Private Equity
U.S. mid-market investor Monroe Capital has closed Monroe Capital Private Credit Fund II LP at US$800 million in committed capital, exceeding its US$600 million target. The fund, Monroe Capital's 11th since inception, will focus on providing senior secured loans and unitranche loans to private equity-sponsored and non-sponsored mid-market companies in North America. Last year, Monroe Capital hired Mark Sturrock to help expand the firm's presence in Canada.
3 min read · 13 October 2016
INFOR Acquisition Corp (TSX: IAC.A), a $220 million Canadian special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC), has cancelled plans to participate in the spin-out of ECN Capital from Element Financial Corp (TSE: EFN). The deal, announced in July, would have seen INFOR shareholders receive shares of ECN, a commercial finance business. INFOR said ECN's shares are not trading at a price that would make the deal "compelling" to its investors. It added that INFOR management will continue to review alternative transactions.
2 min read · 13 October 2016
Premium Brands Holdings Corp (TSX: PBH) has bought Belmont Meats Products Ltd, a Toronto-based maker of beef products for retail and food service customers. The deal had a total consideration of $50 million, most of which was in cash. Vancouver's Premium Brands, a specialty branded food producer, said the acquisition will create value in several of its businesses and help to increase the company's presence in Ontario. Belmont Meats, founded in 1966, has been backed by U.S. private equity firm Summer Street Capital Partners since 2007. Premium Brands is a portfolio investment of Canadian private equity firm Pender West Capital Partners.
5 min read · 13 October 2016
Former telecommunications equipment company Nortel Networks Ltd reached an agreement with their various business units on Wednesday to divvy up the US$7.3 billion raised from liquidating the failed company, paving the way for pensioners and creditors to get paid after a seven-year wait, Reuters reported. The Ottawa-based company stumbled from ranking among the world's most valuable companies during the 1990s Internet bubble to bankruptcy in 2009 and liquidation.
3 min read · 13 October 2016
Cubico Sustainable Investments has been awarded power purchase agreements in Mexico’s 2nd long-term electricity auction for the 250 megawatt Mezquite wind project and the 290 megawatt Solem solar PV project. Cubico, a U.K.-based renewable energy business, said it will raise financing for US$500 million and will invest, along with its minority partners, US$200 million in equity to start the construction of the projects and have them operational by 2018-2019. Cubico is jointly owned by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) and Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).
3 min read · 12 October 2016
U.K. online investment service Interactive Investor Plc has agreed to acquire the European direct investing business of Canada's TD Bank Group. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. The acquisition will create the United Kingdom's second largest online stockbroker with assets of £18 billion, London-based Interactive said. J.C. Flowers & Co, a U.S. private equity firm focused on financial services, will provide funding for the transaction and will be the majority owner of the combined company.
6 min read · 12 October 2016
Canadian private equity firm Fulcrum Capital Partners has bought Verdant Environmental Technologies Inc, a Montréal-based provider of energy-efficiency products and technologies for the hospitality industry. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was done in partnership with the company’s management team. It is intended to support Verdant's future growth. Verdant is the fourth platform investment of Fulcrum’s fifth mid-market fund, Fulcrum Capital Partners V, which raised $344 million in July 2015. It follows the fund's investment in Canstar Restorations earlier this year.
1 min read · 11 October 2016
Canadian private equity firm Signal Hill Equity Partners has invested in the merger of CCI Group Inc and McIntosh Perry Consulting Engineers Ltd. No financial terms were released. The combination of the Canadian engineering specialists creates "a unique platform as we grow into a pre-eminent national engineering services company," James Johnson, managing partner of Signal Hill, said. The new company, called McIntosh Perry Consulting Engineers Ltd, will provide consulting engineering services and technical solutions to private and public sector clients across Canada. Signal Hill raised $142 million in the close of its third mid-market fund in May 2015.
3 min read · 11 October 2016
Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) has entered into a strategic financing partnership with Journey Energy Inc (TSX: JOY), an Edmonton-based oil-weighted energy explorer and producer operating in Western Canada. The company completed a private placement of 30,000 units to AIMCo, which generated gross proceeds of $30 million. Journey completed an initial public offering in June 2014. One of its investors at the time, Infra-PSP Partners, an affiliate of Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), continues to hold a minority interest.
3 min read · 11 October 2016
Brookfield Asset Management, Canada's largest alternative-assets manager, is considering a bid for troubled hockey gear-maker Performance Sports Group Ltd, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Brookfield raised its stake to 13.2 percent in Performance Sports in September after having said it would push for a restructuring and a possible sale. It is now Performance Sports' second largest shareholder after Sagard Capital Partners Management Corp, according to Thomson Reuters data.
2 min read · 11 October 2016
