Private Equity
Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC (NYSE: NKA), a midstream natural gas services provider with primary offices in Radnor, Pennsylvania and Calgary, recently agreed to be bought by an investor group led by Brookfield Infrastructure. The transaction is valued at about $912 million, including the assumption of debt, and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016. In connection with the deal, Brookfield has committed to lend up to $50 million to Niska for working capital purposes. Niska is currently a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firms Riverstone Holdings and The Carlyle Group. A fund affiliated with the two investors bought Niska from Encana Corp in 2006.
5 min read · 23 June 2015
U.S. private equity firm Calera Capital has completed the previously announced sale of its majority interest in SterlingBackcheck. The joint buyers were Canadian pension fund manager the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division. The transaction's financial terms were not published. Headquartered in New York, SterlingBackcheck is a provider of background screening services.
3 min read · 23 June 2015
An affiliate of BluEarth Renewables Inc has acquired LunarLight, a 10 megawatt AC solar power plant located in Belleville, Ontario, for about $65 million. The seller was Canadian Solar Inc, which in January of this year sold its SparkleLight plant to BluEarth for about $66 million. LunarLight is the last in a series of acquisitions of Canadian Solar assets by the Calgary-based BluEarth, a renewable power producer focused on North American wind, water and solar projects. The company is backed by ARC Financial Corp and Teachers’ Private Capital.
3 min read · 23 June 2015
Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate investment arm of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, said that it has led a US$920 million capital raise in Shanghai developer Chongbang Group, as it and others in its consortium look to Asian markets for higher returns, Reuters reported. Ivanhoé Cambridge said it invested US$500 million in the deal, which also included participation from APG Asset Management NV of the Netherlands.
2 min read · 23 June 2015
Employees and the founder of Canadian wireless telecom provider Mobilicity have made a proposal to the federal government to acquire the company's subscribers, dealers, and partial infrastructure via a mobile virtual network operator structure. The deal is intended to keep the company's brand operational in its current markets and allow it to restructure. Obelysk, a private equity firm owned by Mobilicity founder John Bitove, would provide the necessary funding. Reuters recently reported that Telus Corp and Rogers Communications Inc are currently making bids to buy Mobilicity. Since 2008, the company has been backed by U.S. private equity firm Quadrangle Group.
3 min read · 23 June 2015
SPREP Pte Ltd, a company formed in 2013 by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Shapoorji Pallonji Group, has announced its first acquisition. SPREP has agreed to acquire Faery Estates Private Ltd, the owner and operator of SP Infocity IT Park in Chennai, India. The property has been valued at about US$220 million. SPREP was established to invest in office buildings in major metropolitan areas of India. CPPIB owns 80 percent of the venture with an initial equity commitment of US$200 million.
3 min read · 23 June 2015
British secondaries firm Nova Capital Management has recapitalized Nova Argent Canada Inc, the company through which it acquired Canada's National Concrete Accessories (NCA) and Exchanger Industries. NCA, a manufacturer of forming hardware and concrete accessories, and Exchanger Industries, a manufacturer of heat transfer equipment, were acquired by Nova from Amalgamated Metal Corp PLC in 2011. Lincoln International LLC advised on the new financing package. In April, NCA bought Red Deer, Alberta-based Northland Construction Supplies.
3 min read · 22 June 2015
Telus Corp and Rogers Communications Inc are looking to acquire wireless telecommunications provider Mobilicity, and the Canadian government is expected to approve a deal with one of the suitors, Reuters reported, citing a report by The Globe and Mail. The price range is said to be above $300 million, a source close to Mobilicity is reported to have said. Founded in 2008, Mobilicity is a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm Quadrangle Group.
2 min read · 22 June 2015
Premier Aviation Overhaul Centre Inc has agreed to acquire Discovery Air Technical Services, a subsidiary of Discovery Air Inc (TSX: DA.A). No financial terms were released. Premier Aviation, a Trois-Rivières, Québec-based airframe maintenance, repair and overhaul company, said the acquisition will increase its capacity in the regional aircraft market and enhance its growth opportunities. The deal is expected to wrap up by the end of August. Discovery Air, a specialty aviation company, is a portfolio investment of Canadian private equity firm Clairvest Group. Last month, Clairvest agreed to increase its stake in the business to as much as 82.7 percent of issued and outstanding common shares.
4 min read · 22 June 2015
Canadian alternative investment manager West Face Capital has received gross proceeds of $18.4 million from a previously announced secondary offering of common shares of Mandalay Resources Corp (TSX: MND). West Face, which has backed the company since 2010, now holds about 17.3 percent of its outstanding common shares. The Toronto-based Mandalay is natural resource company with producing assets in Australia, Chile and Sweden, and a development project in Chile. Last September, West Face completed a secondary transaction that gave it $50.6 million in proceeds.
2 min read · 22 June 2015
