Private Equity
Canadian equity markets risk being swamped with oil sands company shares this year as Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips prepare to offload $6.8 billion worth of stakes in two domestic producers, just months after acquiring them, Reuters reported. The companies acquired shares in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd and Cenovus Energy as part of deals struck earlier this year to sell off oil sands assets. With Canadian producers spending heavily this year on buying up fleeing majors' assets, there is a limited list of potential domestic buyers for the sale. The shares could attract interest from hedge funds, private equity and institutional investors if priced at a discount to the market price, energy sector analysts said.
3 min read · 25 May 2017
Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc (TSX: XSR) has completed its take-private acquisition by a vehicle owned by its parent, Sirius XM Radio Inc, as well as Slaight Communications Inc and Canadian private equity firm Obelysk Media. The deal, announced last year, values the company at about $472 million, Reuters previously reported. SiriusXM Canada's shareholders voted in favour of the acquisition last August. Toronto-based Sirius XM Canada is an audio entertainment company that broadcasts more than 130 satellite radio channels. It reports having more than 2.8 million subscribers.
5 min read · 25 May 2017
Jeld-Wen Holding Inc (NYSE: JELD) has priced a secondary offering of 14 million common shares by certain investors, including Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. Onex, which invested in the company in 2011, said it expects to see about US$418 million in gross proceeds, not including proceeds generated via the offering's greenshoe option. The firm will continue to have an economic interest in Jeld-Wen of 47 percent. Jeld-Wen, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based maker of doors and windows, completed its initial public offering earlier in 2017. Onex recently launched fundraising for Onex Partners V at a US$6.5 billion target.
2 min read · 25 May 2017
OMERS Platform Investments, an affiliate of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, has agreed to acquire a minority equity stake in Purpose Investments Inc, a Toronto-based provider of exchange traded funds, mutual funds and other investment vehicles. The terms of the deal, expected to close today, were not released. Purpose was founded in 2012 by President and CEO Som Seif. Seif said the partnership with OMERS will supply the firm "with the capital we need to advance our business faster and further." Purpose currently oversees $3.3 billion in assets.
3 min read · 25 May 2017
Canadian private equity firm Champlain Financial Corp has acquired Cheticamp Fisheries International Ltd, a branded seafood processor and wholesale distributor based in Cheticamp, Nova Scotia. No financial terms were released for the deal, which was announced by Ascendiant Capital Markets LLC, the company's financial advisor. Led by President Pierre LeBlanc, Cheticamp supplies snow crab and lobster to customers in the United States, Canada, and Asia. Montréal-based Champlain is focused on small and mid-market investment opportunities.
3 min read · 24 May 2017
Italian coffee maker Lavazza said this week it bought 80 percent of Kicking Horse Coffee in a deal valuing the Canadian company at $215 million, Reuters reported. Under the deal, Elana Rosenfeld, who founded the Invermere, British Columbia-based organic coffee brand in 1996, will own the remaining 20 percent and will continue to run the company as chief executive. The seller was U.S. private equity firm Swander Pace Capital. Swander Pace partnered with Rosenfeld in 2012 and made the investment through its Branch Brook Holdings partnership with Jefferson Capital Partners and United Natural Foods Inc.
1 min read · 24 May 2017
Champion Iron Ltd is thinking small with its plans to bring Québec's giant Bloom Lake iron ore mine back to life, Reuters reported. CEO Michael O'Keeffe intends to slash costs while cutting millions of tonnes from a planned production expansion. The strategy runs counter to the traditional economy of scale formula, which bumps up production for proportional cost savings. U.S. private equity firms Wynnchurch Capital and Resource Capital Funds invested $30 million in Champion last year.
4 min read · 24 May 2017
Investors are being consulted on a US$2.2 billion-equivalent debt financing backing the acquisition of Hong Kong-based international schools operator Nord Anglia Education, banking sources told Reuters. Nord Anglia said it would be taken private by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Baring Private Equity Asia on April 25, in a deal that values the company at US$4.3 billion, including debt. Global coordinators Deutsche Bank and HSBC, alongside bookrunners Credit Suisse and Macquarie, are leading the financing, which is being shown to a select group of investors before launching for general syndication, the sources said.
2 min read · 23 May 2017
Canadian specialty finance firm Crown Capital Partners has amended its $15 million term loan agreement with Petrowest Corp (TSX: PRW), a Calgary infrastructure company. Additionally, Crown said it will provide Petrowest with a new $12 million bridge loan to enhance its financial flexibility while the company pursues a non-core asset disposition program. The two deals increased Crown's equity ownership. Founded in 2006, Petrowest is focused on industrial and civil infrastructure projects, gravel crushing and hauling, as well as pre-drilling and post-completion energy services.
2 min read · 23 May 2017
IPL Inc has acquired Macro Plastics Inc, a Fairfield, California manufacturer of rigid plastic bulk bins, for US$150 million. The acquisition was funded through a combination of IPL's senior bank facilities and additional equity from parent company One51 and backers Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Fonds de solidarité FTQ. Saint-Damien Québec-based IPL, a manufacturer of injected moulded plastic products, said the deal will expand its geographic reach, product portfolio and customer base. Ireland’s One51 acquired IPL two years ago from Canadian private equity firm Novacap for about $280 million.
5 min read · 23 May 2017
