Private Equity
Brookfield Asset Management has approached Australia's Asciano Ltd with a US$6.8 billion takeover bid, but uncertainty about whether the deal would go through capped gains in the stock price of the rail freight firm, Reuters reported. If successful, the deal would be the seventh-largest inbound takeover of an Australian company. Brookfield's offer was made through Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.
2 min read · 02 July 2015
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp has completed its previously announced majority investment in Jack’s Family Restaurants, a quick-service restaurant operator based in Homewood, Alabama. The financial details of the transaction were not published. The company has some 129 stores in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee, and is gearing up for further expansion. Last week, Onex agreed to invest in Schumacher Group, a U.S. emergency and hospital medicine services provider.
2 min read · 02 July 2015
StorageVault Canada Inc has agreed to purchase Storage For Your Life Solutions Inc and Carousel Ventures Ltd for $52.5 million. StorageVault, an owner and operator of storage facilities across Canada, said the acquisitions will give it four self-storage stores located in the Greater Vancouver Area. The deal is expected to close in September. Based in Regina, Saskatchewan, StorageVault is a portfolio company of funds managed by Canadian private equity and venture capital firm PFM Capital.
6 min read · 30 June 2015
British private equity firm Hilco Capital has bought Tilley Endurables, a travel clothing designer and manufacturer with headquarters in Toronto. The value of the acquisition was not published. Founded by Alex Tilley in 1980, the company's products, which include the iconic Tilley Hat, are stocked in more than 2,500 stores in multiple countries. Hilco CEO Paul McGowan said the firm will partner with Tilley to continue growing the business and taking "the Tilley Hat to new markets around the world.” Hilco's other Canadian investments include HMV Canada and Kraus Group.
2 min read · 30 June 2015
Alliance Laundry Holdings LLC, a portfolio company of Teachers' Private Capital, has completed a new US$400 million asset-backed finance facility. President and CEO Mike Schoeb said the facility will allow the company to build on its existing North American market share and expand its operations in Europe. Based in Ripon, Wisconsin, Alliance Laundry is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of commercial laundry equipment. Teachers, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, bought it for US$450 million in 2005.
3 min read · 30 June 2015
Canadian mineral resource company Royal Nickel Corp (TSX: RNX) has agreed to receive $12.4 million from Orion Mine Finance, a private equity firm with offices in New York and other locations. In exchange for the funding, Orion will obtain a 0.75 percent net smelter return royalty in the Dumont Nickel Project, which is located in the Abitibi mining camp near Amos, Québec, as well as 10 million of Royal Nickel's common shares. The company will have the right to repurchase 50 percent of the royalty for US$15 million on the third, fourth or fifth anniversary of closing. Royal Nickel has its headquarters in Toronto.
4 min read · 30 June 2015
Laurion Mineral Exploration Inc (TSX-V: LME) has secured $6 million in a private placement transaction. The investor was an unnamed Dallas, Texas-based oil and gas private equity firm, which utilized its funding vehicle, VARA Minerals LP, in the deal. Laurion, which is based in Toronto, said the investment is a first step in a long-term strategic partnership focused on moving its Ishkoday gold and base metal project from discovery into production phases. The project is located northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Laurion is led by President and CEO Cynthia Le Sueur-Aquin.
6 min read · 30 June 2015
Canadian mineral exploration and development company TMAC Resources Inc has filed its final prospectus for an initial public offering (IPO) of its common shares. The revised prospectus shows an increase in the offering's target raise to about $135 million in gross proceeds, which is the result of "strong demand," the company said. An over-allotment option could give TMAC up to about $155.2 million. Net IPO proceeds will be used in part to advance the company's Hope Bay gold project to first production by the end of 2016. The project is located in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut. TMAC is backed by U.S. private equity firm Resource Capital Funds (RCF) and other investors.
4 min read · 30 June 2015
Cenovus Energy Inc, Canada's second-largest independent oil producer, said on Tuesday it has agreed to sell its portfolio of oil and gas royalty properties to Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan for about $3.3 billion. As Reuters first reported this month, the decision to sell the unit, Heritage Royalty Ltd, to Teachers' Natural Resources Group was made after exploring several options including an initial public offering.
2 min read · 30 June 2015
American Achievement Corp, a portfolio investment of U.S. private equity firm Fenway Partners, has agreed to buy Gaspard LP, a provider of academic regalia, clergy vestments, choral robes, and legal and judicial attire. No financial details were disclosed for the transaction that is expected to be completed in July 2015. Update: Following the acquisition's close, Gaspard will remain headquartered in Winnipeg and will continue to be led by current President and Chief Executive Officer David Blatt. The company was founded in 1909.
3 min read · 29 June 2015
