Private Equity
Alignvest Acquisition II Corp (AQY), a Canadian special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC), has filed a preliminary prospectus with most securities regulatory authorities in Canada for an initial public offering of $250 million of class A restricted voting units. AQY is the second SPAC sponsored by Alignvest Management Corp, a Toronto-based alternative investment management firm. The first SPAC, Alignvest Acquisition Corp, last year agreed to acquire Trilogy International Partners LLC, a provider of wireless communication services. The US$269 million deal closed in February, giving Trilogy a Toronto Stock Exchange listing.
9 min read · 02 May 2017
Canadian private equity firm Mosaic Capital Corp has acquired a 75 percent interest in Cedar Infrastructure Products Inc for about $18.3 million. Based in Vaughan, Ontario, Cedar is a distributor of municipal iron castings, concrete pipe, pre-cast products and other specialty materials to service the road, water and sewer infrastructure and residential construction industries. Matthew Genovese and Tony Maio, the company's founders, said the deal will help grow Cedar's product line, customer base and geographic footprint. Cedar is Calgary-based Mosaic's second acquisition to date in Ontario.
3 min read · 02 May 2017
Canada's oil and gas industry has experienced turbulent times as of late. But current trends also present opportunities for companies and investors choosing to go deeper into the domestic energy space at the right price and in advance of a recovery, writes Neal Ross, a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. In a PE Hub Canada feature, Ross looks at current market conditions and highlights some of the ways in which Canadian energy companies are successfully partnering with private equity firms.
6 min read · 01 May 2017
1 min read · 01 May 2017
Australian state-owned power grid Endeavour Energy has attracted final bids from two consortiums comprised of local and foreign investors, and a decision on the expected A$4 billion (US$2.99 billion) deal could come within a week, Reuters reported. The offers from consortiums led by Macquarie Group and Hastings Funds Management for a majority stake in the utility are binding and follow weeks of due diligence. Macquarie has teamed with Canada's British Columbia Investment Management Cop, among others, while Hastings has partnered with Canada's Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, among others. Endeavour is being sold by New South Wales state as part of a broader privatization program.
2 min read · 01 May 2017
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) said it will provide $107 million in debt financing to Potentia Renewables Inc, a Toronto developer and operator of solar energy systems for rooftop and ground installations in North America. The funds raised will support development of additional solar and wind projects by the company, which currently operates 569 arrays with a total generation capacity of about 97 megawatts. CDPQ previously invested in the construction of a Potentia solar array project.
3 min read · 01 May 2017
U.S. private equity firm Vector Capital has agreed to sell 20-20 Technologies Inc, a Laval, Québec-based provider of interior-space-planning software solutions. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which will see the company sold to U.S. private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. Founded in 1987 by former CEO Jean Mignault, 20-20 was taken private by Vector in 2012 for $77 million. In a separate release, Golden Gate said the company will keep its Canadian headquarters, as well as its primary U.S. office in Westwood, Massachusetts. It will also continue to be run by the existing management team led by CEO Mark Goldstein. The deal is expected to close in Q2 2017.
3 min read · 01 May 2017
Some of the world's biggest pension funds, seeking long-term returns on green investments, are scouting for deals in India's solar power sector, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is targeting US$100 billion in investment in the next five years, Reuters reported. India estimates peak electricity demand will more than quadruple in the next two decades to 690 gigawatt, which would require rapid growth in generation and transmission capacity. That potential, helped by cheaper solar material costs and government efforts to curb pollution, is drawing global investors, including Canada's top pension fund managers: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan.
4 min read · 01 May 2017
Shaw Communications Inc is looking for a buyer for ViaWest, the U.S. data centre company it bought three years ago, sources told Reuters, as the Canadian cable company continues to shed assets it considers non-core. Shaw is hoping to fetch for ViaWest well over the US$1.2 billion it paid to acquire it in 2014 from U.S. private equity firms Oak Hill Capital Partners and GI Partners, the sources said, and is working with Toronto-Dominion Bank on an auction. Private equity firms or companies that specialize in data centres, such as Equinix Inc and Digital Realty Trust Inc, have been active buyers of assets.
2 min read · 01 May 2017
U.S. private equity firm Sumeru Equity Partners and Ontario Pension Board (OPB) have teamed up to make a US$120 million investment in Snow Software, a Swedish provider of software asset management solutions. The funds raised will support the company's global expansion plans, enhance its offering across mobile and cloud platforms, and drive new product innovation. Snow's existing shareholders, including European private equity firm Vitruvian Partners, will continue to hold a majority interest in the business. OPB oversees $24.4 billion in assets.
5 min read · 28 April 2017
