Private Equity
StorageVault Canada Inc has closed its previously-announced acquisition of all of the Vancouver-based self-storage assets, property and business of Storage For Your Life Solutions Inc and Carousel Ventures Ltd. The purchase price totaled $52.5 million. StorageVault, a Regina, Saskatchewan-based owner and operator of storage locations across Canada, said the deal provides it with a platform for expansion into Western Canada. The company is a portfolio investment of funds managed by Canadian private equity and venture capital firm PFM Capital.
3 min read · 14 September 2015
Modus Structures Inc, a designer and builder of high-performance modular buildings, has won the 2015 BDC Entrepreneurial Resiliency Award. The award, which is sponsored by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) in partnership with the Turnaround Management Association, Montréal chapter (TMA-Montréal), recognizes a Canadian company that emerged stronger after undergoing a turnaround or pivotal event. After experiencing significant losses following the 2008 recession, Crossfield, Alberta-based Modus executed a successful turnaround that preserved jobs and fueled growth, BDC and TMA-Montréal said.
3 min read · 14 September 2015
Fiera Capital Corp has appointed John Valentini as executive vice president and CFO. Prior to joining the Montréal-based investment firm, Valentini was executive vice president, CFO and COO of Canadian pension fund manager PSP Investments. Also, Fiera has promoted Sylvain Roy to president and COO of its Canadian division. The firm also added David Stréliski to its team as senior vice president and chief risk officer.
3 min read · 14 September 2015
The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has appointed Nicole Musicco managing director of its Asia-Pacific operations and head of its office in Hong Kong. Musicco, who was previously a vice president of Teachers' Private Capital, the Toronto-based pension fund manager's private equity investment arm, will be responsible for the full investment cycle in the region. Ontario Teachers opened its Hong Kong office in 2013. Its Asia-Pacific portfolio was recently valued at about $12 billion.
2 min read · 14 September 2015
Canadian private equity firm Novacap has acquired a majority stake in Nitrex Metal Inc, a provider of metal heat treatment technology solutions and services based in Montréal. No financial terms were released. Founded by Michel Korwin in 1984, Nitrex serves automotive, aerospace and industrial customers on four continents. It said it will use the partnership with Novacap for growth initiatives. These initiatives will include investments in operational enhancements, in key regions with potential for strategic acquisitions, and in research. As reported by peHUB Canada, Novacap last month acquired employee transit services specialist Hallcon Corp, marking an expansion in its Canadian deals.
3 min read · 11 September 2015
Neil Johnson, co-founder and former CEO of Toronto-based Difference Capital Financial, recently founded a new royalty investment firm that will bring financing solutions to diverse businesses located in Europe and elsewhere around the world. U.K.-based Duke Royalty will partner with management consultancy firm Oliver Wyman on opportunities in the pharmaceutical and healthcare-related royalty market. Johnson is the new firm's CEO.
5 min read · 11 September 2015
JELD-WEN Inc, a maker of windows and doors, has acquired Karona Inc, a manufacturer of specialty stile and rail doors based in Caledonia, Michigan. The financial terms of the deal were not published. JELD-WEN, which has its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, said the acquisition, the company's third in a month, will strengthen its position in Karona's market space. JELD-WEN was acquired by Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp in October 2011. Last month, JELD-WEN was reported to be considering the launch of an initial public offering that would value it at about US$4 billion.
3 min read · 11 September 2015
Colombia's top judicial authority has approved the sale of the government's 57.6 percent stake in power generator Isagen, expected to raise at least US$1.8 billion, Reuters reported. Brookfield Asset Management was said to be one of several firms planning to bid for the company.
1 min read · 11 September 2015
Total assets of the world’s 300 largest pension funds increased by over 3 percent in 2014, according to a new research report by Pensions & Investments and Towers Watson. As a result, assets managed by these funds reached a new high of more than US$15 trillion, the report found. The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan are among the world's 20 largest pension funds.
4 min read · 10 September 2015
A group of institutional investors active in the infrastructure market have launched GRESB Infrastructure, a sustainability benchmark for global infrastructure assets. The initiative, which is intended to allow more capital to flow into sustainable infrastructure and to raise the level of sustainability of existing infrastructure assets, involved a partnership with GRESB, an international industry association. Supporters of the new benchmark include the Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP).
6 min read · 10 September 2015
