Private Equity
Discovery Air Inc (TSX: DA.A), a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Clairvest Group, has agreed to be taken private by the investor. The deal, which has a total cash consideration of $1.5 million, will see Discovery Air become wholly-owned by Clairvest and members of the company's senior management team. More than 90 percent of shareholders have said they will vote in favour of the privatization. Toronto-based Discovery Air, a specialty aviation services provider led by President and CEO Jacob Shavit, secured a $70 million investment from Clairvest in 2011.
7 min read · 27 March 2017
Total Energy Services Inc (TSX: TOT) acquired a majority (51.6 percent) of the outstanding common shares of Savanna Energy Services Corp (TSX: SVY), a Calgary contract drilling and oilfield services company. The deal, which was not solicited, comes on the heels of Savanna's agreement earlier this month to be acquired by Western Energy Services Corp for about $533 million, including debt. Total said the combination of the two companies creates an energy services company "with a strong market position in four business segments." Savanna last year raised debt and equity funding from Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo).
4 min read · 27 March 2017
Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has partnered with Digital Bridge Holdings LLC and TIAA Investments to acquire Vantage Data Centers, a U.S. provider of enterprise data centre solutions. No financial terms were released; however, Reuters reported in January that Digital Bridge had agreed to buy Vantage from Silver Lake for more than US$1 billion. PSP Investments CIO Daniel Garant said the investment is attractive to the Canadian pension fund because of "Vantage's leading market position, in a sector which we believe will grow significantly in the coming years." The company is based in Santa Clara, California.
6 min read · 27 March 2017
Canadian private equity firm Clairvest Group has agreed to sell its interest in Lyophilization Services of New England Inc (LSNE), a contract manufacturing organization that provides lyophilization services to the biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Clairvest, which in 2008 acquired a minority stake in Manchester, New Hampshire-based LSNE, said it expects to realize sales proceeds of about US$80 million. That compares against the US$48.9 million value estimated for the company in December. LSNE will be bought by an affiliate of European private equity firm Permira. The deal is expected to close before the end of June.
2 min read · 27 March 2017
U.S. private equity firm Rhône Capital has partnered with Stephan Crétier, chairman and CEO of Garda World Security Corp, to acquire the interest held in the company by Apax Partners. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close in July. GardaWorld, a Montréal-based security services provider, was taken private by Apax, a U.K. private equity firm, in 2012 for $1.1 billion. The company said it has since doubled in size in terms of revenue. Rhône, which acquired a minority stake in GardaWorld last year, will increase its holding to 61 percent with the deal. Crétier and other senior managers will increase their holdings to about 39 percent.
3 min read · 24 March 2017
Fairfax India Holdings Corp, a vehicle launched in 2014 to make private equity and other investments in India, has acquired a 38 percent stake in Bangalore International Airport Ltd, the operator of Kempegowda International Airport, which serves the Bangalore area. The deal, valued at about US$385 million, saw the interest acquired from a subsidiary of GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd and Flughafen Zürich AG. Fairfax India is an affiliate of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, a Toronto holding company. Earlier this year, it acquired a majority stake in Saurashtra Freight Private Ltd.
2 min read · 24 March 2017
RESA Power LLC has acquired Pro-Con Electrical Testing Ltd, a Richmond, British Columbia provider of electrical testing and maintenance services for local electrical power system assets. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which represents RESA’s first expansion into the Canadian market. Based in San Jose, California, RESA is a provider of electrical life-extension products and services. It has been a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Audax Private Equity since 2011.
2 min read · 23 March 2017
Immunotec Inc (TSX-V: IMM) a Canadian maker of nutritional, skin care and wellness products, has agreed to be taken private. A partnership of business executive Mauricio Domenzain and Mexican private equity firm Nexxus Capital will acquire the company for a cash consideration of $0.485 per share. The deal, expected to close in June, concludes a strategic review initiated by Immunotec in response to two of its founding shareholders, Charles Roberts and Dieter Beer, who sought to monetize their stakes. Established in 1996, Immunotec has its headquarters in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec.
6 min read · 23 March 2017
Canadian miner Coro Mining Corp has launched a private placement offering intended to raise up to $16.15 million. The deal's proceeds will fund the company's acquisition of Minera Rayrock Ltda, a unit of Peruvian mining company Compañía Minera Milpo SAA, and other priorities. Coro said that its majority investor, U.K. metals and mining private equity firm Greenstone Resources, plans to invest, and if necessary, account for the entire offering. If that happens, Greenstone will increase its interest to 63.71 percent. Vancouver-based Coro explores and develops copper projects in Latin America.
3 min read · 23 March 2017
Advent International became a news-maker in 2016. Not because of its successful US$13-billion fundraising, but because the venerable firm’s latest fund was oversubscribed at a reported US$20 billion despite not featuring what has been to date a mainstay of private equity funds: the “hurdle” or “preferred return”. In an exclusive PE Hub Canada feature article, Mary Abbott, a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, asks: is this the start of a trend?
5 min read · 23 March 2017
