Private Equity
Knowlton Development Corp (KDC) has acquired Thibiant International Inc, a U.S. custom formulator and maker of personal care and skin care products. No financial terms were released. The acquisition is one of several completed by KDC since 2014, in each case backed its owner, Canadian private equity firm Novacap. Other deal investors included Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, Export Development Canada and Fondaction CSN. KDC, a Knowlton, Québec provider of health and beauty goods, secured a $165 million reinvestment led by Novacap via Novacap Industries IV in October 2014.
5 min read · 16 November 2016
Samsung Electronics Canada Inc has bought NewNet Communication Technologies (Canada) Inc, which operates the rich communications services (RCS) business of NewNet Communication Technologies BV. No financial terms were disclosed. Halifax-based NewNet Canada will continue to operate independently as a Samsung subsidiary, helping its parent to accelerate the deployment of RCS-enabled networks. Lombard, Illinois-based NewNet, a telecommunications solutions provider, is backed by U.S. private equity firm Skyview Capital.
2 min read · 15 November 2016
CPPIB Credit Investments, an affiliate of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, has agreed to provide a £240 million ($406 million) corporate mezzanine development facility to Quintain, a development company backed by U.S. private equity firm Lone Star Funds. Funding provided by CPPIB forms part of a five-year £800 million facility that will support Quintain's development of London, United Kingdom's Wembley Park. Quintain, which acquired an interest in the park in 2002, aims to transform Wembley from an events destination into a neighbourhood.
4 min read · 15 November 2016
Canada's Lundin Mining Corp said it would sell its indirect stake in TF Holdings Ltd to an affiliate of Chinese private-equity firm BHR Partners for about US$1.14 billion in cash, Reuters reported. Bermuda-based TF Holdings owns an 80 percent interest in Tenke Fungurume Mining SA. Lundin owns an indirect 30 percent stake in TF Holdings, resulting in an effective 24 percent interest in Tenke. Tenke Fungurume, in the southern Congolese copper belt, is one of the world's largest copper deposits.
2 min read · 15 November 2016
Japanese brewer Asahi and a consortium led by Swiss investment firm Jacobs Holding have made it onto the shortlist of bidders for SABMiller's eastern European beer brands, sources told Reuters. Anheuser-Busch InBev agreed to sell the brands, which are estimated to be worth more than US$5.5 billion. Jacobs is partnering with Czech family office R2G and Canadian pension fund manager PSP Investments.
2 min read · 14 November 2016
Helicopter services company CHC Group Ltd, which filed for bankruptcy protection in May, has filed a proposed Chapter 11 plan of reorganization in the United States. Under the plan's terms, the company will recapitalize with US$300 million from its existing creditors. It will also have access to additional asset-based financing commitments of US$150 million from the Milestone Aviation Group Ltd. CHC said it will seek confirmation of the plan in early 2017 and is on track to emerge from the court-supervised process shortly thereafter. Vancouver-based CHC is a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firms Clayton Dubilier & Rice and First Reserve Corp.
10 min read · 14 November 2016
Canada is not worried about competing with the United States to draw private investment in infrastructure, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week, adding that the country's long-term stability is attractive to investors. Ottawa wants to attract $4 to $5 in private funding for every $1 coming from the public purse and is speaking to sovereign wealth funds and global private equity firms, as well as domestic pension funds. Attendees at an event organized by the Canadian government in collaboration with U.S. investment firm BlackRock included such potential partners as Norway's Norges, the Qatar Investment Authority and Singapore sovereign investor Temasek.
2 min read · 14 November 2016
Canada's Gildan Activewear Inc (TSX: GIL) has agreed to acquire the intellectual property rights related to the brand and certain assets of U.S. clothing manufacturer American Apparel LLC for about $66 million. Gildan said it will also buy inventory to ensure a supply of goods in the printwear channel. The deal is expected to close in early 2017. American Apparel filed for a second bankruptcy after emerging from a first in February under the ownership of bondholders led by U.S. hedge fund Monarch Alternative Capital LP. Montréal-based Gildan is a maker of branded basic family apparel.
7 min read · 14 November 2016
Twin Rivers Paper Co Ltd has agreed to acquire paper manufacturing assets of Little Falls, New York-based Burrows Paper Corp. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close in Q4 2016. Twin Rivers, which has operations in Maine and New Brunswick, said the deal will expand its geographic footprint and product offerings, and strengthen its ability to serve customers in the lightweight packaging, publishing and label sectors. Twin Rivers was bought by Blue Wolf Capital Partners and Atlas Holdings from Brookfield Asset Management in 2013.
2 min read · 14 November 2016
Amaya Inc's former chief executive, David Baazov, has offered to buy the Canadian online gambling company in a deal valued at about $3.48 billion, Reuters reported. Baazov, who already owns about 17.2 percent of the Montréal-based Amaya, including options, said on Monday he made the offer on behalf of a to-be-formed entity led by him. Four funds had committed $3.65 billion to help the new entity buy Amaya. The funds are: Head and Shoulders Global Investment Fund SPC – HS Special Event Segregated Portfolio, Goldenway Capital SPC- Special Event SP, Ferdyne Advisory Inc and KBC Aldini Capital Ltd.
3 min read · 14 November 2016
