Private Equity
Three Canadian pension funds have formed part of a consortium that has agreed to acquire the company that operates London City Airport. No financial terms were released; however, Reuters previously reported the value of asset to be about £2 billion ($3.8 billion). The Canadian pension funds—Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo), Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan—joined with Kuwait Investment Authority to buy the airport from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Highstar Capital. GIP acquired a majority stake in the asset in 2006. London City Airport served 4.3 million passengers in 2015.
5 min read · 26 February 2016
Brad Nathan, president of Lynx Equity, says he launched his Toronto-based private equity firm in 2007 because he “has always been interested in owning small businesses.” Nine years on, that ambition appears to have been fulfilled with Lynx controlling some 40 North American mid-market companies sold to it by retiring family owners.
3 min read · 25 February 2016
BRG Sports Inc, a maker of sports equipment, sportswear and accessories, has agreed to sell its Action Sports division to Vista Outdoor Inc for US$400 million. The deal, expected to close within 60 days, is in cash with an earn-out tied to future performance. The business being sold to Vista comprises some of BRG's leading brands, including the Bell, Giro, Blackburn and C-Preme. Scotts Valley, Calif.-based BRG said the deal will allow the company to pay down its debt, strengthen its balance sheet, and pursue growth initiatives focused on its Riddell brand. Fenway Partners and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) will maintain their investments in BRG, the company said.
3 min read · 25 February 2016
Brazil's state-led oil company Petrobras is expected to fetch as much as US$6 billion from the sale of a natural gas pipeline unit in Brazil's industrialized southeast, Reuters reported, citing a Valor Economico daily newspaper report. Bids for Nova Transportadora do Sudeste are expected to come from Canada's Brookfield Asset Management, and a joint venture between the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and France's Engie SA, among others.
1 min read · 25 February 2016
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) has closed its acquisition of Marketwired LP, a Canadian provider of news distribution services and analytics for communications professionals. No financial terms were disclosed for the previously announced deal; however, an earlier report said it could value Marketwired for as much as US$200 million. The transaction provides an exit to OMERS Private Equity, which has backed the company since 2006. It also provides an exit to Manulife Capital, which was a minority investor in Marketwired over the same period.
2 min read · 25 February 2016
Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group said Corus Entertainment Inc's recent response to the concerns of its minority shareholders about the proposed $2.65 billion buy of Shaw Media Inc is "inadequate and deficient". Catalyst, an investor in Corus, said it is concerned the transaction will see Corus "significantly overpay" for the asset by as much as $858 million. Catalyst Managing Director and Partner Gabriel de Alba said: "While this may be a good deal for the Shaw family, it is a bad deal for every Corus minority shareholder." Corus announced in January it had agreed to acquire Shaw Media from an affiliated company, Shaw Communications Inc.
5 min read · 25 February 2016
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) has agreed to acquire a New England portfolio of hydroelectric assets totaling 1.4 gigawatts from French gas and power utility Engie Group. The assets, which have an enterprise value of US$1.2 billion, reflect core operational merchant hydroelectric facilities located on the Connecticut River in Massachusetts and the Housatonic River in Connecticut. PSP Investments, a Canadian pension fund manager, said the acquisition fits with its strategy to leverage industry-specialized platforms. The latter include H2O Power LP, a hydroelectric power platform majority owned by PSP Investments.
3 min read · 25 February 2016
U.S. real estate investment trust Rouse Properties Inc said Canadian alternative assets investor Brookfield Asset Management agreed to buy the company in a sweetened deal valued at about US$2.8 billion, including debt, Reuters reported. Brookfield's latest cash offer of US$18.25 per share values the mall and retail centre owner at US$1.06 billion.
1 min read · 25 February 2016
The Louisiana Public Service Commission has decided not to allow the sale of Cleco Corp (NYSE: CNL) to an investor group led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and British Columbia Investment Management Corp (bcIMC). The deal, announced in October 2014, valued Cleco, the parent of regulated electric utility Cleco Power LLC, at about US$4.7 billion, including debt. The investor group, which included John Hancock Financial and other infrastructure investors, said it will "review our options regarding this decision."
5 min read · 25 February 2016
U.S. private equity firm Industrial Opportunity Partners (IOP) has sold its portfolio company Roadtrek Motorhomes Inc, a Canadian designer and manufacturer of motor homes, to Erwin Hymer Group. No financial terms were released. Based in Kitchener, Ontario, Roadtrek makes Class B motor homes and sells them through a network of recreation vehicle dealers in the United States and Canada. It received an investment from IOP in April 2011 as part of a recapitalization deal done in partnership with Roadtrek’s owner and senior management team. Erwin Hymer is a caravan and motor home manufacturer with headquarters in Bad Waldsee, Germany.
3 min read · 25 February 2016
