OMERS Private Equity related stories
All articles and analysis
OMERS Ventures heads to Europe with $456 mln fund, hires Harry BriggsOMERS Ventures has taken another step in its plan to create a global platform, launching a €300 million ($456 million) fund to invest in European startups. Capitalized by OV’s parent organization, OMERS, the fund will make life-cycle investments in companies in key European tech hubs, Head of Ventures Damien Steel told PE Hub Canada. To manage the London-based fund, OV is assembling a team of investment pros reflecting a mix of VC and operational skills, Steel said. They include Harry Briggs, formerly a senior investment pro with European venture firms BGF Ventures and Balderton Capital, who joined late last year as a managing partner.
Pension giants drive PE activity in CanadaTwo mega-deals – both involving large Canadian pension plans – accounted for almost 70% of investment activity in the country in the first half of the year.
Penfund commits $15 mln to refinancing of THL's Give & GoCanadian private equity firm Penfund has further invested in Give & Go Prepared Foods Corp, a Canadian maker of branded and private-label sweet baked goods. Penfund provided an additional US$15 million of second-lien debt as part of Give & Go's recent first- and second-lien refinancing. Toronto-based Give & Go was last year acquired /canada/2016/8/omers-private-equity-triples-investment-in-give-go-sale/ by U.S. private equity Thomas H. Lee Partners from OMERS Private Equity, reportedly for about $1 billion (US$800 million). Earlier in 2017, the company bought the business /canada/2017/2/thomas-h-lees/ of U.S.-based United Baking Co Inc and its affiliates Uncle Wally’s LLC and Vision Enterprises LLC.
SouthPac, Skidmore family office make Cinnaroll Bakeries their debut dealSkidmore Development Group and SouthPac Partners have joined forces in the inaugural deal of both firms, investing in a maker of gourmet cinnamon rolls. Skidmore and SouthPac last week announced their acquisition of Calgary's Cinnaroll Bakeries for an undisclosed sum. The plan is to build on the company's 30 years of growth, Skidmore Managing Director and CFO Jas Boparai and SouthPac Managing Partner Jeremy South told PE Hub Canada. The Cinnaroll deal officially introduces Skidmore, the family office of British Columbia's Thomas Skidmore, and SouthPac, a Vancouver private equity firm, to the market.
Banks to sell £647 mln loan backing Civica buyout: ReutersBanks are preparing to sell down a £647 million (US$852 million) leveraged loan financing backing the acquisition of U.K.-based software company Civica Group by Swiss asset manager Partners Group, banking sources told Reuters. Partners agreed to buy Civica from OMERS Private Equity in a deal that valued the company at around £1 billion, the firms said in July /canada/2017/7/3464185/ Deutsche Bank and Natixis are leading the all-sterling leveraged loan financing, alongside Credit Agricole, Natwest, SMBC and UniCredit, the sources said. OMERS Private Equity, part of Canadian pension fund OMERS, acquired Civica in 2013 from 3i Group for £390 million.
OMERS' Borealis to increase stake in Thames Water to 23 pctBorealis Infrastructure has agreed to acquire an additional 5.5 percent interest in the holding company of Thames Water Utilities Ltd, a U.K. provider of water and wastewater services. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close this year. The seller is Australia's AMP Capital. Borealis, the infrastructure investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), originally became an investor in Thames Water /canada/2017/3/canadian-kuwaiti-investors-take-stake-in-britains-thames-water-reuters/ earlier in 2017. The additional investment will increase its overall stake in the company to about 23 percent.
OMERS to earn 2.6x its money with $1.72 bln sale of CivicaOMERS Private Equity (OPE) has agreed to sell Civica, a U.K. provider of public sector software, digital solutions and technology-based outsourcing services, for about $1.72 billion (£1.055 billion). The buyer is Partners Group, a European private equity firm. Launched in 2002, London-based Civica was acquired by OPE from 3i Group in 2013 for £390 million. OPE said it has since supported the company's organic growth and acquisition of a dozen complementary businesses. OPE, the private equity arm of Canadian pension fund OMERS, said the sale of Civica, its tenth exit globally in the past three years, will generate a multiple of 2.6x its invested capital.
- Swiss asset manager Partners Group to buy Civica for $1.3 billion: Reuters
Swiss asset manager Partners Group has agreed to buy Civica from OMERS Private Equity in a deal valuing the U.K.-based software firm at around 1 billion pounds ($1.30 billion), Reuters reported.
OMERS, Ontario Teachers’ to sell High Speed 1 to consortiumBorealis Infrastructure, the infrastructure investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan have agreed to sell HS1 Ltd, the owner and operator of High Speed 1, a U.K. high-speed rail system. No financial terms were released. The buyer is a consortium led by InfraRed Capital Partners and Equitix Investment Management. Borealis and Ontario Teachers’ bought the 30-year concession for the HS1 network in 2010 for £2.1 billion ($3.5 billion). The network connects London St Pancras International station with the Channel Tunnel.