Private Equity
Canadian private equity firm Champlain Financial Corp has agreed to sell L.B. Maple Treat Corp (LBMT), a Granby, Québec-based producer and distributor of pure maple syrup, to Lantic Inc, an affiliate of Rogers Sugar Inc (TSX: RSI). Lantic, a Montréal-based sugar products business, agreed to pay $160.3 million. Founded in 1946, LBMT was acquired two years ago by Champlain and a consortium of investors, including Daniel Cousineau, the company's current president, and Fondaction CSN. The seller in the 2015 deal was Bedford Capital. Lantic said the acquisition, expected to close in August, will allow it to "diversify into the large and growing maple syrup market in rapid fashion."
4 min read · 10 July 2017
Billionaire Eddie Lampert's ESL Partners LP and Fairholme Capital Management LLC said they are considering a potential deal with Sears Canada Inc as the retailer looks to restructure itself under bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported. Sears Canada sought creditor protection last month after suffering a steady decline in sales due to competition from big-box retailers and online merchants. The U.S. hedge funds did not provide any details on the kind of transaction they were looking at, but said the talks could include financing, purchase and sale, or restructuring transactions.
1 min read · 10 July 2017
Canadian cable company Cogeco Communications Inc said its Atlantic Broadband unit would buy MetroCast's assets for about US$1.4 billion, expanding its presence in the United States, Reuters reported. The deal, which includes a US$315 million equity investment by Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, will add about 120,000 internet and 76,000 video customers to Atlantic Broadband's U.S. base. The deal allows the company "to increase its presence in the growing and lucrative U.S. cable market," Cogeco's Chief Executive Officer Louis Audet said in a statement. In an attempt to find growth outside of Canada, Cogeco first entered the U.S. market in 2012 when it bought Atlantic Broadband for US$1.36 billion.
2 min read · 10 July 2017
Hydrofarm LLC, a U.S. wholesaler and manufacturer of hydroponics equipment and horticultural products, has secured an undisclosed equity investment. The deal was led by Canadian family office Serruya Private Equity and joined by Hawthorn Equity Partners, a Canadian private equity firm, and Broadband Capital Investments, a U.S. family office sponsor. Petaluma, California-based Hydroponics said the investment will support its expansion in the global hydroponics market, which is expected to reach US$27.33 billion in value by 2020. The company's growth plan will include acquisitions of complementary assets.
3 min read · 10 July 2017
Canadian specialty finance firm Crown Capital Partners said Norrep Credit Opportunities Fund II (NCOF II) has been closed with the recent repayment of a special situations loan to CRH Medical Corp. The fund, established in 2012, invested approximately $81.5 million in five companies. NCOF II generated a gross internal rate of return of about 24 percent and a multiple of invested capital of about 1.5x with its close. Crown was the fund's manager, holding a 53.6 percent interest. Based in Calgary and Toronto, Crown is currently investing from Crown Capital Fund IV, which has deployed about $170 million to date.
3 min read · 10 July 2017
Cooper Equipment Rentals Ltd has acquired Alberta Lift and Equipment Rentals Inc, a Calgary-based provider of aerial equipment rentals and related services. No financial terms were disclosed. Cooper, a Mississauga, Ontario provider of compact, aerial and heavy construction and industrial equipment, said the deal will help grow its business in Western Canada. The company, which serves contractors across Ontario and in parts of Québec and Alberta, is a portfolio investment of Canadian private equity firm SeaFort Capital. SeaFort acquired a majority stake in Cooper in 2013.
2 min read · 10 July 2017
Cogeco Communications Inc (TSX: CCA) has agreed to acquire all of the cable systems of the MetroCast brand owned by Harron Communications LP, a U.S. digital cable and communications provider. Cogeco's Atlantic Broadband agreed to pay US$1.4 billion for the assets. The deal, expected to close in early 2018, will add approximately 120,000 internet and 76,000 video customers to Atlantic's U.S. base. Cogeco, a Montréal telecommunications and media company, said Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) agreed to invest US$315 million in support of the acquisition. The investment will give CDPQ a 21 percent stake in Atlantic's holding company.
7 min read · 10 July 2017
Cirque du Soleil paid US$65.5 million to acquire New York-based Blue Man Productions, the company behind the popular live performance Blue Man Group, sources told Reuters. Financing was sourced from a US$85 million add-on to the company’s US$635 million term loan due in July 2022 that was arranged last month by RBC Capital Markets. Montréal-based Cirque previously said the acquisition adds to its audience pool and is in line with a global expansion plan intended to help diversify its offering beyond circus arts. The company has been majority owned by U.S. private equity firm TPG Capital, Fosun Capital and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec since 2015.
2 min read · 10 July 2017
Brookfield Asset Management Inc has proposed buying out Renova Energia SA's controlling bloc as part of a sweetened bid to take over the debt-laden Brazilian renewable energy firm, sources told Reuters. Canada's Brookfield, which has made a number of high-profile infrastructure and energy acquisitions in Brazil over the past year, would pay Renova's controlling bloc about 810 million reais (US$247 million) for their stakes and pump about 800 million reais (US$242 million) worth of fresh capital into the company. One source said Brookfield's sweetened bid should trump a competing proposal by Oaktree Capital Management LP.
3 min read · 07 July 2017
Vitamin and natural health products company Jamieson Wellness Inc (TSX: JWEL) has closed its initial public offering of common shares in Canada, raising more than $300 million. Of the total gross proceeds, about $55 million went to selling shareholders, including U.S. private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors, which acquired the Windsor, Ontario-based company in 2014. Jamieson has also authorized a greenshoe option, which if fully exercised will provide CCMP with as much as $45 million in additional proceeds.
3 min read · 07 July 2017
