Private Equity
Beaudier Inc, U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) have agreed to sell as much as 11.5 million subordinate voting shares of BRP Inc (TSX: DOO), a Valcourt, Québec-based maker of powersports vehicles and propulsion systems. The secondary deal, priced at $43.35 per share, will generate proceeds to the selling shareholders of up to $498.5 million. With the offering's close, all three investors will continue to hold stakes in the company. BRP was acquired by the family-owned Beaudier, Bain and CDPQ in 2003. The company went public in 2013.
4 min read · 28 September 2017
U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group is exploring a sale of portfolio company Array Marketing Group, a Canadian provider of retail merchandising displays, that could value it as much as US$1 billion, two sources told Reuters. Carlyle is working with investment banks Jefferies and Robert W. Baird to seek out potential buyers for the Toronto-based company, the sources said. Carlyle acquired Array in 2015 for an undisclosed sum. The seller was Canadian private equity firm TorQuest Partners. TorQuest, which bought the company from Brentwood Associates in 2012, earned a 61 percent internal rate of return from the sale to Carlyle.
2 min read · 28 September 2017
Canadian specialty food products company Premium Brands Holdings Corp (TSX: PBH) has acquired a 100 percent interest in Skilcor Food Products Inc, a Brampton, Ontario-based manufacturer of cooked back ribs and other meat products. No financial terms were released. Skilcor was founded in 1999 by Chair Deborah Kinzinger. Premium Brands said the acquisition expands its presence in central Canada's protein production and distribution segments. Based in Vancouver, Premium Brands has been backed by Canadian private equity firm Pender West Capital Partners since 2005.
3 min read · 28 September 2017
Steel producer Stelco Holdings Inc, which emerged from bankruptcy protection three months ago, said this week it has filed a preliminary prospectus with securities regulators in Canada for a proposed initial public offering of its shares, Reuters reported. Stelco, which is owned by U.S. private equity firm Bedrock Industries Group LLC, is seeking to raise about $185 million (US$150 million) in the share sale and could have a market value of about $1.2 billion (US$1 billion), a source said. Hamilton, Ontario-based Stelco emerged from nearly three years of bankruptcy protection on June 30 after it was able to extinguish its debt and sign new agreements with its unions. This was its second time in bankruptcy court after it emerged from protection in 2007 when U.S. Steel Corp bought the company for US$1.1 billion.
2 min read · 28 September 2017
Canadian steel company Stelco Inc has filed a preliminary prospectus with domestic securities regulatory authorities for an initial public offering of its common shares. The IPO, which has not yet been priced, contemplates a treasury offering. The proceeds will be used for investments in new products and Stelco's production capabilities, pre-payments of certain future benefit obligations, and other priorities. Goldman Sachs & Co LLC and BMO Capital Markets are acting as joint bookrunners. Hamilton, Ontario-based Stelco earlier this year emerged from creditor protection and closed a restructuring deal with U.S. private equity firm Bedrock Industries Group.
3 min read · 27 September 2017
Canadian private equity firm Novacap has sold Broadband One LLC, which does business as Host.net, to 365 Data Centers, a U.S. provider of hybrid data centre solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Boca Raton, Florida, Host.net provides managed network infrastructure services. Novacap invested in the business in 2013 and acquired additional interest subsequently. 365 said the deal provides it with additional facilities, assets, and a significant enterprise customer base. Norwalk, Connecticut-based 365 was acquired earlier this year by Chirisa Holdings, Lumerity Capital and Longboat Advisors.
4 min read · 27 September 2017
Personify, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Rubicon Technology Partners, has acquired Wild Apricot, a Toronto-based membership management software provider focused on small associations, clubs and non-profits. No financial terms were disclosed. Personify, a U.S. software provider to member-focused groups, said it will serve more than 30,000 organizations and 75 million members as a result of the deal. Founded in 2001, Wild Apricot has been led CEO Dmitry Buterin. Rubicon, an investor in enterprise software companies, has backed Austin, Texas-based Personify since 2013.
3 min read · 27 September 2017
Novacap has closed the largest technology deal in the firm’s 35-year history, teaming up with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec to back a payment processing company. Novacap and the Caisse today announced their investment in Pivotal Payments, a payment and merchant services specialist based in Montréal. The deal values the business at about $525 million. As a result, the two investors hold a majority stake in the company, Novacap President and Managing Partner Pascal Tremblay told PE Hub Canada. He added the deal nonetheless reflects a “true partnership” with management and especially Pivotal’s chief executive, Philip Fayer.
3 min read · 27 September 2017
German industrial group Siemens and French rival Alstom agreed this week to merge their rail operations, creating a European champion to better withstand the international advance of Chinese state-owned CRRC Corp, Reuters reported. The Siemens and Alstom transport businesses, which span the French TGV and German ICE high-speed trains as well as signaling and rail technology, had combined sales of about 15 billion euros (US$18 billion) in their last fiscal years. Their merger is a blow to Canada's Bombardier, which also held talks with Siemens, sources have said. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec owns 30 percent of Bombardier’s rail business.
2 min read · 26 September 2017
Canadian private equity firm Penfund has further invested in Give & Go Prepared Foods Corp, a Canadian maker of branded and private-label sweet baked goods. Penfund provided an additional US$15 million of second-lien debt as part of Give & Go's recent first- and second-lien refinancing. Toronto-based Give & Go was last year acquired by U.S. private equity Thomas H. Lee Partners from OMERS Private Equity, reportedly for about $1 billion (US$800 million). Earlier in 2017, the company bought the business of U.S.-based United Baking Co Inc and its affiliates Uncle Wally’s LLC and Vision Enterprises LLC.
3 min read · 26 September 2017
