Private Equity
Hong Kong lifestyle brand Pure Group has secured an investment from FountainVest Partners, a Chinese private equity firm, and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. No financial terms were released; however, Bloomberg reported earlier this year that FountainVest was planning to acquire the business for more than US$400 million. Founded in 2002, Pure Group operates yoga, fitness and dining facilities, serving about 80,000 clients. Ontario Teachers' Senior Managing Director, International, Jo Taylor said the deal will tap "strong growth opportunities in Asia's premium fitness market."
6 min read · 19 December 2017
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has agreed to sell Metronode, an Australian data centre provider, to Equinix Inc. The all-cash deal is valued at A$1.035 billion (US$791 million) and is expected to close in the first half of next year. Ontario Teachers' acquired a 70 percent stake in Metronode as part of a June 2013 investment in its parent company, Nextgen Group Pty Ltd. Last year, the pension fund acquired the remaining interest from CIMIC Group Ltd. Over this period, Ontario Teachers' invested A$300 million to construct and expand Metronode's facilities, increasing fitted capacity to 21 mega-watts.
2 min read · 19 December 2017
Rogers Communications Inc, which has said it will keep ownership of the Toronto Blue Jays, could look to leasing, licensing and other financial tools to generate value from the Major League Baseball club, sports deal-makers told Reuters. Rogers’ top executives have said in conversations with investors since October that the Canadian cable TV and wireless company wants to “surface value” from the franchise. Some people interpreted that to mean they were considering selling the team, which Forbes earlier this year valued at US$1.3 billion. Ron Mock, president and CEO of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, last week told BNN the pension fund “may end up looking at” a Blue Jays deal.
3 min read · 19 December 2017
U.K. childcare provider Busy Bees Holdings Ltd has agreed to receive an undisclosed strategic investment from Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings. The deal, expected to close before the end of 2017, will give Temasek a minority stake in Busy Bees, which has been majority owned by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan since 2013. It will also allow the company to continue expanding, particularly in Asia, Ontario Teachers' Senior Managing Director, International, Jo Taylor said. Earlier this year, Busy Bees acquired Calgary's BrightPath Early Learning Inc for about $145 million.
3 min read · 19 December 2017
ACL Services Ltd, a Vancouver-based governance, risk management and compliance software company, has secured a $50 million strategic minority investment from the growth equity team of U.S. firm Norwest Venture Partners. The investment, ACL's first, will back a consolidation strategy for the "massive and under-served market for risk and performance management software," Laurie Schultz, the company's president and CEO, said. Founded in 1987, ACL works with more than 7,000 existing government and business customers in 140 countries to manage risk, detect fraud, identify operational waste, and efficiently comply with industry regulation.
4 min read · 19 December 2017
A vehicle held by Great Canadian Gaming Corp (TSX: GC) and Clairvest Group, a Canadian private equity firm, has been selected to run and develop four Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp (OLG) gaming facilities in West Toronto. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close next year. It will see Great Canadian and Clairvest hold 55 percent and 45 percent, respectively, of the partnership operating the facilities, which include over 2,500 slot machines and about 60 table games, and generated revenue of about $450 million in fiscal 2017. Great Canadian joined Brookfield Asset Management in acquiring OLG gaming assets in August.
5 min read · 19 December 2017
U.S. private investment firm Oaktree Capital Management has increased its equity interest in SunOpta Inc (TSX: SOY, Nasdaq: STKL), a Canadian producer of organic and specialty foods. Last week, Oaktree acquired 3.7 million common shares at US$7.50 per unit, growing its stake to about 19.81 percent of outstanding shares. In October 2016, Oaktree agreed to invest $85 million in exchangeable preferred shares in Toronto-based SunOpta to help the company reduce its second lien debt and increase flexibility. The deal limited Oaktree's total investment to 19.99 percent.
3 min read · 19 December 2017
Caisse de depôt et placement du Québec has invested $2.5 million in Glutenberg Holding Co, a Montréal-based producer of craft beers and spirits. The Caisse, which invested through Fonds Espace CDPQ, did the deal in partnership with BDC Capital, which provided loans totalling $2.5 million. Founded in 2010 by CEO Julien Niquet and COO David Cayer, Glutenberg produces gluten-free craft beer via an in-house microbrewery. Through Oshlag and Transbroue it also makes and distributes alcoholic beverages. The deal will allow the company to expand operations in Québec, develop new markets globally, and create a financial arm, Glutenberg Capital.
3 min read · 19 December 2017
Canadian private equity firm Lynx Equity has acquired PartnerService Hver Gang ApS, a Copenhagen facility maintenance provider for office, retail and private institutional customers across Denmark. No financial terms were released. PartnerService, which was founded in 2003, provides cleaning, plant service, spring water, and fruit and vegetable supply to 217 customers in over 300 facilities each month. The investment is Lynx’s third in Europe. Earlier this year, the firm acquired U.K.-based Label Express Ltd and Signalhome Ltd. In 2016, PE Hub Canada profiled Brad Nathan, the Toronto investor’s founder and president.
3 min read · 19 December 2017
Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc, a Richmond, British Columbia-based industrial wood pellet manufacturer and distributor, has filed a preliminary prospectus with Canadian securities regulators for an initial public offering of common shares. The IPO has not yet been priced; however, Reuters reported the company is looking to raise about $175 million. The offering contemplates a secondary sale of shares by ONCAP, the mid-market investment arm of Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. ONCAP acquired a majority stake in Pinnacle in 2011, investing $71 million in the deal. The IPO is being co-led by CIBC Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets.
3 min read · 18 December 2017
