Private Equity
Activist hedge funds were choosier in throwing their weight around corporate boardrooms during the first half of the year as they managed a smaller cash pile and struggled to beat benchmark returns, Reuters reported. Activist investors, including billionaires like Pershing Square Capital Management's William Ackman and Trian Fund Management's Nelson Peltz, mounted 75 activist campaigns, a 7 percent drop from the first half of 2015 when they mounted 81, according to new data to be released by London-based research group Activist Insight. This year's figure is the lowest since the first half of 2013.
2 min read · 07 July 2016
Postmedia Network Canada Corp, Canada's biggest newspaper publisher, said it had reached a deal with some bondholders that would reduce its debt by $307 million, as it posted a third-quarter loss, Reuters reported. It signed support deals with its biggest investors, including first-lien holder Canso Investment Counsel Inc, certain second-lien holders of around 80 percent of outstanding 12.5 percent notes due in mid-2018, and holders of around 75 percent of the company's shares. Postmedia launched a strategic review in April, looking to sell assets and restructure its debt load as it struggles with falling print advertising revenues.
2 min read · 07 July 2016
U.S. hedge fund Cyrus Capital Partners has partnered with SSA Marine Inc and Melford International Terminal Inc in an investment in the Melford Atlantic Gateway Project. No financial terms were released. The project will focus on construction of a 315-acre marine container terminal at the Strait of Canso, Nova Scotia. Once built, the facility is expected to be the closest North American port on the Great Circle Route to Europe and Asia via the Suez Canal. Cyrus holds a majority interest in Melford International, a Halifax-based development company.
4 min read · 07 July 2016
Oxford Networks, a U.S. fibre-optic bandwidth infrastructure services provider, has agreed to be bought by Oak Hill Capital Partners. No financial terms were released. The sellers are Canadian private equity firm Novacap, which acquired a majority interest in Oxford in 2014, and Bank Street Capital Partners (BSCP). Upon the deal's closing, expected in the fourth quarter, Oak Hill will merge the company with FirstLight Fiber, which Oak Hill is buying from Riverside Partners. Novacap, BSCP and Riverside are expected to be minority investors in the combined entity, which will operate a high-capacity fibre-optic network and 10 data centers located across New York and New England.
6 min read · 07 July 2016
U.S. private equity firm Vista Equity Partners said it will invest additional capital in Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies Inc, a Cambridge, Ontario-based residential real estate software company. No financial terms were released. Vista, which has backed Lone Wolf since March 2015, plans to support the company as it expands its offerings and customer base. The statement was made concurrently with Lone Wolf's appointment of Patrick Arkeveld as its new CEO, replacing Lorne Wallace, the company's founder. Earlier this year, Lone Wolf acquired WhereToLive.com Inc.
4 min read · 07 July 2016
Laborie Medical Technologies Inc, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Audax Group, has made a strategic investment in Medi-Tate Ltd, an Akiva, Israel-based medical device company. No financial terms were disclosed. Founded in 2007, Medi-Tate is the developer of iTind, a procedure to treat the symptoms of enlarged prostate in men. Medi-Tate said the partnership with Laborie will help it to deliver the solution to over 500 million patients. Laborie, a Toronto-based provider of urodynamic testing equipment and consumables, was bought by Audax in July 2012.
2 min read · 07 July 2016
Canadian oil producer Paramount Resources Ltd agreed to sell some of its Deep Basin oil and gas properties in Alberta to Seven Generations Energy Ltd for about $1.9 billion, Reuters reported. The divestiture is the latest example of struggling oil and gas producers selling off assets in a bid to survive the global crude price rout. Upon deal closure, Paramount will own a stake of about 10 percent in the Calgary natural gas developer, making it the second-largest shareholder after the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
2 min read · 07 July 2016
Canada's biggest pension funds are prepared to finance the construction of major new federal government infrastructure projects, according to senior fund sources, marking a shift from their traditional strategy of avoiding development risk, Reuters reported. Officials with the top funds, which manage $1.1 trillion in assets, are seeking to reduce that risk, telling the Canadian government they would like it to provide guarantees on future returns and assurances on costs.
3 min read · 06 July 2016
An affiliate of Canada's Brookfield Asset Management has closed its buy of Rouse Properties Inc (NYSE: RSE), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and manages regional malls and retail centres in the United States. The deal, announced earlier this year, valued the company at US$1.06 billion. As a result, New York-based Rouse will see its common stock delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. As reported by Reuters in February, Brookfield was Rouse's largest shareholder prior to the acquisition.
2 min read · 06 July 2016
Hub International Ltd, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, has acquired HSBI Benefits Inc. No financial terms were disclosed. Based in Toronto, HSBI Benefits specializes in employee benefits insurance solutions. Its senior executives will join Hub Ontario. Hub, a Chicago-based insurance brokerage with significant operations in Canada, was acquired by Hellman & Friedman for about US$4.4 billion in October 2013.
2 min read · 06 July 2016
