Private Equity
The US$6.8 billion buyout of Australian port and rail freight giant Asciano Ltd by global investors was approved by a court on Thursday, clearing the final hurdle for the country's biggest foreign takeover in five years, Reuters reported. The takeover involves selling Asciano's port assets in a split between Canada's Brookfield Asset Management and Australian stevedoring company Qube Holdings Ltd, while a consortium involving government-owned China Investment Corp will take its rail assets. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is partnering with CIC on the rail-assets acquisition, while British Columbia Investment Management Corp is investing alongside Brookfield.
1 min read · 28 July 2016
OMERS Private Equity and Harvest Partners have agreed to acquire Epiq Systems Inc (Nasdaq: EPIQ) for US$16.50 per share in cash or about US$1 billion. Epiq will be combined with DTI, a U.S. legal processing outsourcing company, which is owned by OMERS. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is providing financial advice to Epiq on the deal, while Wells Fargo Securities is doing likewise for DTI and OMERS. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is acting as financial adviser to Harvest. Epiq will stop trading on the Nasdaq after the deal closes, which is expected to happen in the fourth quarter. Based in Kansas City, Kansas, Epiq is a provider of integrated technology and services for the legal sector.
10 min read · 27 July 2016
Senneca Holdings has bought Enershield Air Barriers, an Edmonton-based designer and maker of air barrier equipment used in retail, restaurant, commercial, and industrial applications. The deal's financial terms were not disclosed. Senneca, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based specialty custom door manufacturer, said the acquisition will enhance its product offering. Enershield, which will continue to operate in Canada, is Senneca's fifth add-on deal since the company was acquired by U.S. private equity firm Audax Private Equity in September 2014.
3 min read · 27 July 2016
H2O Innovation Inc (TSX-V: HEO) has closed its previously announced buy of Utility Partners LLC, a Gulfport, Mississippi-based specialist in the operation and maintenance of water and wastewater treatment plants. The total consideration was about $22.5 million (US$17 million). To help fund the acquisition, H2O raised about $23 million through a private placement deal. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Investissement Québec invested a combined $8.15 million. Québec City-based H20 provides water treatment solutions using membrane filtration technology. It has previously received financing from Fondaction CSN.
6 min read · 27 July 2016
Australia's foreign investment watchdog cleared the US$6.8 billion buyout of port and rail freight giant Asciano Ltd, the company said, paving the way for the country's biggest foreign takeover in half a decade, Reuters reported. The ruling was widely expected because the deal involves selling half the company's port assets to an Australian company, Qube Holdings Ltd, while the other half goes to Canada's Brookfield Asset Management. Asciano's rail assets are, meanwhile, set to go to a China Investment Corp-led consortium as part of the deal. Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board is a member of that consortium.
2 min read · 27 July 2016
The Hartford has agreed to sell its U.K. property and casualty run-off subsidiaries, Downlands Liability Management Ltd and Hartford Financial Products International Ltd, to an affiliate of Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd. No financial terms were released for the deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Catalina, an acquirer and manager of non-life insurance-reinsurance companies in run-off, is backed by Apollo Global Management, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). Earlier this year, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company agreed to buy AGF Insurance Ltd.
4 min read · 26 July 2016
INFOR Acquisition Corp (TSX: IAC.A), a Canadian special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC), has agreed to participate in the spin-out of ECN Capital from Element Financial Corp (TSE: EFN). Under the deal's terms, INFOR shareholders will receive shares of ECN, a commercial finance business with about $8 billion in assets, as of the closing of its separation from Toronto-based Element. INFOR, one of a number of Canadian SPACs launched via initial public offering in 2015, said its $220 million funds in escrow will help position ECN "to execute on its strategic initiatives." The deal is expected to wrap up in October.
10 min read · 26 July 2016
TORC Oil & Gas Ltd (TSX: TOG) has agreed to acquire light oil assets complementary to its existing assets in southeast Saskatchewan from an unidentified oil and gas company. The deal, combined with a series of tuck-in acquisitions in the first half of 2016, has a total consideration of $95.5 million. TORC said it will raise up to $111.3 million in financing to help fund the Saskatchewan deal and reduce debt. Its cornerstone investor, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has committed to invest about $25 million. CPPIB, which has backed Calgary-based TORC since 2013, also invested in the company's mid-2015 buy of assets from Surge Energy Inc.
10 min read · 26 July 2016
Canadian private equity firm Novacap has made a strategic investment in Firmex, a Toronto-based provider of virtual data rooms and a platform for secure document sharing. No financial terms were released. Firmex, which is led by CEO and Co-founder Joel Lessem, has provided data room services to more than 75,000 companies in some 60 countries. Novacap made the investment through Novacap TMT IV, which raised $375 million in May 2014. It said it will work with the company to expand product offerings and accelerate growth, both organically and through acquisitions. The Firmex deal follows Novacap's investment earlier this month in Syntax.
4 min read · 26 July 2016
U.S. gold and silver mining company Klondex Mines Ltd (TSX: KDX) (NYSE: KLDX) has agreed to acquire the Hollister mine, the Esmeralda mine and ore milling complex, and related assets in Nevada from Waterton Global Resource Management, a Canadian private equity firm. Under the terms of the deal, expected to close later this year, Klondex will pay Waterton US$63 million in cash and an additional US$17 million via a secured note. Waterton will also be issued warrants to buy common shares of the company. Waterton acquired the Hollister mine and related assets in a court-supervised auction in mid-2013. The assets were previously owned by Great Basin Gold Ltd.
8 min read · 25 July 2016
