Private Equity
A consortium of global and domestic investors agreed to buy Australia's busiest port for a higher-than-expected A$9.7 billion ($7.3 billion), a sign that tough equity markets are fuelling appetite for infrastructure, Reuters reported. Australia's sovereign wealth fund, The Future Fund, and Canada's Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) will each get a fifth of Port of Melbourne following the sale, which is packaged as a 50-year lease. The government investment vehicle of Queensland state (QIC) and New York-based Global Infrastructure Partners are the other consortium partners.
2 min read · 19 September 2016
Canadian private equity firm TorQuest Partners has acquired majority control of Polycor Inc, a Québec City-based natural stone producer, for an undisclosed amount. The deal, done alongside of TorQuest's co-investors and PNC Mezzanine Capital, was part of a merger of the company with U.S.-based Swenson Granite Works and its subsidiary Rock of Ages. The merger creates "the largest dimensional stone company in North America," TorQuest Partner Alan Lever said. Polycor said it expects to show post-deal revenue of over US$150 million per year. TorQuest made the investment via TorQuest Partners Fund III. In June, the firm closed its fourth mid-market fund at $925 million.
3 min read · 16 September 2016
Ovivo Inc (TSX: OVI.A, OVI.B) has tied up its take-private acquisition by German family office SKion GmbH and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. The deal, announced in July, had an enterprise value of about $185 million, including debt. With its closing, Ovivo, a Montréal-based provider of water treatment equipment, technology and systems, will de-list from the Toronto Stock Exchange. The private company will be owned by SKion, with a 70 percent interest, and the Caisse, with a 30 percent interest.
4 min read · 16 September 2016
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said it would buy Ascot, American International Group's Lloyd's of London platform, in a deal valued at about US$1.1 billion, as it pushes to expand its global presence, Reuters reported. The deal, which includes the acquisition of Ascot Underwriting Ltd and Ascot Corporate Name Ltd, will provide "durable cash yield and an attractive scalable investment for the fund," CPPIB was quoted as saying.
1 min read · 16 September 2016
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has agreed to acquire 100 percent of Ascot, the Lloyd’s of London platform of American International Group. The deal, which is being done in partnership with Ascot management, is valued at US$1.1 billion. It includes Ascot Underwriting Ltd and Ascot Corporate Name Ltd, as a capital provider for Syndicate 1414 at Lloyd’s. Upon closing, Ascot will continue to operate as a stand-alone business governed by its own board and led by CEO Andrew Brooks. CPPIB's Ryan Selwood, named head of direct private equity this week, said Ascot is "an ideal platform through which CPPIB can access diverse global insurance premiums at scale."
4 min read · 16 September 2016
IAM Private Debt Group has provided a $19 million loan to Wolverine Group Inc, an Edmonton-based supplier of equipment rentals, well site services, construction, seismic, trucking, logistics and other services to the oil and gas industry. The loan financed Wolverine's recent acquisition of HD Energy Rentals Ltd and Bearing Oilfield Services Ltd. IAM Private Debt Group, a corporate division of Toronto-based Integrated Asset Management Corp (TSX: IAM), raised $672 million in the final close of its fifth fund last November.
2 min read · 15 September 2016
Canada's ATX Networks Corp, acquired last year by U.S. private equity firm HIG Capital, has bought InnoTrans Communications Inc, a San Jose, California-based developer and maker of innovative optical transport solutions for cable operators. No financial terms were released. HIG Managing Director Camilo Horvilleur said the deal represents "a transformative investment" for Toronto-based ATX, allowing the company to become a diversified network infrastructure solutions provider. HIG acquired ATX in June 2015 from U.S. private equity firm Pamlico Capital.
4 min read · 15 September 2016
U.S. activist investor Engaged Capital reported a 7.5 percent stake in SunOpta Inc and said it had signed a confidentiality agreement with the Canadian organic food company to provide strategic advice, Reuters reported. The move comes as SunOpta faces increasing activist shareholder pressure. U.S. hedge fund Tourbillon Capital pressured SunOpta to explore a sale earlier this year. In July, it was said that Canadian hedge fund West Face Capital had a stake and could push for board and management changes should a sale fail to materialize.
2 min read · 15 September 2016
North American bidders will not need an Australian partner to bid for Australian electricity distributor Ausgrid, an adviser on the potentially A$10 billion (US$7.46 billion) deal said, after the government rejected sole offers from Chinese interests. Canadian funds such as Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Borealis Infrastructure had this month been advised during a roadshow that they did not need Australian partners if they bid through a consortium, the source told Reuters.
2 min read · 14 September 2016
Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group has appealed a court ruling concerning allegations that West Face Capital misused confidential information when buying a stake in Wind Mobile Corp two years ago. The August 2016 decision, made by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, dismissed the lawsuit launched by Catalyst. Catalyst has asked the Court of Appeal for Ontario to set aside that ruling and order a new trial on the grounds of procedural unfairness and errors of law and fact.
4 min read · 14 September 2016
