Private Equity
Kaisen Energy Corp has received an initial investment from KERN Partners, a Canadian energy-focused private equity firm. The investment's value was not disclosed. Founded in March 2013, Calgary-based Kaisen is an explorer and producer of conventional heavy oil assets in Western Canada. It said the partnership with KERN will help the company develop its existing assets in the Saskatchewan heavy oil fairway and capitalize on acquisition opportunities in the current period of market turmoil. With the investment, KERN's Deputy Managing Partner Dave Pearce and Managing Director Chris Hooper have joined Kaisen's board of directors.
5 min read · 23 November 2015
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc (MTS) has agreed to sell its subsidiary Allstream Inc, a provider of bandwidth and telecom services to enterprise and public sector customers in Canada, to Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE: ZAYO). The all-cash deal, valued at $465 million, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016. Zayo, a communications infrastructure services business, said the acquisition provides it with extensive intercity and metro fiber assets located throughout Canada. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Zayo is a portfolio investment of U.S. private equity firm GTCR.
6 min read · 23 November 2015
Canadian International Oil Corp (CIOC) announced that U.S. energy private equity firm Riverstone Holdings has offered to acquire CIOC shares and warrants it does not currently own. Riverstone, which invested an initial $200 million in CIOC in March 2014, has proposed to buy the company's remaining common shares and warrants (with an exercise price of $1.20) for $1.675 per common share and $0.475 per warrant. The offer is scheduled to remain open until December 29th. Calgary-based CIOC holds assets in the Deep Basin of West Central Alberta.
8 min read · 23 November 2015
U.S. private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are nearing a deal to acquire Petco Holdings Inc, valuing it at around US$4.7 billion, including debt, sources told Reuters. The consortium outbid other buyout firms in an auction for Petco and is now finalizing terms with the U.S. pet retailer's owners, TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners.
2 min read · 23 November 2015
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec's US$1.5 billion investment in Bombardier Inc's rail business this week has "no impact on the company's ratings at this time," Moody's Investors Service said. While the deal is "another shot in the arm for Bombardier", it imposes incremental financial leverage, the rating agency said. On the other hand, combined cash infusions from the Caisse and the Québec government have helped "to mitigate further downward rating pressure."
2 min read · 20 November 2015
Funds managed by Canadian private equity firm Westcap Management have invested in a management buyout that acquired affiliates of DynaVenture Corp. Golden Opportunities Fund and Westcap MBO Investment LP partnered in a $25 million investment in the deal. Saskatoon-based DynaVenture comprises four distinct businesses: machining and fabrication specialist DynaIndustrial; Tackpoint, a maker of anti-friction bearing solutions; crane services provider Dyna Crane Services; and Fluid Clarification, a separation technologies and filtration systems supplier. DynaVenture said the Westcap partnership will help it execute growth plans at home and in global markets.
3 min read · 19 November 2015
Mister Car Wash, a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Penfund, has bought Auto Spa Express, a car wash and detail centre located in Aurora, Colorado. No financial terms were released. As a result of this and other recent acquisitions, Mister Car Wash now operates 160 car wash locations in 19 states. Penfund invested US$15.1 million of debt and equity in the Tucson, Arizona-based company in 2014, several months after it was acquired by Leonard Green & Partners. Mister Car Wash was previously owned by ONCAP.
2 min read · 19 November 2015
Bombardier Inc said that Québec's public pension fund manager is buying a 30 percent stake in its rail arm for US$1.5 billion, putting the company on stronger financial footing as it pushes to launch its long-delayed CSeries jet, Reuters reported. The cash infusion from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is the second funding deal Montréal-based Bombardier has made in recent weeks.
2 min read · 19 November 2015
Canadian private equity firm Lynx Equity has secured $15 million in funding from The Labourers' Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada, a multi-employer pension plan with nearly $5 billion in assets. Toronto-based Lynx is focused on buying small and medium-sized businesses from owners who are looking to retire. It targets acquisitions of companies with EBITDA between $500,000 and $2 million and utilizes a buy-and-hold strategy. The firm operates in the United States through a subsidiary called Succession Capital.
2 min read · 19 November 2015
Tracey McVicar, recently installed as head of CAI Capital Management, is overseeing a period of change at the Canadian private equity firm, including the launch of a new fund and CAI’s first platform investment since 2013. This month the firm announced the initial close of Firethorn Capital Partners LP and its debut investment in a Canadian maker of women's clothing.
3 min read · 19 November 2015
