Private Equity
Cepsa, an energy affiliate of Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co, has sold its 9.15 percent stake in Compañía Logística de Hidrocarburos (CHL Group) to Borealis Infrastructure. No financial terms were disclosed. CHL is an oil product transportation and storage business based in Madrid. Cepsa said the sale forms part of its current optimization program. Borealis is the infrastructure investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).
2 min read · 15 January 2016
The Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) and Thomson Reuters will publish their reports on Canadian private equity market activity from 2015 in the coming weeks. PE Hub Canada has in the meantime compiled a list of the likely top 10 (disclosed) buyout and other PE deals of the past year.
3 min read · 15 January 2016
A string of leveraged buyout deals have stalled in recent weeks as the financing from banks dried up, in one of the biggest challenges for the private equity industry since the 2008 financial crisis, Reuters reported. While the recent plunge in equity markets is making valuations more attractive for buyout firms, the tumult in the debt markets is set to prevent many deals from getting done.
5 min read · 15 January 2016
Capital croissance PME II made a $750,000 investment in a recent acquisition by Oboxmedia Inc, a Montréal-based premium publisher network and digital advertising company. In November 2015, Oboxmedia bought the digital properties and online ad network of NewAd Media Inc, an indoor advertising business also based in Montréal. No financial terms were released. Capital croissance PME II is a $230 million fund jointly sponsored by Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
2 min read · 14 January 2016
Canadian online investment platform NexusCrowd has agreed to participate in a $15.5 million 1st mortgage investment on a 25-acre property located in Ajax, Ontario. The investment is being provided by Downing Street Realty Partners, a Canadian real estate investment manager and merchant bank. It will be used to consolidate existing debt and to provide bridge financing for the Phase I development of a residential condominium project. NexusCrowd will commit $500,000 with the ability to increase its participation to $1 million.
4 min read · 14 January 2016
U.S.-based Audax Private Equity has closed its buy of Lifemark Health and Viewpoint Medical Assessments, previously units of Centric Health Corp. The acquisition was valued at up to $250 million at the time of its announcement last November. Toronto-based Lifemark, which oversees Viewpoint, provides physiotherapy and rehabilitation treatment services, as well as medical assessment services, in Canada. Audax said it will partner with Lifemark CEO Peter Stymiest to help grow the business organically and through acquisitions.
3 min read · 14 January 2016
Canadian real estate private equity firm Tricon Capital Group has announced a number of recent acquisition transactions with a total value of about US$150 million. The U.S.-based deals include a land development investment in Phoenix; an acquisition of over 400 homes located primarily in Indianapolis, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbia and Tampa; an acquisition of five age-restricted manufactured housing communities in Phoenix; and two development project investments in Dallas, undertaken in partnership with StreetLights Residential. Tricon said it is currently looking at new opportunities in downtown Toronto.
5 min read · 14 January 2016
Canadian private equity firm Ironbridge Equity Partners has invested in Back in Motion Rehab Inc, a provider of employment, rehabilitation and physiotherapy services headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia. The deal was done in partnership with Back in Motion's management team. No financial terms were released. Ironbridge Managing Partner Peter Samson said the focus of the investment will be to help expand the scale and scope of the business. Back in Motion is the seventh investment of Ironbridge Equity Partners II LP, which raised $154 million in 2014. Late last year, the fund acquired the assets of Advance Engineered Products Ltd.
2 min read · 14 January 2016
Mac Van Wielingen, founder and director of Canadian energy private equity firm ARC Financial Corp, is one of four Canadian recipients of the 2016 ICD Fellowship Award. The award, sponsored by the Institute of Corporate Directors, recognizes excellence and leadership in the boardroom. Van Wielingen founded Calgary-based ARC in 1989 and served in the roles of CEO, chair and co-chair until 2014. In addition to his current duties at ARC, he chairs the Alberta Investment Management Corp.
3 min read · 13 January 2016
The Colombian government sold its 57.6 percent controlling stake in power generator Isagen to Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management for US$1.99 billion, Reuters reported. The deal represents the largest privatization in the country in nearly a decade. Another bidder, Chile's Colbun, withdrew from the process earlier this week.
2 min read · 13 January 2016
