Private Equity
Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp and Ely Gold & Minerals Inc have agreed to sell their combined interests in the Mount Hamilton gold project to an affiliate of Canadian private equity firm Waterton Global Resource Management for US$30 million in cash. According to the terms of the deal, Solitario will sell its 80 percent stake in Mount Hamilton, while Ely Gold will sell its 20 percent stake. Maxit Capital LP provided financial advice to both Solitario and Ely Gold on the transaction. Waterton said the acquisition will add another key development asset to its growing portfolio of assets in Nevada.
9 min read · 11 June 2015
Specialty pharmaceuticals company Pozen Inc said it would acquire Tribute Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc for about US$144 million, in a deal that would shift its domicile to Ireland and cut its tax bill. The merged company, to be called Aralez Pharmaceuticals Plc, will focus on cardiovascular treatments. As part of the transaction, a group of investors, including U.S. healthcare investment firm Deerfield Management and Canadian biotech company QLT Inc, will invest up to US$350 million in growth capital for Aralez.
3 min read · 10 June 2015
The WhiteWave Foods Co (NYSE: WWAV) has agreed to buy Vega, a Canadian natural health products and nutritional supplements company, for US$550 million in cash. Vega, which offers a range of plant-based nutrition products, such as powdered shakes and snack bars, generated net sales of about US$100 million over the last twelve months. It is majority owned by Founder and President Charles Chang and U.S. private equity firm VMG Partners. WhiteWave said the deal will broaden the scope of its food and beverage product platform. The acquisition, which will keep Vega at its Vancouver headquarters and led by its senior management team, is expected to close in the third quarter.
7 min read · 10 June 2015
ACCEO Solutions Inc has acquired Multipost Ltd, a Toronto-based developer of point-of-sale terminal software for small and mid-sized retailers. The financial details of the transaction were not published. Montréal's ACCEO, a specialist in business software solutions, said the acquisition will expand its product range and increase its expertise in the retail industry. In 2012, France's GFI Informatique SA sold its stake in ACCEO, then known as GFI Solutions Inc, to an investor group that included Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Investissement Québec.
2 min read · 10 June 2015
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, already a major global investor, has signaled even greater ambitions with a US$12 billion transaction with GE Capital that sources said may herald larger deals, Reuters reported. The pension fund manager's decision not to seek a partner for the purchase of GE's private equity lending portfolio also highlights its confidence and suggests it may go it alone more often on future buys.
3 min read · 10 June 2015
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has made an additional equity investment of 100 million euros ($139 million) in portfolio company SPIE, a European provider of engineering and energy services. The Caisse said the commitment facilitated Spie's initial public offering on the Paris stock exchange. The company, which attempted to go public in 2014, recently issued 700 million euros in shares through an offering that gave it a market capitalization of about 2.5 billion euros. The Caisse, which has backed Spie since 2011, said it re-invested to provide the company with financial flexibility and to support its organic and acquisition-based growth strategy.
3 min read · 09 June 2015
Aspenleaf Energy Ltd, a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm ARC Financial Corp and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Arcan Resources Ltd, a Calgary oil and gas company. Aspenleaf paid 11 cents per share in cash for the company, or close to $300 million including debt, according to a Financial Post report. Founded in 2013, Aspenleaf is focused on the acquisition and development of light oil and liquids-rich gas assets in Western Canada. It is led by President and CEO Bryan Gould. ARC Financial recently closed its eighth energy fund, raising $1.5 billion in commitments.
2 min read · 09 June 2015
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs have agreed to jointly buy a majority stake in SterlingBackcheck, an employment background screening business based in New York. The financial terms of the proposed transaction were not disclosed. As a result of the acquisition, Calera Capital, a U.S. private equity firm that invested in the company in December 2010, will be replaced as its lead investor. Founded in 1975, SterlingBackcheck said the new partnership with the Caisse and Goldman Sachs will support the next phase of its global growth.
4 min read · 09 June 2015
Canadian energy-focused private equity firm ARC Financial Corp has closed its eighth fund, ARC Energy Fund 8, with a total raise of $1.5 billion. The oversubscribed fund was backed chiefly by limited partners that committed to ARC's previous funds, including ARC Energy Fund 7, which raised $1 billion in 2012. The Calgary-based firm said Fund 8 will continue to target opportunities involving Canadian growth exploration and production and oilfield service companies, and make investments of between $50 million and $200 million. Since its founding in 1989, ARC has raised more than $5 billion in fund capital. In March, Buyouts' Steve Gelsi reported on ARC and its latest fundraising activity.
2 min read · 09 June 2015
Stingray Digital Group Inc, a Canadian multi-platform music and in-store media solutions provider, has wrapped up its debut on the Toronto Stock Exchange with a total raise of about $179.5 million. The company's initial public offering, which was targeted to bring in $140 million, included an over-allotment option granted to underwriters, totaling $21 million, as well as a concurrent secondary private placement by shareholders. One of Stingray's leading investors, Canadian private equity firm Novacap, told peHUB Canada it expected to see an eight-fold return on the sale of most of its 29.4 percent interest. Stingray itself accounted for $104 million from the offering.
4 min read · 09 June 2015
