Private Equity
Belton, Missouri-based Safe Fleet has acquired FleetMind Solutions Inc, a Canadian manufacturer of wireless enabled on-board computers, driver terminals, and automation software for trucks. No financial terms were released. Safe Fleet, which owns a portfolio of brands targeted to fleet vehicle manufacturers and operators, said the deal supports its emphasis of safety solutions and expands its presence in the waste and recycling market. It added that FleetMind will retain its Montréal headquarters and leadership. Safe Fleet was formed in 2013 when The Sterling Group, a U.S. private equity firm, acquired ROM and SMI from Century Park Capital.
3 min read · 06 June 2016
Canadian medical marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis Inc (CSE: ACB) has agreed to receive a draw-down equity facility of up to $5 million from Alumina Partners, a U.S. private equity firm. Founded in 2013, Aurora operates a 55,200 square-foot production facility in Mountain View County, Alberta. It said the proceeds of Alumnia's investment will provide the company with the financial flexibility and working capital required to pursue its business strategy.
3 min read · 06 June 2016
Cahill Services LLC, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Pine Brook Partners, has acquired Drive Rental Corp, a Red Deer, Alberta-based specialty flameless heating rental business with operations in Canada and the United States. No financial terms were disclosed. Cahill, a Houston, Texas-based provider of specialty rental services to energy and related industries, said Drive Rental is its first acquisition since its founding last year. The Canadian company will be rebranded as Cahill Heating. Pine Brook made an initial investment in Cahill last July.
3 min read · 06 June 2016
Real estate-focused private equity firm KingSett Capital is set to acquire 50 percent of Scotia Plaza, Canada's second tallest office building, from Dream Office REIT and H&R REIT, sources told Reuters. The potential sale comes about four years after Dream Office REIT, then called Dundee REIT, acquired two-thirds of the 2 million square-foot Scotia Plaza complex. H&R REIT bought the rest. The total sale price was about $1.3 billion.
2 min read · 06 June 2016
Contract research organization (CRO) JSS Medical Research Inc has acquired Bonne Santé, a CRO based in Warsaw, Poland. No financial terms were released. Montréal-based JSS, which provides clinical research services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, said the deal will facilitate its expansion in Europe and adjacent regions. The company recently received equity financing from Capital Croissance PME (CCPME) a private equity fund affiliated with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins.
3 min read · 06 June 2016
The private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management has acquired additional common shares in CWC Energy Services Corp (TSX-V: CWC), a Calgary-based provider of well services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in Western Canada. Brookfield, which has invested in CWC since 2007, paid close to $12 million for the shares, increasing its stake from about 70 percent to about 73 percent. As reported by PE Hub Canada, Brookfield this week closed its fourth mid-market private equity fund at its hard-cap target of US$4 billion.
3 min read · 03 June 2016
Patheon, a Canadian-born drug development and manufacturing services provider, has named Michel Lagarde its president. Lagarde joins the company from JLL Partners, the U.S. private equity that helped take Patheon private for US$1.4 billion in March 2014. The deal saw the business amalgamated with a subsidiary of DPx, formed by JLL and Royal DSM. Patheon, which continues to have offices in Canada, is now based in Durham, North Carolina.
3 min read · 03 June 2016
Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc and Japan's Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd have submitted indicative offers to acquire U.S. convenience store retailer CST Brands Inc (CST.N), sources told Reuters. Couche-Tard and Seven & i, the owner of U.S. convenience store chain 7-Eleven, are competing against several other bidders for the company, including a consortium of U.S. private equity firms Blackstone Group LP and Apollo Global Management LLC. CST's market capitalization is currently estimated at about US$3.4 billion.
2 min read · 03 June 2016
Mainstreet Health Investments Inc is looking to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire senior housing and care properties in Canada and the United States after tapping the Canadian equity market, a top executive told Reuters. The company, which owns a portfolio of U.S. seniors housing and care properties, on Thursday raised about US$95 million and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. U.S. hedge fund Magnetar Financial owns about half of Mainstreet Health.
2 min read · 02 June 2016
Bank of Montreal said that it would acquire Greene Holcomb Fisher, a U.S. mergers and acquisitions advisory firm, in a push to strengthen its investment banking business in the United States, particularly in the Midwest, Reuters reported. The move will help Toronto-based BMO, Canada's fourth biggest lender, double its U.S. M&A business, based on the number of deals, and better serve and attract private equity clients.
2 min read · 02 June 2016
