Private Equity
Canadian private equity firm Fulcrum Capital Partners has sold its ownership interest in Skyservice Investments Inc, a Canadian provider of business aviation services. The exit resulted from Skyservice's acquisition by InstarAGF Asset Management, announced today. Founded in 1986, Skyservice in late 2012 secured a $22 million investment from Fulcrum, which facilitated a management buyout. Since then, the company experienced "substantial" growth through expansion of services and operations in existing and new locations, Fulcrum said. Vancouver-based Fulcrum is currently investing from Fulcrum Capital Partners V, which raised $344 million in 2015.
3 min read · 18 September 2017
InstarAGF Asset Management has acquired a majority ownership interest in Skyservice Investments Inc, a Canadian provider of business aviation services operating in facilities in Toronto, Montréal, Calgary and Ottawa. No financial terms were disclosed. The seller was Fulcrum Capital Partners, which invested in Skyservice in 2012. InstarAGF, which two years ago acquired a stake in Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, said it will partner with management to "augment the company’s value proposition and growth opportunities." Toronto-based InstarAGF invested via its InstarAGF Essential Infrastructure Fund, which raised $740 million earlier in 2017.
3 min read · 18 September 2017
Struggling retailer Sears Canada Inc’s top executive is negotiating a private-equity backed deal that could be valued at more than $650 million (US$533 million), Reuters reported, citing a Wall Street Journal story. The retailer’s Executive Chairman Brandon Stranzl last month stepped away from day-to-day operations to focus on plans for the company, which filed for creditor protection in June. A potential deal by Stranzl would be financed partly through private-equity capital sourced by Vadim Perelman, the founder of Baker Street Capital Management, and with debt financing, sources told the Wall Street Journal. The proposed offer would reduce the company's store footprint by more than half.
1 min read · 17 September 2017
Dane Creek Capital Corp (DCCC) has closed investments in three Canadian frozen raw pet food manufacturers. DCCC, a Canadian merchant bank investor in the pet industry, acquired 100 percent of Mountain Dog Enterprises Inc of Edmonton, 49 percent of Totally Raw Natural Dog Food Inc of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and 40 percent of an unidentified company located in southern Ontario. No financial terms were disclosed. DCCC said the combined deals give it a leading position in the "rapidly growing" frozen raw category in Canada. It plans to make more related investments across North America in the months ahead.
4 min read · 15 September 2017
Posera Ltd (TSX: PAY), a portfolio company of Sigma Capital Partners, has sold its FingerPrints point-of-sale system to Sicom Systems Inc, a Doylestown, Pennsylvania provider of end-to-end solutions for quick service and fast casual restaurants. Posera sold the system, used by more than 1,100 restaurants in Canada, for $12.2 million. Posera, a London, Ontario-based provider of hospitality technology, said the divestiture will allow it to focus on its core products. Sigma, a U.S. technology private equity firm, invested in the company in 2014.
3 min read · 15 September 2017
Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) has formed a strategic partnership with CIFC LLC, a U.S. private debt manager specializing in U.S. corporate and structured credit strategies. HOOPP has committed a "substantial" undisclosed amount to a new risk retention vehicle, CIFC CLO Strategic Partners II (CMOA II), which will purchase the majority equity positions of CIFC’s new issue collateralized loan obligations. CIFC has committed US$75 million. CMOA II is expected to support about US$7.5 billion of the firm's incremental new issuance over the next several years. Toronto-based HOOPP oversees more than $70 billion in assets.
3 min read · 14 September 2017
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has agreed to a deal that will change the shareholder structure of Copenhagen Airports A/S, the operator of two Danish airports. Ontario Teachers', an existing shareholder, will acquire the stake held in Kastrup Airport Parents ApS (KAP), the airport company's parent organization, by Macquarie Group. Ontario Teachers' is partnering with Danish pension fund ATP, which will finance the deal, valued at about €1.3 billion (US$1.57 billion). With the transaction's completion, expected in Q4 2017, the partners will jointly own a 57.7 interest in KAP. Ontario Teachers' first invested in Copenhagen Airports in 2011.
6 min read · 14 September 2017
Canadian lifestyle retailer Roots Corp said this week it filed a preliminary prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada for a proposed initial public offering of its common shares, Reuters reported. The company, known for its casual wear and leather goods with a distinctive beaver logo, said New York-based private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners LP and founders Michael Budman and Don Green are selling their stake. The retailer is seeking to raise about $200 million in the share sale this month and could have a market value of about $700 million (US$574 million) after listing, Bloomberg reported. Searchlight acquired a controlling stake in Roots in late 2015.
2 min read · 14 September 2017
A group of investors in Norway’s gas pipeline network are going to the country’s highest court in a final attempt to overturn a government decision to cut pipeline tariffs that came into effect in 2016, Reuters reported. The government owns 45.8 percent of the Gassled pipeline network via state-owned Petoro, while majority state-owned Statoil has 5 percent. The four investors pursuing the case own a combined 43.9 percent stake. They are in turn owned by Allianz Capital Partners, UBS, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and France’s Caisse des Dépôts. The four have argued the cut in tariffs was unlawful and would cost them a combined 15 billion Norwegian crowns (US$1.8 billion) in lost earnings through 2028.
2 min read · 13 September 2017
Hub International Ltd has acquired Delisle Agencies Ltd, a Delisle, Saskatchewan provider of personal lines and government automotive insurance solutions. No financial terms were released. Delisle, founded in 1980 as a family-owned insurer, is Hub's third Canadian acquisition this month. It follows the Chicago-based insurance brokerage's buys of Banco Management Inc and Integro (Canada) Ltd. Hub is a portfolio investment of U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F). H&F is reported to be exploring the sale of a stake in the company.
2 min read · 13 September 2017
