Private Equity
Canadian specialty finance firm Crown Capital Partners has provided a $30 million special situations term loan to Marquee Energy Ltd (TSX-V: MQX), a Calgary-based junior oil and gas company. The funds raised will be used by the company to repay an existing senior debt facility and expand its capital program. Established in 2000, Marquee is focused on the development and production of light oil in the Michichi region of eastern Alberta. It is led by President and CEO Richard Thompson.
3 min read · 31 May 2017
Canadian mining company Lundin Gold Inc (TSX: LUG) has struck a project finance deal worth US$400 million to US$450 million with U.S. mining private equity firm Orion Mine Finance Group and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, an affiliate of the Blackstone Group. The package consists of a gold prepay credit facility for US$150 million, a stream loan credit facility of US$150 million, and US$100 million to US$150 million available for future equity financings. Vancouver-based Lundin said the funds raised will be used to develop its Fruta del Norte gold project in Ecuador. It acquired the project in 2014 as part of a US$240 million transaction.
5 min read · 31 May 2017
Ivanhoé Cambridge has partnered with Callahan Capital Properties, a U.S. real estate private equity firm, to acquire 85 Broad Street, an office building in Manhattan, New York. Ivanhoé and Callahan paid US$650 million for the 1.1-million-square-foot office tower. Ivanhoé's Arthur Lloyd said the deal expands the firm's New York office portfolio to more than 6.7 million square feet. Ivanhoé is the real estate investment arm of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
3 min read · 30 May 2017
ABcann Global Corp (TSX-V: ABCN) has agreed to receive a $30 million investment from Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp, a cannabis streaming company set up earlier this month by Nesta Holding. The proceeds will be used to fund construction of ABcann’s proposed cannabis cultivation facility located in Napanee, Ontario. Cannabis Wheaton's investment, to be made over 2017-2018, will entitle it to receive 50 percent of the proceeds of future wholesale or retail sales generated by ABcann from cannabis production. Nesta is a Canadian cannabis private equity firm.
4 min read · 30 May 2017
Acasta Enterprises Inc (TSX: AEF), a Canadian special purpose acquisition corporation, has hired Erik Levy as a managing partner. Acasta, which plans to launch a private equity operation this year, said Levy joins Anthony Melman and Michael Liebrock as the operation's founding partner. He will also support strategic initiatives and corporate development for Acasta portfolio companies. Levy previously served as a senior principal in the direct private equity group of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). Earlier in 2017, Acasta closed its qualifying acquisition, buying three businesses for $1.1 billion.
2 min read · 30 May 2017
Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has partnered with Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV (ASUR), a Mexican airport group, to acquire a 50 percent interest in Aerostar Airport Holdings LLC, operator of the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. PSP acquired a 40 percent stake in Aerostar, while ASUR increased its stake to 60 percent, which represents a combined investment of US$430 million. The seller was Oaktree Capital Management. PSP's Patrick Charbonneau said the deal leverages the capabilities of AviAlliance, the pension fund's industrial airport platform.
5 min read · 30 May 2017
Small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in Canada that have adopted digitization in their production forecast higher growth and enjoy increased productivity and lower operating costs, according to a new study from Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). However, the study, based on a Canada-wide business survey, found that 42 percent of small manufacturers have not yet "initiated their digital shift." Another 39 percent are currently implementing projects, while 17 percent are preparing to do so. Only 3 percent of companies have fully digitized their production.
3 min read · 29 May 2017
DW Healthcare Partners (DWHP) earlier this month acquired Champion Manufacturing Inc, an Elkhart, Indiana designer and maker of patient seating solutions for healthcare environments. No financial terms were disclosed. The seller was U.S. private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, which acquired Champion in 2013. DWHP, a Toronto-based healthcare private equity firm, said its partnership with the company will focus on "expansion opportunities into new verticals nationally and globally.” As reported by PE Hub Canada, DWHP in March raised US$295 million for this fourth fund.
2 min read · 29 May 2017
Stingray Digital Group Inc (TSX: RAY.A-B) has acquired C Music Entertainment Ltd, a London, United Kingdom-based satellite and cable television channel focused on classical and cinematic music. No financial terms were released. Stingray, a business-to-business multi-platform music company, said the deal complements its existing classical and music video offering. Montréal-based Stingray raised $180 million in an initial public offering in 2015. It continues be a portfolio company of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Novacap, Telesystem and other investors.
3 min read · 29 May 2017
Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings plans to sell a 12.2 percent stake in its Indian joint venture insurer ICICI Lombard in a deal that will value the company at 203 billion rupees (US$3.15 billion), Reuters reported. Red Bloom Investment Ltd, a company wholly owned by private equity investment funds managed by Warburg Pincus, is buying a 9 percent stake, while two other investors, Tamarind Capital Pte Ltd and IIFL Special Opportunities Fund, are buying 1.59 percent each from Fairfax. After the sale, India's ICICI Bank Ltd will own about 63.3 percent of the insurer, while Fairfax's stake will come down to about 22.1 percent.
1 min read · 29 May 2017
