Private Equity
The Saskatchewan government is introducing legislative amendments to restrict the ownership of farmland. The proposed amendments include making pension plans, administrators of pension fund assets, and trusts ineligible to buy farmland. They also define “having an interest in farmland” to include any type of interest or benefit that is "normally associated" with owning land. The financing of a purchase of farmland must also be through a financial institution registered to do business in Canada, or a Canadian resident. Earlier this year, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) expressed concern about efforts to limit farmland investment in Saskatchewan.
3 min read · 21 October 2015
Knowlton Development Corp (KDC), which earlier this year bought ChemAid and Kolmar, has acquired Cosmetic Technologies Inc, a U.S.-based maker of cosmetics and personal care products. The deal, the value of which was not disclosed, is being funded by Canadian private equity firm Novacap in partnership with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, Export Development Canada, Fondaction CSN and other investors. Longueuil, Québec-based KDC said its latest buy will increase capacity for personal care products manufacturing on the West Coast and allow it to serve local clients. Recapitalized last year, the company plans to double production by 2018.
6 min read · 21 October 2015
Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate investment arm of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, has partnered with the Blackstone Group to buy Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village (STPCV). STPCV is a moderate and middle-income housing enclave in Manhattan, New York. It comprises more than 11,000 apartments in 55 buildings. The value of the property's acquisition from CW Capital was not disclosed, however, a Bloomberg report estimated it at about US$5.3 billion.
8 min read · 20 October 2015
Joshua Harris, senior managing director of Apollo Global Management, will be the keynote speaker at the 13th annual Capital Connection Conference of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), Toronto chapter. Co-founded by Harris in 1990, Apollo is one of the largest private equity firms in the world, with US$163 billion in assets under management. The ACG Toronto event will take place on November 2nd and 3rd at Toronto's Allstream Centre.
3 min read · 20 October 2015
Canadian Oil Sands Ltd expects strong interest from a wide range of buyers, its top executive told Reuters, as the company asked shareholders to reject a $4.3 billion takeover offer by Suncor Energy Inc. CEO Ryan Kubik said potential buyers of Canadian Oil Sands may include private equity firms and pension funds.
2 min read · 20 October 2015
G. Cooper Equipment Rentals Ltd has agreed to acquire SMS Rents, a rental equipment services provider to building and infrastructure contractors, energy and resource developers, and industrial producers in central Canada. The transaction, the value of which was not disclosed, is expected to result in the transfer of SMS Rents from Sumitomo Corporation Group to Cooper by the end of 2015. Cooper, a full-service construction equipment rental company, said the acquisition will create a business "with considerable scale." Based in Toronto, it has been a portfolio investment of Canadian private equity firm SeaFort Capital since June 2013.
3 min read · 19 October 2015
U.S. private equity firm BV Investment Partners has made an investment in geoLOGIC systems Ltd, a Canadian provider of data and software decision support systems to the upstream oil and gas industry and related industries in North America. No financial terms were disclosed. BV acquired shares held by geoLOGIC's founders, Joe Harris and Denise Harris. The deal was done in collaboration with President and CEO David Hood, who will retain his interest in the Calgary-based company. As a result of the investment, BV Managing Director Justin Harrison and Principal Justin Garrison have joined geoLOGIC's board of directors.
3 min read · 19 October 2015
The Institutional Limited Partners Association’s new template for reporting private equity funds’ fees and expenses itemizes a wide range of costs and details the amount of carried interest general partners collect and accrue, according to a draft of the template seen by Buyouts. ILPA is hopeful that the template will provide some common ground for limited partners, general partners and service providers moving forward.
2 min read · 19 October 2015
IAM Private Debt Group, the private debt platform of Integrated Asset Management Corp (TSX: IAM) has raised $385 million in the first close of its fifth private corporate debt fund. Investors in the fund included new and repeat limited partners, some of which have been in every fund since Fund I. Fund V, which will make fixed-rate, fixed-term loans to mid-market businesses and projects in Canada, is expected to see its second and final close in early November. Including Fund V's initial close, IAM Private Debt Group has raised over $2.1 billion in fund capital since 2004. Toronto-based IAM is an alternative assets manager.
2 min read · 19 October 2015
Campus Crest Communities Inc, a student housing real estate investment trust, said it agreed to be bought by privately held Harrison Street Real Estate Capital LLC for US$1.9 billion, including debt, Reuters reported. The deal, valued at US$7.03 per share, includes US$6.90 in cash and net proceeds from the company's sale of its evo Montréal joint venture, the company said.
2 min read · 19 October 2015
