Private Equity
Clairvest Group has invested US$73.7 million in Head InfoTech India Pvt Ltd, a Hyderabad, India gaming business. Established in 2005 by CEO Deepak Gullapalli, Head InfoTech is the operator of Ace2Three, an online skill-based gaming platform in India that provides Rummy experiences to more than 8 million customers. Clairvest's Michael Wagman said the deal will support the company's growth strategy. Head InfoTech is the Canadian private equity firm's 11th investment in the global gaming industry. In January, PE Hub Canada reported on Clairvest realizations from the sale of Cieslok Media Ltd and the refinancing of Rivers Casino.
2 min read · 28 April 2017
Emerald Expositions Events Inc, a U.S. operator of business-to-business trade shows, has announced the pricing of its recently filed initial public offering. The company, which expects to begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EEX, is looking to raise as much as US$356.5 million from the IPO, according to a U.S. regulatory filing. The offering includes a secondary sale by Emerald backer Onex Corp, a Canadian private equity firm. Onex, which acquired Emerald in 2013, said it expects to see about US$85 million in proceeds. The investor continues to hold a 78 percent economic interest in the company.
3 min read · 28 April 2017
Canam Group Inc (TSX: CAM), a Saint-Georges, Québec designer and fabricator of customized products for the construction industry, has agreed to be taken private by a consortium of the Dutil family and American Industrial Partners (AIP), a U.S. private equity firm. The deal, which is valued at $875 million, including debt, will see the consortium acquire all of the company's common shares, except shares currently owned by the Dutil family, which will be rolled over. Existing shareholders Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Fonds de solidarité FTQ are also expected to participate. Upon the transaction's completion later this year, AIP will hold a majority stake in Canam.
9 min read · 27 April 2017
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has decided against making further investments in farmland and is open to selling its existing portfolio after reviewing the operations, sources told Reuters. CPPIB began buying farmland in North America in 2012 and has since purchased about 120,000 acres in the United States and a similar amount in Canada. The pension fund bought 115,000 acres of Saskatchewan farmland from Assiniboia Farmland LP in 2013 for $128 million and had intended to invest another $500 million in Canadian farmland over a five-year period. However, its plans met with a backlash from some local farmers who believed they would be squeezed out of buying land themselves and feared rising rents.
3 min read · 26 April 2017
Canadian royalty financing firm Grenville Strategic Royalty Corp has led a $250,000 royalty investment in Fixt Wireless Inc, a Toronto-based provider of wireless device repair services. Grenville partnered in the funding deal with Foregrowth Holdco Inc and Darwin Strategic Royalty Corp. Grenville established a joint venture with Foregrowth, an affiliate of Gravitas Ilium Corp, and Darwin last year. Established in 2015, Fixt is building a brand in a Canadian market "where one or two dominant firms will emerge over the next few years," Grenville said.
2 min read · 26 April 2017
Brookfield Business Partners (BPP) and institutional clients of Brookfield Asset Management have closed their acquisition of a 70 percent stake in Odebrecht Ambiental, a Brazilian water distribution, collection and treatment company. The deal, announced in October, reflects a total investment of US$908 million. Brazil's FI-FGTS continues to own a 30 percent interest in the business, which will be renamed BRK Ambiental. BRK is one of the first platform investments of Brookfield Capital Partners IV, which raised US$4 billion last year. BPP, a listed vehicle, was launched in 2016 to participate in Toronto-based Brookfield's private equity deals.
3 min read · 26 April 2017
Malabar Super Spice Co Ltd, a Burlington, Ontario-based maker of custom seasonings and a distributor of food ingredients, spices and sausage casings, has been sold to an unidentified Canadian private investment group. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was announced by U.S. advisory firm Generational Equity. Founded in 1982, Malabar distributes its products to the meat and poultry industry, as well as food processors, in Canada. The company's investor was looking to enter the food industry through the deal, Generational Equity said.
2 min read · 26 April 2017
Calgary oilfield service company STEP Energy Services Inc has revised its recently filed initial public offering. STEP, backed by Canadian energy private equity firm ARC Financial Corp, said it will sell 10 million common shares at $10 per unit, generating about $100 million in proceeds. That amount may increase to $115 million if a greenshoe option is exercised. STEP originally priced the offering to raise as much as $230 million. ARC, which invested in the company in 2011, will sell shares as part of the IPO. Upon its completion, ARC will remain STEP's majority shareholder, the final prospectus shows. STEP provides coiled tubing and fracturing solutions.
4 min read · 26 April 2017
Business Development Bank of Canada has topped up resources in its private capital operation to address intensifying small-business demand for risk financing. BDC Capital, the bank’s investment arm, today announced $1.8 billion in fresh funding. It will be invested over the next five years in established companies in Canada seeking long-term financing options to back their growth and transition strategies. The commitment, to be overseen by BDC’s Growth and Transition Capital division, represents a 50 percent increase over the $1.2 billion deployed in the past five years.
3 min read · 26 April 2017
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), the country's largest pension fund manager, is exploring opportunities in the financial services, telecoms and logistics space in India as it looks to expand its bets in the South Asian economy, CPPIB Asia Pacific head Suyi Kim told Reuters. CPPIB, which has already poured over $4 billion into real estate and other investments in the country, will expand its eight-member team in India in a measured manner, as it looks boost the share of emerging markets in its overall portfolio, Kim said. Last month, CPPIB raised its stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank, India's No. 4 private sector lender, and partnered in buying an interest in mobile masts operator Bharti Infratel.
3 min read · 26 April 2017
