Private Equity
Eurofins Scientific SE has acquired Alphora Research Inc, a Mississauga, Ontario contract research, development and manufacturing organization focused on complex, small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients. No financial terms were released. Eurofins, a provider of testing for food, environment and pharmaceutical products, said the acquisition gives it entry into Alphora's market segment. Last year, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec invested about $289 million (€$200 million) in Luxembourg-based Eurofins to support the company's acquisition program.
4 min read · 14 June 2017
Jamieson Wellness, a vitamin and natural health products company, priced its recently filed initial public offering in Canada. The Windsor, Ontario, company plans to raise $300 million from an expected sale of common shares at $14 to $16 per unit, the updated prospectus shows. Founded in 1922, Jamieson was family-owned before being acquired by U.S. private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors in 2014 for more than $300 million. The IPO will include a secondary sale by CCMP.
2 min read · 14 June 2017
Canadian gaming company Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd is in talks with Asia and North America investors for a sale-lease-back agreement for up to three Vancouver properties worth over $500 million (US$378 million), top company executives told Reuters. The Burnaby, British Columbia-based company expects to sign a deal by the third quarter of 2017, Gateway Executive Chairman Gabriel de Alba said in an interview last week, without disclosing the names of the interested parties. Gateway Casinos was bought in 2010 by Toronto-based private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group, which restructured the company, reduced its debt by about $1 billion, and injected $200 million in new capital.
2 min read · 14 June 2017
U.S. private equity firm Vista Equity Partners has wrapped up its acquisition of DH Corp (TSX: DH), a Toronto-based provider of technology solutions to financial institutions. The deal, announced in March, was valued at $4.8 billion (US$3.6 billion). DH shareholders approved the offer of $25.20 in cash per share at a special meeting last month. It is expected that the company's common shares will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange on June 15th. Vista earlier said it plans to combine DH with Misys, a London-based financial software provider. Misys has been a Vista portfolio investment since 2012.
3 min read · 13 June 2017
Howard Midstream Energy Partners LLC has partnered with WPX Energy Inc (NYSE: WPX) in a joint venture to develop crude oil and natural gas gathering and processing infrastructure in the Delaware Basin in New Mexico and Texas. The joint venture is being funded by Singapore's GIC Private Ltd and existing investors in the company, Alinda Capital Partners and Alberta Investment Management Co (AIMCo). An initial US$563 million of new capital will be committed to the initiative. AIMCo last year acquired a 28 percent interest in San Antonio, Texas-based Howard Midstream.
4 min read · 13 June 2017
U.S. department store operator Neiman Marcus Group said it had ended talks regarding a partial or full sale of the company, three months after embarking on a review of strategic alternatives under the weight of a US$4.8 billion debt load, Reuters reported. The company's debt pile made any acquisition very hard to structure. Talks between Neiman Marcus and its suitor Hudson's Bay Co, the Canadian owner of high-end department store Saks Fifth Avenue, had made little progress because of this issue. Neiman Marcus does not face any significant debt maturities until 2020, giving its private equity owners Ares Management LP and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board time to try to turn the business around.
2 min read · 13 June 2017
U.S. private equity firm Audax Private Equity has acquired Altasciences Company Inc, a Laval, Québec-based early-phase clinical research organization (CRO) operating across North America. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was done by Audax in partnership with the company's management. The seller is Canadian private equity firm Kilmer Capital Partners, which invested in Altasciences in 2007. Altasciences combines Algorithme Pharma, Vince & Associates and Algorithme Pharma USA. The latter two companies were added-on with Kilmer's support. Audax said it will back Altasciences' continued organic and acquisition-led growth.
2 min read · 13 June 2017
Tricor Pacific Founders Capital has acquired Keybrand Foods Inc, a Kitchener, Ontario manufacturer of branded and private label wet salads, hand-rolled products and fruit salads. The deal's financial terms were not released. Tricor Founders, a Canadian private equity family office, made the investment through Freshstone Brands Inc, a newly formed company under Freshstone Kitchen Inc, a prepared-foods investment platform. The investor also said it hired Steven Diakowsky as Freshstone Brands' President and CEO. In February, PE Hub Canada interviewed Richard Harris about Tricor Founders' strategy in the food, beverage and consumer-packaged-goods sectors.
3 min read · 13 June 2017
Canada's Shaw Communications Inc said it would sell its data centre subsidiary ViaWest Inc to Peak 10 Holding Corp for US$1.675 billion, using some of the proceeds to buy airwaves to boost its new wireless unit, Reuters reported. Shaw bought ViaWest from U.S. private equity firms Oak Hill Capital Partners and GI Partners for about US$1.2 billion three years ago. Peak 10 Holding is owned by GI Partners. Analysts were calling on Shaw to sell its data centre business after Verizon Communications Inc and CenturyLink Inc reaped several billions of dollars after agreeing to sell their portfolios last year.
2 min read · 13 June 2017
U.S. hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert-controlled Sears Canada Inc flagged doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern and said it was exploring strategic options, including a sale of the company, following years of losses and falling sales, Reuters reported. Sears Canada's shares slumped as much as 56 percent to 50 Canadian cents in early trading, as investors fretted about whether the company would be able to weather this liquidity crisis before it found a buyer. The company was valued at about $51 million (US$38.5 million) at its lowest stock price on Tuesday, a far cry from the $1.18 billion valuation when it was partially spun off from Sears Holdings Corp in 2012.
2 min read · 13 June 2017
