Private Equity
Oil and gas company TimberRock Energy Corp has closed a $39 million financing led by Azimuth Capital Management, a Canadian energy private equity firm. Azimuth was joined in the deal by co-investors and U.S. energy asset manager Tudor Pickering Holt & Co Asset Management. Calgary-based TimberRock said the funds raised will be used to continue developing its Glauconite drilling program at Garrington, Alberta, where it has land tied up under farm-in agreements. Azimuth, formerly known as KERN Partners, has backed TimberRock since 2012. The company is also a portfolio investment of Edgestone Capital Partners' energy fund.
1 min read · 06 March 2017
Vancouver cannabis company Alliance Growers Corp has secured access to a $5 million equity facility from an undisclosed U.S. private equity firm. The company will have the option to increase its access to $10 million, the proceeds of which will be used for project development. Founded in 2014, Alliance Growers has formed a partnership to develop and operate a 40,000 square-foot facility to support a DNA botany lab, extraction and tissue-culture plantlet production. The facility is intended to serve the cannabis and agriculture industries.
3 min read · 06 March 2017
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has acquired 8.7 million shares in 5N Plus Inc, a Montréal maker of metal and chemical products used in advanced pharmaceutical, electronic and industrial applications, for $14.8 million. The additional share purchase, made on the secondary market, increases the Canadian pension fund's ownership interest in the company to 18.93 percent. Founded in 2000, 5N Plus operates manufacturing facilities and sales offices in locations in Europe, the Americas and Asia.
3 min read · 06 March 2017
White Owl Family Office has acquired and recapitalized Olon Industries, a Georgetown, Ontario designer and maker of woodworking components for the North American furniture and cabinet-making industries. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was done in partnership with Olon's executive team. The team is led by President and CEO Don Hambly. Founded in 1981, Olon has completed two add-on acquisitions since 2007, when it received an investment from U.S. private equity firm Huron Capital Partners. Based in Toronto, White Owl invests in mid-market companies on behalf of the McArthur and Carrick families.
2 min read · 06 March 2017
Subsea Global Solutions (SGS), a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Lariat Partners, has acquired All-Sea Underwater Solutions, a Vancouver-based provider of underwater ship maintenance, repair and marine construction solutions. No financial terms were released. Miami, Florida's SGS said the acquisition expands its scope of services, enhances innovation, and broadens its global footprint. Established in 1978, All-Sea has locations in Canada, the United States and Asia. Lariat completed a recapitalization deal with SGS in 2013.
3 min read · 06 March 2017
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp has wrapped up its acquisition of Parkdean Resorts UK Ltd, an owner and operator of caravan holiday parks across England, Scotland and Wales. The deal, announced in December, saw Onex buy the business for about US$1.65 billion (£1.35 billion). Onex Partners IV and co-investors made an equity investment of US$627 million. Parkdean was previously a portfolio investment of Electra Private Equity, a U.K. private equity firm.
2 min read · 06 March 2017
U.S. high-end department store chain Neiman Marcus has hired investment bank Lazard Ltd to explore ways to bolster its balance sheet as it seeks relief from a US$4.9 billion debt pile, sources told Reuters. Neiman Marcus is in no immediate risk of bankruptcy, the sources said. However, the move makes it the highest-profile U.S. retailer to turn to a debt restructuring adviser so far this year, as consumers increasingly embrace the internet for shopping. Much of Neiman Marcus' debt load stems from its US$6 billion leveraged buyout in 2013, when its current owners, Ares Management LP and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), acquired it from other private equity firms.
2 min read · 03 March 2017
Acasta Enterprises Inc (TSX: AEF), a Canadian special purpose acquisition corporation, has named Ian Kidson the firm's COO and CFO, replacing Richard Smith. Kidson previously served as managing director of TD Capital Mezzanine Partners, a role he held for more than a decade. He subsequently served as Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd's executive vice president and CFO until the company's recent sale to Waste Connections Inc. In January, Acasta closed its qualifying acquisition, buying three businesses for $1.1 billion. It also announced plans to launch as a private equity firm this year.
2 min read · 03 March 2017
Source Energy Services, a proppant-sourcing and oilfield-logistics company, is seeking to raise $300 million from its recently filed initial public offering, according to the company's updated prospectus. Source, backed by Canadian private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners, said it will price as many as 17.6 million common shares at $17 to $20 per unit. If the IPO's greenshoe option is exercised, it could raise as much as $345 million. The lion's share of the offering’s proceeds will go to Source. It will include a secondary sale by TriWest, which invested in Source in 2013, and other shareholders.
2 min read · 03 March 2017
Liquidator Gordon Brothers Group won the auction this week for the intellectual property of The Wet Seal LLC with a bid of US$3 million, besting the US$1.5 million initial offer from Canadian retailer YM Inc, sources told Reuters. A U.S. bankruptcy court judge must still approve the sale, the sources said, asking not to be identified ahead of a public announcement. Versa Capital Management, the U.S. private equity owner of Wet Seal, bought the U.S. teen retailer out of its first bankruptcy in 2015.
2 min read · 02 March 2017
