Private Equity
Tricon Investment Partners (TIP), an affiliate of Canadian real estate private equity firm Tricon Capital Group, has filed a preliminary prospectus for an initial public offering of subordinate voting shares. TIP, which invests in for-sale residential developments across the United States and Canada, will be seeded by a transfer of 50 percent of Tricon's interest in Tricon Housing Partners LP, which is valued at about US$108 million. Tricon said TIP will become its "permanent growth vehicle for land and home-building investment opportunities." It will carry on and replace investment activity by the firm's private funds.
10 min read · 27 August 2015
A half dozen groups of investors from four continents have placed indicative bids for an electricity transmitter in Australia's most populous state, a source told Reuters, a milestone in a record US$12 billion privatization sale. The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Borealis Infrastructure, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are said to have joined consortia bidding for TransGrid and other assets.
2 min read · 27 August 2015
Canadian real estate private equity firm KingSett Capital and InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: INN.UN) have completed their acquisition of the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in downtown Toronto. The deal, priced at $99 million, provides KingSett with a two-thirds interest in the hotel, and InnVest with a one-third interest. The property consists of two towers containing 575 rooms. Earlier this year, KingSett and InnVest bought a majority stake in Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York Hotel for $186.5 million.
4 min read · 27 August 2015
U.S. private equity firm CI Capital Partners has closed its previously-announced sale of KIK Custom Products, a maker of household and personal care products and a developer of pool and spa treatment products. The buyer was U.S. private equity firm Centerbridge Partners. No financial terms were disclosed; however, one source suggested a sale could value the business at more than US$1.5 billion, including debt. Morgan Stanley & Co LLC and Rothschild served as financial advisors to KIK on the transaction. Based in Concord, Ontario, KIK was acquired by CI Capital in 2007.
3 min read · 27 August 2015
Junior mining exploration company Happy Creek Minerals Ltd (TSXV: HPY) has arranged for private placement financing from U.S. private equity firm Resource Capital Funds (RCF). Happy Creek intends to raise $1.1 million from the sale of 10 million units, the proceeds of which will be used to advance exploration of the company's Fox tungsten project in British Columbia and other purposes. Established in 2005, Happy Creek is based in Vancouver.
4 min read · 26 August 2015
Sécurité Above Inc, a Canadian provider of managed security solutions, has agreed to be acquired by Hitachi Systems Ltd, a subsidiary of Japan's Hitachi Ltd. The transaction, the financial terms of which were not published, is expected to be completed in October. Based in Montréal, Sécurité Above recently secured an investment from Grenville Strategic Royalty Corp, a Canadian provider of royalty financing. The funding was intended to support the company’s purchase of Seccuris Inc, an information assurance integrator platform.
6 min read · 26 August 2015
An affiliate of Vivonet Inc has bought Syrus Restaurant Information Services, a Columbus, Ohio-based provider of back-office and above-store reporting tools and services for the restaurant industry. The value of the all-cash transaction was not released. Vivonet, a Canadian cloud-based point-of-sale software and systems company, said the acquisition will accelerate its strategy of providing best-in-class solutions to the hospitality sector. Based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Vivonet has been majority owned by U.S. private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners since late 2012.
3 min read · 26 August 2015
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has invested $62.5 million in WSP Global Group Inc, an engineering services provider based in Montréal. The investment is intended to faciliate WSP's proposed acquisition of MMM Group Ltd, a Canadian engineering consulting business. The deal, which is priced at about $425 million, will strengthen WSP's presence in domestic transportation and infrastructure sectors and enhance its expertise in public-private partnerships, the Caisse said. The Caisse has invested some $420 million over the past four years in support of WSP's growth strategy. In 2014, it and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) backed the company's purchase of Parsons Brinckerhoff.
2 min read · 26 August 2015
Canadian private equity firm Stern Partners has closed its previously-announced acquisition of Comark Inc, a specialty fashion retailer serving customers under the Ricki's, Bootlegger and Cleo banners. No financial terms were disclosed. As a result of the deal, Comark's retail banners will carry on business as separate affiliates of Stern Partners. As reported by peHUB Canada in July, Mississauga, Ontario-based Comark, formerly a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm KarpReilly, obtained creditor protection earlier in 2015. Stern Partners confirmed that a portion of the transaction's proceeds will be used to repay Comark's secured lender, Salus Capital Partners.
4 min read · 26 August 2015
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp has completed its sale of Tropicana Las Vegas to Penn National Gaming. The previously-announced transaction was valued at about US$360 million. Net proceeds received by Onex totaled US$230 million. In May 2009, the Toronto-based firm partnered with Alex Yemenidjian to acquire a majority interest in Tropicana Las Vegas for about US$319 million. The company operates a hotel and casino resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2 min read · 26 August 2015
