Private Equity
Canadian specialty finance firm Crown Capital Partners has completed its initial public offering, raising gross proceeds of more than $65 million. It may raise additional proceeds from an over-allotment option granted to underwriters. The firm's shares began trading this week on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CRN". Crown Capital said it expects to use most of the net IPO proceeds to obtain an interest in its latest fund, Crown Capital Fund IV, and to finance long-term debt transactions. As reported by peHUB Canada in June, the firm is seeking up to $300 million for Fund IV as part of a broadened debt and quasi-equity investment program targeted to mid-market companies.
4 min read · 10 July 2015
U.S. private equity firm Centerbridge Partners recently agreed to buy KIK Custom Products, a Canadian manufacturer of household and personal care products and a developer of pool and spa treatment products. The proposed acquisition's value was not disclosed; however, a November 2014 report by Reuters suggested the deal could value KIK at more than US$1.5 billion, including debt. The seller in the transaction is CI Capital Partners, a U.S. private equity firm that purchased KIK for $826 million in 2007. Jeff Nodland, president and CEO of the Concord, Ontario-based company, said the new partnership with Centerbridge will help it "to continue on its growth trajectory."
4 min read · 10 July 2015
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp has agreed to sell Sitel Worldwide Corp, a provider of outsourced customer care and back-office processing services based in Nashville, Tennessee. The buyer was not disclosed. Upon the deal's closing, expected later this year, Onex said its proceeds are likely to be about US$55 million, which includes an earn-out component. In 2007, ClientLogic, a portfolio investment of Onex, acquired and merged with Sitel. In February, Reuters reported that Onex was looking to sell the business. Sitel is also a portfolio company of OMERS Private Equity, the private equity investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.
2 min read · 10 July 2015
Fix Auto Canada, a branded network of body shops, has received an $8.2 million investment from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. The funding, which comes in the form of both equity and subordinated debt, is intended to help the company accelerate growth through strategic acquisitions and investments, domestically and around the world. Based in Montréal, Fix Auto currently operates 215 independently-owned centres across Canada that offer a full range of collision repair services. Founded in 1992, the company is led by President Steve Leal.
2 min read · 09 July 2015
MicroDental Inc, formerly known as DTI Dental Technologies Inc, has acquired Phoenix Dental Laboratory Inc, a full-service dental laboratory located in Hamilton, Ontario. The financial details of the transaction were not released. MicroDental said Phoenix will be merged with its Hamilton division to serve the Greater Toronto Area. The Dublin, California-headquartered MicroDental, which operates a network of dental laboratories, is backed by HealthpointCapital, a U.S. private equity firm. HealthpointCapital combined it with its Vancouver-based portfolio company DTI in 2007.
2 min read · 09 July 2015
The previously-announced acquisition of Canadian live performance company Cirque du Soleil has been completed. The control-stake deal, estimated at US$1.5 billion in value, was led by U.S. private equity firm TPG alongside China's Fosun International Ltd and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Cirque founder Guy Laliberté will retain a minority stake. Mitch Garber, chair of the company's board of directors, Claridge, and Cirque President and CEO Daniel Lamarre will also take ownership stakes. Lamarre said the new partnership has "already begun laying the ground work for the global expansion of the Cirque du Soleil brand."
3 min read · 09 July 2015
Fulcrum Capital Partners has surpassed the target set for the final close of Fulcrum Capital Partners V LP, raising the largest private equity partnership in the firm's history. The Vancouver-based Fulcrum announced today that Fund V secured a total of $344 million in committed capital from new and repeat limited partners. That’s about 15 percent more than its revised goal of $300 million.
2 min read · 09 July 2015
Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp said that Mexican industrial conglomerate Alfa SAB de CV and energy investment firm Harbour Energy Ltd have dropped their plans to buy the Canadian oil and gas company, Reuters reported. The $2 billion offer, first made in May will terminate immediately. Harbour Energy is backed by Noble Group Ltd and U.S. private equity firm EIG Global Energy Partners.
2 min read · 09 July 2015
Wynnchurch Capital, a U.S. private equity firm with an office in Toronto and an affiliate in Montréal, has promoted four of its investment professionals to managing director. The individuals are: Brian Crumbaugh, Greg Gleason, Neel Mayenkar and Michael Teplitsky. Headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois, Wynnchurch has several Canadian investments, including Calyx Transportation Group Inc, Groupe Moreau, Pro-Fab Group Inc and Surepoint Technologies Group Inc. Last November, the firm closed it fourth mid-market partnership at US$1.2 billion.
3 min read · 08 July 2015
VINCI Park, a portfolio company of French private equity firm Ardian, has agreed to acquire the assets of WestPark Calgary from WestPark Parking Services Inc. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. France's VINCI Park, a manager of about 1.9 million parking spaces and related services in 14 countries, said it had also entered into a partnership to strengthen its market position in British Columbia. Based in Vancouver, WestPark is a parking management company that operates over 170 parking facilities in Western Canada.
3 min read · 08 July 2015
