Private Equity
SCM Insurance Services, a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm TorQuest Partners, has acquired Nixon & Co Inc, a St. Louis, Missouri-based insurance adjusting business. No financial terms were released. SCM, an Edmonton-headquartered insurance services provider, said the deal facilitates its initial entry into the United States and will help build out the company's service offerings both domestically and into the Lloyd's of London marketplace. Founded in 1986, SCM has been backed by TorQuest since 2010. TorQuest last year raised $925 million in the close of TorQuest Partners Fund IV.
3 min read · 03 May 2017
Sonar Entertainment Inc, a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group, has acquired assets from Tricon Films & Television, a Toronto-based producer and distributor granted creditor protection in late 2016. The deal's financial terms were not disclosed. Tricon's senior executive team, including Founder and President Andrea Gorfolova, will join Sonar, a Los Angeles-based entertainment studio. Catalyst's Gabriel de Alba, who chairs Sonar, said the acquisition is "another critically important milestone in our broad-based growth strategy."
3 min read · 03 May 2017
Bankers have lined up to US$2.5 billion-equivalent of debt financing to back the acquisition of publicly-listed Hong Kong-based international schools operator Nord Anglia Education Inc, banking sources told Reuters. Global coordinators Deutsche Bank and HSBC, alongside bookrunners Credit Suisse and Macquarie, have underwritten a debt financing, which will be in the form of leveraged loans. The financing is set to be syndicated to institutional investors in the United States and Europe. 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.
2 min read · 03 May 2017
Deal-making activity in Canada’s buyout and private equity market showed a marked decline in dollar terms in the first quarter of 2017, according to data released by Thomson Reuters. Led by Restaurant Brands International Inc's acquisition of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc, the domestic market saw transaction values of $3.2 billion, down 43 percent year over year. Deal volumes, on the other hand, increased 25 percent from Q1 2016. Canadian investors were highly active in overseas markets between January and March, joining 28 deals valued at $26 billion. On the fundraising front, 10 Canadian private equity funds collected $2.5 billion this time around.
3 min read · 03 May 2017
Canadian diamond exploration company North Arrow Minerals Inc (TSX-V: NAR) has launched a private placement financing intended to raise $5 million in proceeds. Electrum Strategic Opportunities Fund, a private equity fund managed by U.S. investment firm Electrum Group, has agreed to commit $2 million to the deal, giving it a 19.01 percent interest in the company. Vancouver-based North Arrow said the funds raised will be used for working capital and to support continued evaluation of properties in Canada, including its Naujaat Diamond Project in Nunavut.
3 min read · 02 May 2017
Intact Financial Corp (TSX: IFC), a Canadian provider of property and casualty insurance, has agreed to acquire OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd (NYSE: OB), a U.S. specialty insurer, for about $2.3 billion (US$1.7 billion) in cash. Toronto-based Intact said the deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, will create a North American insurer with more than $2 billion in specialty lines premiums. The funding of the acquisition will include $700 million of equity financing, $340 million of which will be raised through a private offering from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP).
8 min read · 02 May 2017
GFL Environmental Inc, a Toronto-based environmental services company, announced plans to commence a private offering of US$350 million of senior unsecured notes. GFL said it will use the proceeds to redeem US$250 million of outstanding senior secured notes, repay debt, and for other priorities, including future acquisitions and growth initiatives. GFL is backed by several investors, including HPS Investment Partners, Macquarie Group and Hawthorn Equity Partners. Last October, HPS and Macquarie invested an additional $225 million in the business.
2 min read · 02 May 2017
Four banks have underwritten a debt financing backing the acquisition of publicly-listed Hong Kong-based international schools operator Nord Anglia Education Inc, 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. Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Credit Suisse and Macquarie have underwritten a debt financing which is expected to be in the form of leveraged loans.
1 min read · 02 May 2017
U.S. buyout firms Apollo Global Management, Blackstone Group and Centerbridge Partners are among potential suitors studying bids for Canada's biggest alternative mortgage lender, Home Capital Group Inc, which sought emergency funding last week, sources told Reuters. Canada's Brookfield Asset Management and Fairfax Financial Holdings are among the other firms interested in buying the company, the sources said. Home Capital said last week it had hired RBC Capital Markets and BMO Capital Markets "to advise on further financing and strategic options" and after securing a high-interest $2 billion credit line. The company has a current market value of about US$378 million.
3 min read · 02 May 2017
Calgary oilfield service company STEP Energy Services Inc has wrapped up its previously announced initial public offering, raising total proceeds of $100 million. As a result of the issue, the pricing of which was recently adjusted, STEP's common shares are now listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol STEP. Based in Calgary, STEP has been backed by Canadian energy-focused private equity firm ARC Financial Corp since 2011. ARC is selling shares through the IPO's over-allotment option, which is expected to generate proceeds of up to $15 million.
3 min read · 02 May 2017
