailer. Neiman Marcus is struggling with a nearly US$5 billion debt load, due mainly to its 2013 leveraged buyout by Ares Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Like other retail chains, Neiman Marcus has also suffered as customers move away from brick-and-mortar stores in favor of online shopping.
2 min read · 05 January 2018
ECi Software Solutions Inc has acquired PrintFleet Inc, a Kingston, Ontario-based software company that specializes in print management and assessment solutions, training, business development and support programs for the imaging industry. No financial terms were released. ECi, a Forth Worth, Texas-based provider of industry-specific business management software and services, said the deal gives it an expanded global footprint in print and service management. PrintFleet was founded in 2003 by Chairman Brian Cosgrove. ECi was acquired last year by Apax Partners from Carlyle Group and Level Equity.
3 min read · 05 January 2018
The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to acquire a 75 percent interest in Schoeller Allibert Group BV, a Dutch designer and maker of returnable plastic packaging systems. The stake is being acquired from JPMorgan Chase & Co for about $310 million (€205 million). Brookfield is partnering with Schoeller Allibert's founder, the Schoeller family, which will continue to hold a 25 percent interest. Cyrus Madon, CEO of Brookfield Business Partners, said an "increased global focus on sustainability, waste reduction, e-commerce and logistics automation" positions the returnable packaging industry and the company for "meaningful growth."
4 min read · 05 January 2018
Initial public offerings by Canadian companies are expected to increase in 2018, driven by activity in industrials, alternative energy and base metals sectors, banking advisers told Reuters. Companies raised $4.6 billion (US$3.7 billion) through IPOs in 2017, marking a surge in activity following a lull the previous year, according to numbers from Thomson Reuters that were released on Thursday. There were 22 IPOs, the highest for Canada since 2013. With asset valuations at elevated levels, private equity firms are looking to monetize their investments, often choosing between an IPO and a sale. PE Hub Canada in December estimated that a dozen Canadian private equity- and venture-backed IPOs raised $2.3 billion last year.
2 min read · 04 January 2018
An affiliate of Cogeco Communications Inc, a Canadian telecommunications and media company, has closed its buy of cable systems owned by Harron Communications LP, which operates under the MetroCast brand name. The previously announced deal is valued at about US$1.4 billion. It will support the growth of the Cogeco affiliate, Atlantic Broadband, across 11 states on the U.S. east coast. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec invested US$315 million in the acquisition, giving the pension fund a 21 percent interest in Atlantic Broadband's holding company.
4 min read · 04 January 2018
U.S. private equity firm Northlane Capital Partners has made an investment in Smart Wave Technologies Corp, a Toronto-based designer and producer of electronic and electromechanical systems for a range of end markets, including the away-from-home restroom market. Northlane invested an undisclosed sum alongside Founder Peter Zosimadis, who will remain with the company as CTO. Jack Vresics has joined as CEO. Founded in 1994, SmartWave makes components for products that require sensing, verifying or dispensing. It will use the partnership with Northlane to serve existing customers and expand into new end markets.
2 min read · 04 January 2018
An affiliate of Canadian alternative investment firm Brookfield Asset Management said this week it would acquire Westinghouse Electric Co LLC, the bankrupt nuclear services company owned by Toshiba Corp, for US$4.6 billion ($5.7 billion), Reuters reported. Brookfield Business Partners LP and institutional partners will buy the Pittsburgh-based business using US$1 billion of equity and US$3 billion of long-term debt financing, according to a statement. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy last March after two nuclear power plants it had designed and was constructing in the U.S. Southeast had gone billions of dollars over their fixed-cost contracts. Brookfield Business Partners, formed in 2016, is the listed affiliate of Brookfield's private equity group.
3 min read · 04 January 2018
