Private Equity
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has invested about $289 million (€$200 million) in Eurofins Scientific SE, a provider of clinical diagnostic testing headquartered in Luxembourg. Eurofins, which went public in 1997, operates more than 225 laboratories across 39 countries to test food, environment and pharmaceutical products. Its sales have increased by 37 percent each year, to reach over €1.9 billion in 2015, Eurofins reported. The proceeds of the private placement deal will enable the company to continue making acquisitions in an industry that remains fragmented, CDPQ said.
3 min read · 30 June 2016
Brookfield Asset Management Inc reported a 12.13 percent stake in TerraForm Power Inc, one of the two units of bankrupt solar company SunEdison Inc, Reuters reported. The deal makes the Canadian asset manager the biggest shareholder in TerraForm after BlueMountain Capital Management LLC. David Tepper's hedge fund Appaloosa Management LP also has a stake in the company. SunEdison, once the fastest-growing U.S. renewable energy company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April.
2 min read · 29 June 2016
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said it will buy Chicago-based PrivateBancorp Inc in a US$3.8 billion cash-and-share deal, its biggest ever acquisition and a long-awaited expansion in U.S wealth management, Reuters reported. CIBC has been in talks with potential U.S. targets for some time as it looked to expand its wealth management business. The bank sees the sector as a growth area that could help offset sluggish domestic growth and a low-interest-rate environment.
3 min read · 29 June 2016
Intelex Technologies Inc has acquired Ecocion, a U.S. software company focused on environmental management information systems. No financial terms were disclosed. Toronto-based Intelex said the deal is one of several "key strategic actions" taken as part of the $160 million investment it received from U.S. growth equity firm JMI Equity and HarbourVest Partners in August 2015. It said the acquisition will extend the company's reach as a vendor of cloud-based software in the environmental, health, safety and quality management space. Intelex added that it plans to invest to grow capacity in Ecocion's Denver, Colorado location.
3 min read · 29 June 2016
Australia's Nextgen Group has agreed to sell its network assets to Vocus Communications Ltd. No financial terms were released; Reuters reported, however, the deal was valued at as much as US$640 million. The acquired assets will include Nextgen's North West Cable system and the planned Australia Singapore Cable. Melbourne-based Nextgen is owned by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (71 percent) and CIMIC Group Ltd (29 percent). Ontario Teachers', which acquired the company in June 2013, will retain ownership of the group in partnership with CIMIC following the sale.
3 min read · 29 June 2016
Bridon, a U.K.-based portfolio company of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), has closed its merger with the rope business of Belgium’s Bekaert. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was announced in December. The new ropes and advanced-cords company, Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group, will be jointly owned by Bekaert and OTPP. It will have operations in some 17 countries. Teachers’ Private Capital, the private equity arm of OTPP, acquired Bridon in October 2014.
2 min read · 29 June 2016
TorQuest Partners has raised the $925 million hard-cap target set for its fourth private equity fund, earmarked for investments in mid-market companies in Canada and the United States. The Toronto-based firm announced that TorQuest Partners Fund IV closed 23 percent above its original target of $750 million. It is the largest fund raised by TorQuest since its founding in 2002.
2 min read · 29 June 2016
Canadian hedge fund West Face Capital is pushing SNC-Lavalin Group Inc to sell its stake in Ontario’s 407 toll highway, a move that could fetch the engineering and construction company more than $5 billion, sources told Reuters. West Face is an SNC shareholder but has not disclosed the size of its holding. SNC owns about 17 per cent of Highway 407. Other 407 investors are Ferrovial SA, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
1 min read · 28 June 2016
Extra money pouring into Canada's national pension plan following an agreement to raise premiums should be invested more conservatively than existing funds, Canada's chief actuary told Reuters. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has grown rapidly since its creation in 1997 through a strategy of directly investing in assets, including real estate and infrastructure, and diversifying globally to reduce its reliance on volatile equity markets and low-yielding government bonds.
2 min read · 28 June 2016
U.S. energy private equity firm Riverstone Investment Group has agreed to acquire a 50 percent interest in the Utopia Pipeline Project. No financial terms were released. The Utopia Project is focused on constructing a pipeline that transports ethane supply in Ohio to petrochemical companies in the Sarnia-Lambton region of Ontario. Riverstone is buying the stake from Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE: KMI), which is partnering with Calgary-based Nova Chemicals Corp in the US$500 million project. Along with acquiring existing assets, Riverstone has agreed to contribute to expenditures necessary for the project's construction and commissioning.
4 min read · 28 June 2016
