Private Equity
The Canadian Business Growth Fund has appointed George Rossolatos as its CEO effective January 2018. Rossolatos, formerly a partner at Canadian private equity firm TorQuest Partners, will work alongside Dale Ponder, the fund's newly appointed chair. Rossolatos co-founded TorQuest in 2002 and served with the firm until 2009. He later founded and led Riverdale Capital Corp, an investor in lower mid-market opportunities. Launched earlier in 2017 by a group of banks and insurers, the Canadian Business Growth Fund plans to invest up to $1 billion in long-term minority deals backing small and medium-sized companies.
4 min read · 05 October 2017
Icynene Inc, a Canadian maker and distributor of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation products, has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Lapolla Industries Inc, a Houston, Texas-based company operating in the same industry. The deal is valued at US$160 million, including debt. The combination of Icynene and Lapolla will create a leading SPF products business serving residential, commercial, remodelling, and specialty non-construction insulation project needs worldwide, the companies said. Founded in 1986, Icynene was bought in 2014 by U.S. private equity firm FFL Partners, formerly known as Friedman Fleischer & Lowe.
5 min read · 05 October 2017
IAM Private Debt Group has provided a $12 million senior loan to Georgian Aircraft Corp, a Mississauga, Ontario-based provider of aircraft leasing and management services. The funds raised by the company will be used to refinance existing aircraft loans. Georgian has a 50 percent stake in Air Georgian Ltd, an airline that operates regional domestic and U.S. transborder commercial passenger flights on behalf of Air Canada. IAM Private Debt Group is an affiliate of Canadian alternative asset manager Integrated Asset Management Corp (TSX: IAM).
2 min read · 04 October 2017
Private equity firms and hedge funds had funds under management of US$600 billion globally last year to lend to companies, a survey said this week, as they step into the shoes of traditional lenders, Reuters reported. The trend highlights a shift away from banks as a source of finance after the financial crisis, as bad loans given in the past continue to linger. It also shows how central bank money printing since the crash has helped to bolster private equity funds. That has created an industry known as private credit, where alternative providers lend at higher interest rates to companies, which may otherwise struggle to get money from a bank.
2 min read · 04 October 2017
Fengate Real Asset Investments has appointed Greg Calhoun as director of U.S. infrastructure. Based in Houston, Texas, Calhoun will be responsible for infrastructure investing, investor and partner relationships, and growing the firm's portfolio of assets in the United States. He joins Fengate from BayernLB, where he mostly recently served as a senior director responsible for energy and infrastructure project finance. Based in Toronto, Fengate is an infrastructure, private equity and real estate investment firm.
3 min read · 04 October 2017
U.S. private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors and another Jamieson Wellness Inc shareholder have increased the size of their secondary offering of shares. They plan to offer about 13 million shares at a price of 18.50 per unit, generating about $240.9 million in gross proceeds, not including the greenshoe option. That is up from a prior target of about $150.2 million. CCMP, which bought Jamieson in 2014, will as a result reduce its stake from 39.2 percent to 4.7 percent or, if the greenshoe option is exercised, to zero. Jamieson, a Canadian vitamin and natural health products company, went public in July.
4 min read · 04 October 2017
AVI-SPL Inc, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm HIG Capital, has acquired Sharp’s Audio Visual, a Calgary-based designer of audio visual systems for meetings, digital signage solutions, classroom technologies and lecture theatres. No financial terms were released. Founded in 1923, Sharp's has been led by President and CEO Jeff Faber. Tampa, Florida-headquartered AVI-SPL said the acquisition will enhance its ability to provide audio visual and video collaboration solutions in the Canadian market. HIG bought AVI-SPL in April 2016.
4 min read · 04 October 2017
Canadian private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners has invested in Coast Wholesale Appliances Inc, a Vancouver-based distributor and retailer of major appliances serving the builder, contractor and retail markets across Canada. No financial terms were disclosed for the growth investment, which was made in partnership with the company's senior management and existing principals, including President and CEO Gord Howie. Founded in 1978, Coast sells more than 40 brands of premium and high-end appliances through its 16 showrooms. TriWest's investment marks the seventh made by TriWest Capital Partners Fund V, which raised $500 million in 2015.
2 min read · 03 October 2017
Medicure Inc (TSX-V: MPH) has sold its interest in Apicore Inc, a U.S. developer and maker of active pharmaceutical ingredients and pharmaceuticals, to an unidentified buyer. The sale will provide the Winnipeg specialty pharmaceutical company with net proceeds of about US$105 million. Medicure acquired Apicore over 2014-2017, assuming a majority position last year with the help of a $60 million loan provided by Canadian specialty finance firm Crown Capital Partners and the Ontario Pension Board. Prior to then, Signet Healthcare Partners and other investors helped fund the acquisition.
3 min read · 03 October 2017
Arbutus Biopharma Corp (Nasdaq: ABUS), a Vancouver-based developer of hepatitis B virus (HBV) therapeutic solutions, has agreed to sell US$116.4 million in convertible preferred shares to Roivant Sciences Ltd, a Swiss healthcare business. The proceeds will be used by the company to develop and advance its clinical and pre-clinical HBV drug pipeline. Arbutus will also partner with Roivant to accelerate pipeline development, grow its geographic footprint, and maximize the value of its non-HBV assets. Roivant is backed by several investors, including SoftBank Vision Fund. Earlier in 2017, SoftBank led a US$1.1 billion investment in the company.
4 min read · 03 October 2017
