Private Equity
Vancouver gaming company Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Ltd plans to refinance its existing secured debt to include a $125 million revolving credit facility and a US$440 million term loan facility, as well as US$255 million of second priority notes. The refinancing's proceeds will be used in part to fund acquisitions of gaming properties in Ontario. The seller in that deal, announced in December, is Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. Gateway, which is backed by Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group, said its new capital structure will also support initiatives in Western Canada.
3 min read · 06 February 2017
Canadian private equity deal-making declined for a second year in a row in 2016, with 303 deals (announced and closed) capturing $18 billion in total disclosed values, according to final data released by Thomson Reuters. Deal values were reduced by 19 percent from 2015, while volumes fell by 28 percent. Oil and gas and manufacturing industries accounted for most of the dollar flows last year, securing $5.2 billion and $3.7 billion, respectively. At the same time, Canadian buyout, private equity, infrastructure and other funds raised a substantial $45.4 billion in 2016, much of which went to funds managed by Brookfield Asset Management.
3 min read · 06 February 2017
Brookfield Asset Management’s private equity group earned more than twice the amount it paid to acquire Maax, a bathroom-fixtures maker recently sold to American Bath. The Toronto investor said it sold Maax, a company it held for nearly a decade, to American Bath in January. The buyer, a Savannah, Tennessee, tub-and-shower business, is owned by Lone Star Funds, which acquired it from Sterling Group last year. Brookfield also announced a new platform investment. It struck a deal to acquire a roughly 85 percent stake in Greenergy, a supplier of road fuels to consumers in the United Kingdom.
3 min read · 06 February 2017
Hudson's Bay Co has made a takeover approach for retail chain Macy's Inc, sources told Reuters, in a deal that would push the Canadian department store operator deeper into the U.S. market. Shares of Macy's had a market value of about US$9.4 billion as of Thursday's close. A deal would add another retailer to Hudson Bay's expanding portfolio, which includes Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor in the United States, as well as Galeria Kaufhof in Europe. The Canadian retailer was acquired in 2008 by private equity firm NRDC Equity Partners, headed by Richard Baker, now HBC's executive chairman.
3 min read · 03 February 2017
Canadian private equity firm Quantum Capital has acquired Apache Industrial Services Inc, a Houston, Texas provider of multi-craft industrial services, including scaffolding, coatings and linings, refractory, fireproofing and insulation. No financial terms were disclosed. As part of the deal, Apache has been combined with Skyway Canada Ltd, a Toronto scaffolding and shoring solutions company backed by Quantum. The merged business will have revenue of US$500 million, Apache said. Quantum, which invests on behalf of Canadian-Australian businessman Jack Cowin, acquired Skyway in 2007 for $84 million.
3 min read · 03 February 2017
Jamieson Laboratories Ltd has acquired Body Plus, a Toronto maker and marketer of natural health and sports nutrition supplements across Canada. No financial terms were disclosed. Jamieson, a Windsor, Ontario-based vitamins maker, said the deal strengthens its product portfolio and expands its reach into sports nutrition and specialty retail channels. Jamieson has since 2014 been a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors. Last May, Reuters reported CCMP was planning to sell the business for between US$600 million and US$700 million.
2 min read · 03 February 2017
France's Trescal SA has acquired Digital Measurement Metrology Inc (DMM), a Brampton, Ontario provider of installation, sales, service, training and calibration of precision measuring instruments. No financial terms were disclosed. Ardian, a European private equity firm that acquired Trescal in 2013, supported the acquisition. Calibration specialist Trescal said the deal will consolidate its geographical footprint and technical coverage in Canada. DMM's founder, Bassant Gobin, will continue to lead the business. Trescal said it is now targeting opportunities on Canada's west coast.
2 min read · 02 February 2017
Canadian Equipment Rentals Corp (TSX-V: CFL) has agreed to sell the assets of its wholly-owned subsidiary, 4-Way Equipment Rentals Corp, to Cooper Equipment Rentals, a Toronto-based construction equipment rental company. Cooper will pay $8.5 million in cash for 4-Way in a deal expected to close this month. Cooper, which serves contractors in Ontario and Québec, is a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm SeaFort Capital. SeaFort acquired a majority interest in the business in 2013.
2 min read · 02 February 2017
Agropur Cooperative has acquired the assets of Scotsburn Cooperative Services Ltd, a Truro, Nova Scotia-based frozen ice cream and novelties business. The deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, covers Scotman's plants in Truro and Lachute, Québec. Agropur, a Longueuil, Québec-based dairy cooperative, said the acquisition strengthens its presence in the ice cream market. Agropur has recently secured financing from several Québec investors, including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins and Fondaction CSN.
2 min read · 02 February 2017
Canadian tech private equity firm Klass Capital has won a bet it made on a decade-long investment in Freshii, a health-food restaurant chain that went public this week. Freshii closed its initial public offering on the TSX at the upper end of the price range. It raised more than $125 million, a sum that could increase to $144 million if a greenshoe option is exercised. The IPO is 2017’s first involving a Canadian company backed by a major private investor. And it may herald more to come.
3 min read · 02 February 2017
