Private Equity
U.S. private equity firm MidOcean Partners has agreed to sell Noranco Inc, a Canadian manufacturer and solutions provider to the global commercial and military aerospace industries, to Precision Castparts Corp (NYSE: PCP). The deal's value was not disclosed, however, Precision said it has agreed to pay US$560 million. MidOcean and Canadian pension fund manager PSP Investments jointly bought the Toronto-based Noranco in April 2013. PSP Investments has also agreed to sell its investment stake in the company, Precision said. During the past two years of private equity ownership, Noranco has been supported in driving growth and completing two acquisitions, MidOcean said.
3 min read · 27 July 2015
Canadian buyout and related private equity deal-making continued to grow in the first half of 2015, according to final data released by Thomson Reuters. Disclosed values of deals (announced and closed) totaled $11.4 billion as of June 30th, the strongest first half for private equity investment in Canada since 2007. A total of 205 deals were done in this period, which set a new first-half record, Thomson Reuters said. Canadian buyout-PE investors were also more active overseas between January and June, leading or participating in 82 transactions valued at about $95 billion. In contrast, the pace of Canadian private equity fundraising slowed in the first half, with capital committed totaling $4.4 billion.
4 min read · 27 July 2015
One51 plc has wrapped up its control-stake acquisition of Canadian injection-molded plastic products manufacturer IPL Inc, a deal done in partnership with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, an existing investor in the company. The value of the acquisition was previously disclosed at about $280 million. The transaction provided an exit to Canadian private equity firm Novacap, which led the take-private buyout of the Saint-Damien, Québec-based IPL in 2010. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, One51 is an environmental services and plastics provider.
1 min read · 27 July 2015
GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc (TSX: GDI), which recently completed a going public transaction, has agreed to buy Ainsworth Inc, a provider of a range of technical services to commercial, government and residential building clients in Canada. GDI will pay about $20.5 million for Ainsworth, currently a subsidiary of CEDA International Corp. The deal is expected to close later this year. The Montréal-based GDI said the acquisition will significantly enhance its commercial facility services offering. The company, which merged with Medwell Capital Corp in May, remains a portfolio investment of Canadian private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners.
4 min read · 24 July 2015
Acasta Enterprises Inc, a special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC), has filed a final prospectus for an initial public offering. The IPO, which was previously priced to raise $275 million in gross proceeds, is now pegged to bring in $350 million. An over-allotment option granted to underwriters may see the Acasta SPAC raise over $400 million. The offering is expected to close before the end of the month. The Acasta SPAC is sponsored by Acasta Capital, a Toronto-based boutique merchant bank and advisory firm led by Anthony Melman, a former Onex Corp founding partner.
6 min read · 24 July 2015
U.S. credit and special situations investor Tennenbaum Capital Partners has agreed to provide up to US$82.5 million of financing to Cargojet Inc (TSX: CJT), a Canadian supplier of time-sensitive overnight air cargo services. The deal is intended to fund Cargojet's acquisition and conversion of Boeing 767-300ER passenger aircraft into freighter aircraft. Tennenbaum said the transaction will help the company achieve additional capacity to support continued growth. Cargojet has its headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario.
2 min read · 23 July 2015
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) reported a gross total portfolio return of 14.5 percent for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. This performance exceeded PSP's policy portfolio benchmark rate of return of 13.1 percent. Partly as a result, the pension fund manager's net assets increased by $18.3 billion in fiscal 2015, or 20 percent, bringing total net assets to $112.0 billion. Among private market assets, real estate and natural resources led with returns of 12.8 percent and 12.2 percent, respectively. The private equity portfolio returned 9.4 percent. In January, PSP named André Bourbonnais as its new president and CEO.
4 min read · 23 July 2015
Yann Robard, managing director and head of secondaries and co-investments at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), is stepping down, becoming the third secondaries veteran to leave a top post this year. He will be replaced by eight-year veteran Michael Woolhouse, who has been senior principal of funds, secondaries and co-investments at CPPIB.
2 min read · 23 July 2015
Stern Partners, a private equity firm with investment experience in the retail industry, plans to acquire a Canadian clothing chain that has fallen on hard times. Comark, the parent of fashion brands Ricki's, Bootlegger and Cleo, agreed to sell the business to a Stern Partners' affiliate. Founded in 1976, the company has been backed for more than a decade by U.S. private equity firm KarpReilly.
2 min read · 22 July 2015
Sysomos Inc, a portfolio company of OMERS Private Equity, has bought Expion LLC, a social marketing software company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Sysomos said the acquisition will create a new platform that is capable of providing fully-integrated product solutions for social analysis, publishing and audience targeting. Prior to 2015, the Toronto-based Sysomos was an affiliate of Marketwired Inc, which is also backed by OMERS. In February, it was set up as an independent business led by former Microsoft Corp executive Lindsay Sparks. OMERS at the time said it would support the company's global expansion plans.
4 min read · 22 July 2015
