Private Equity
Canadian private equity firm Novacap has acquired a majority stake in Joseph Ribkoff, a Montréal-based designer, manufacturer and distributor of fashionable women’s apparel. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was done by Novacap in partnership with Fonds de solidarité FTQ, founder Joseph Ribkoff and company executives. Established in 1957, Joseph Ribkoff is currently active in 64 international markets. Novacap Senior Partner Domenic Mancini, the company's new chairman, said his firm will help accelerate Joseph Ribkoff's growth into new markets. Novacap's investment was made by Novacap Industries IV, which raised $470 million in 2016.
4 min read · 06 December 2017
U.S. private equity firm BV Investment Partners (BV) has acquired a majority stake in Precision Nutrition Inc (PN), a Toronto-based nutrition certification and coaching software and services provider. No financial terms were released for the deal, which will see John Berardi and Phil Caravaggio, PN's co-founders, retain a significant interest. BV's Mike Ricciardelli, Justin Harrison, Justin Garrison and Scott Veazey will serve on the board. PN has served nearly 100,000 clients since its inception in 2005. BV said it will help the company further penetrate the fitness professional end market and expand into additional end market segments, and invest in its platform.
3 min read · 05 December 2017
Neo Performance Materials Inc, an advanced materials producer, has revised its recently filed initial public offering in Canada. The company, owned by U.S. distressed investor Oaktree Capital Management, said it will sell up to 12.8 million shares at $18 per unit, generating as much as $230 million in gross proceeds. It originally priced the offering, expected to close on December 8, to raise as much as $345 million. As reported by PE Hub Canada, Oaktree took control of Neo Performance when the Toronto-based company emerged from bankruptcy in 2016. The investor will account for all of the IPO's proceeds.
4 min read · 05 December 2017
Nestlé is paying US$2.3 billion to buy Canadian vitamin maker Atrium Innovations, expanding its presence in the consumer healthcare market as it seeks to offset weakness in its traditional packaged foods, Reuters reported. The world’s largest packaged food company is buying Atrium, which is expected to have 2017 sales of US$700 million, from a group of investors led by European private equity firm Permira Funds. Atrium’s largest brand is Garden of Life supplements. Nestlé said the acquisition will become part of Nestlé Health Science and extend its portfolio with probiotics, plant-based protein nutrition, meal replacements and multivitamins. Québec City-based Atrium was acquired in 2014 by a Permira-led consortium. The deal valued the company at $1.1 billion.
2 min read · 05 December 2017
Swiss mining giant Glencore Plc and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan formed a joint venture for Glencore's portfolio of royalty assets, Reuters reported. Glencore Canada Corp and Ontario Teachers' will have a 50-50 ownership in the venture, BaseCore Metals LP. It will be independently operated and have its own board of directors. Glencore said it contributed a portfolio of royalties to BaseCore valued at about US$300 million. Ontario Teachers' Senior Managing Director Andrew Claerhout said the pension fund's investment in the venture will "ensure attractive relative returns through exposure to commodities that are well-positioned to benefit as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy."
1 min read · 05 December 2017
ONCAP, the mid-market arm of Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp, has acquired IntraPac International Corp, a Mooresville, North Carolina-based maker of rigid packaging solutions. ONCAP IV, which raised US$1.1 billion last year, invested US$120 million in the undisclosed deal and will support IntraPac's organic and acquisition-led growth. The seller is CI Capital Partners, which acquired the company in 2012. Founded in 2003, IntraPac operates nine production facilities in Canada, the United States and Costa Rica, and sells its products to customers in the personal care, household products, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical sectors.
4 min read · 04 December 2017
Hydrofarm LLC has acquired Eddi’s Wholesale Garden Supply Ltd and the distribution division of Greenstar Plant Products Inc, both Langley, British Columbia distributors of lawn and garden, hydroponic and horticulture products. No financial terms were released for the deals, which will see Greenstar remain an independent maker of plant nutrients. U.S.-based Hydroponics said the buys enhance its position as a "leading hydroponics and horticultural supplier in North America." Earlier in 2017, the company secured an investment led by Serruya Private Equity and joined by Hawthorn Equity Partners and Broadband Capital Investments.
3 min read · 04 December 2017
Napec Inc (TSX: NPC) has agreed to be acquired by U.S. alternative investment firm Oaktree Capital Management. The deal, expected to close in Q1 2018, is valued at about $320 million, including debt. The Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Napec's largest investor, with about 19 percent of shares and warrants outstanding, indicated it will vote in favour. Established in 1978, Drummondville, Québec-based Napec and its affiliates build and maintain utility electrical and natural gas transmission and distribution systems and related energy infrastructure. Led by President and CEO Pierre Gauthier, it operates primarily in Québec, Ontario and the eastern United States.
6 min read · 04 December 2017
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec will invest more than US$400 million in Hyperion Insurance Group, a London, U.K.-based insurance business. The deal gives the Caisse a "significant" minority interest in the company alongside U.S. private equity firm General Atlantic (GA), which invested in 2013. Hyperion management and employees remain the largest shareholders. The funds raised from the Caisse will provide liquidity to existing investors and, along with a proposed debt refinancing, supply Hyperion with more than US$300 million for its global growth strategy.
5 min read · 04 December 2017
Canadian pension funds and private equity investors are lining up to buy German metering company Techem with a multi-billion euro sale expected to launch in early 2018, sources told Reuters. Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan have teamed up to bid, while European private equity groups Partners Group and CVC Capital Partners are also interested in the asset, sources said. Australian infrastructure investor Macquarie started preparations to sell the business more than a year ago, but the sale of CVC’s Ista, a larger metering asset, got in ahead. Techem, which supplies energy invoicing and energy management in buildings, could fetch close to US$5 billion.
3 min read · 04 December 2017
