Private Equity
Calgary-based oil and gas producer Boulder Energy Ltd (TSX: BXO) has agreed to be taken private by Canadian private equity firm ARC Financial. ARC has offered $2.59 in cash for each of Boulder's issued and outstanding common shares, which implies a total value of about $268 million, including the company's net debt of about $143 million. Boulder's board of directors is recommending the transaction to shareholders and is expecting it will be completed on or about April 15th. Founded in May 2015, Boulder is primarily focused on operations at its multi-zone Belly River pool at Brazeau in the Alberta Deep Basin. ARC is investing in the company via ARC Energy Fund 8, which raised $1.5 billion last June.
9 min read · 25 February 2016
Stingray Digital Group Inc (TSX: RAY.A, RAY.B) has bought Nümedia, a Montréal-based provider of intelligent media solutions that enable in-venue music, experiences, communication, engagement and activation. The acquisition is valued at $2 million. Stingray, a technology-focused content provider and broadcaster, said the deal will reinforce its market position in the field of in-store media solutions. Montréal-based Stingray raised $179.5 million in an initial public offering in mid-2015. It continues be a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Novacap, Telesystem and other investors.
4 min read · 24 February 2016
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec said it was open to further investment in Bombardier Inc after reporting strong returns in 2015, Reuters reported. The pension fund agreed to acquire a 30 percent stake in Bombardier's rail business for US$1.5 billion in November, providing a bigger cash cushion for the company's plane-making unit.
2 min read · 24 February 2016
RimRock Oil & Gas, a new oil and gas exploration and production company, has secured a line-of-equity investment of up to US$500 million from U.S. private equity firm Warburg Pincus. Founded in December 2015, RimRock is led by President and CEO Jim Fraser and Managing Director Bob Rooney, both former senior executives of Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc, now Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc. The company will focus on acquiring and developing unconventional oil and gas assets across select basins in the United States and Canada. RimRock's headquarters and other office locations were not identified.
3 min read · 24 February 2016
Canadian media and content company Corus Entertainment Inc (TSX: CJR.B) said that claims by Catalyst Capital Group about the proposed $2.65 billion acquisition of Shaw Media Inc are "misleading". Catalyst is reported to have said that the family controlling both Corus and Shaw Communications Inc, the seller of Shaw Media, stands to gain at least $50 million from the deal. Corus also criticized Catalyst's calculation of Shaw Media's fair market value, which suggested that Corus was overpaying for the asset. Catalyst, a Toronto-based private equity firm, is a minority investor in Corus.
8 min read · 24 February 2016
Corus Entertainment Inc could face a shareholder revolt against plans by its controlling family to buy media assets from a related company, Shaw Communications Inc, Reuters reported. A Corus investor, Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group, has written to market regulators to challenge the $2.65 billion deal, according to a report in the Financial Post.
2 min read · 23 February 2016
Equity funds that can profit from both rising and falling markets and rivals betting on macroeconomic trends are expected to outperform in 2016, a Deutsche Bank survey of hedge fund investors managing US$2.1 trillion in assets showed. Over half of investors felt the United States/Canada would be in their three best-performing regions.
1 min read · 23 February 2016
Independent proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis & Co LLC and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc have recommended that shareholders of Capstone Infrastructure Corp approve the previously announced acquisition of the Toronto-based infrastructure investor. The deal, which will see Capstone sold to an affiliate of U.K.-based iCON Infrastructure LLP for $480 million, will be subject to a vote on March 10. It is expected to close in April.
10 min read · 23 February 2016
Brookfield Asset Management and its rival are weighing a joint US$6.5 billion bid for Australia's biggest rail and port operator, a measure aimed at ending the takeover battle that has raged for seven months, Reuters reported. Target business Asciano Ltd revealed that Brookfield and the company it has been bidding against, Australia's Qube Holdings Ltd, have entered talks about a possible joint offer.
3 min read · 23 February 2016
GuestLogix Inc (TSX: GXI), which earlier in February was granted protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, has received court approval to implement a sale and investment solicitation process. The company has also obtained approval for a US$3 million interim facility from its secured lenders. Based in Toronto, GuestLogix is a provider of merchandising, payment, and business intelligence technology to the passenger travel industry. Last June, it closed a credit agreement of up to $9 million with Canadian growth investors Vistara Capital Partners and Beedie Capital Partners.
6 min read · 22 February 2016
