Canada

Ontario Teachers' to gain 100 pct stake in Nextgen with CIMIC exit

CIMIC Group Ltd has agreed to sell its 29 percent interest in Australian network connectivity provider Nextgen Group Pty Ltd to Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. CIMIC said it expects to receive net proceeds of about US$190 million to US$210 million from the exit. Ontario Teachers', which acquired a majority stake in Nextgen in June 2013, will as a result of the transaction have 100 percent ownership of the company. CIMIC said the agreement with the Canadian pension fund is subject to the close of Nextgen's sale of network assets to Vocus Communications Ltd. The sale was announced by Nextgen, Ontario Teachers' and CIMIC in June.

As China e-commerce booms, private equity sees room for growth in storage space: Reuters

Deep-pocket investors, including Carlyle Group LP, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Warburg Pincus, have splashed US$12 billion on the logistics sector in China since 2013, Reuters reported, citing data from Jones Lang LaSalle. The increased attention paid to warehouses and logistics businesses owes to greatly intensified online shopping on the part of Chinese consumers.

Yaletown's Salil Munjal to lead TMX-backed innovation roundtable

TMX Group announced it is funding an independent working group, the Advancing Innovation Roundtable, to examine ways to increase access to growth capital for Canadian innovative companies. Launching next month, the roundtable will deliver recommendations in early 2017. Members of the roundtable will include senior investment professionals. It will be chaired by Salil Munjal, a general partner at Yaletown Partners. PE Hub Canada interviewed Munjal earlier this year about the capital gap facing late-stage technology companies in Canada, as well as Yaletown's plans to raise a $135 million emerging-growth fund.

CPPIB-backed Informatica expects valuation to double in five years: Reuters

Informatica Corp, a privately-held software developer, said it expects its valuation to double to at least US$10 billion in the next five years, driven by investments in big data and cloud computing, Reuters reported. The Redwood City, California-based company was taken private last year by Permira and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for about US$5.3 billion. Informatica is aiming to go public again in early 2019, Chief Product Officer Amit Walia told Reuters in an interview.

AIG in talks to sell Lloyd’s insurance business to CPPIB: Reuters

American International Group Inc is in early talks to sell Lloyd's of London Ltd's insurance operations to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Reuters reported, citing a story by the Wall Street Journal. If the deal comes through, it could fetch the insurance conglomerate hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds. CPPIB is also in talks to buy a related reinsurance company based in Bermuda, the Journal story said.

Spain's Isolux says in talks to sell Brazilian assets to Brookfield: Reuters

Spain's energy company Grupo Isolux Corsán SA said it is in talks to sell operating rights on Brazilian power transmission lines to Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc. The company said in a statement sent to Reuters that negotiations are advancing at good pace but it declined to elaborate. Isolux has licenses to operate about 4,700 kilometres of power transmissions lines in Brazil.

AIMCo, CDPQ, Ontario Teachers' to sell 9.9 pct stake in TMX

Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo), Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan have agreed to sell 1.8 million common shares each in TMX Group Ltd, which owns and operates the Toronto Stock Exchange. The shares, priced at $57.70 per share, represent a combined 9.9 percent of TMX's issued and outstanding shares. Following the sale, AIMCo, CDPQ and Ontario Teachers' will each continue to hold about 5 percent of shares and each have a nominee on the board. The pension funds invested in TMX as part of company's acquisition for $3.8 billion in 2012.

Clearspring seeks to sell Medical Pharmacies, could fetch $1 bln: Reuters

Private equity firm Clearspring Capital Partners plans to sell Medical Pharmacies Group Ltd, a Canadian provider of drug services to nursing homes, in a deal that could fetch as much as $1 billion, sources told Reuters. Toronto-based Clearspring has hired investment banks BMO Capital Markets and Harris Williams to facilitate a sale, the sources said. Interest in Medical Pharmacies is expected to come from financial and strategic buyers on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border, and may include include private equity firms looking to expand into the fast-growing long-term care industry.

AIMCo to invest $500 mln in Howard Energy Partners

Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) has agreed to acquire up to US$500 million of Series B preferred units of Howard Energy Partners (HEP), a San Antonio, Texas-based diversified midstream company. AIMCo has already bought US$300 million of the company's units and has committed to buy an additional US$200 million of units in the future. Founded in 2011, HEP has assets in the Eagle Ford Shale region of South Texas, as well as in the Marcellus Shale region in Pennsylvania. U.S. infrastructure investment firm Alinda Capital Partners acquired a 59 percent interest in the company in late 2013. HEP is also backed by EnLink Midstream.

West Face Capital claims vindication in Wind Mobile lawsuit

West Face Capital said it has been vindicated by the dismissal of a lawsuit that alleged the firm misused confidential information when purchasing a stake in Wind Mobile Corp two years ago. The lawsuit, launched by Catalyst Capital Group, was dismissed by an Ontario Superior Court of Justice last week. Catalyst is expected to appeal the ruling, the Financial Post reported. In 2014, West Face and other private equity investors backed Globalive Capital's buy of Vimpelcom Ltd's interest in Wind Mobile. Wind Mobile was subsequently acquired by Shaw Communications Inc.