Brad Meikle

Canamax Energy Ltd (TSX-V: CAC), a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm 32 Degrees Capital, recently completed a going-private transaction. Consistent with the terms of the previously announced deal, an investor group led by U.S. private equity firm Edge Natural Resource acquired certain issued and outstanding common shares of Canamax for about $82 million. 32 Degrees, which became a shareholder in Canamax following the latter's acquisition of Powder Mountain Energy Ltd last June, will remain invested in the company. Calgary-based Canamax is a junior oil and gas producer focused on making acquisitions of high-quality, distressed assets.

Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners LP, an affiliate of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, and its institutional partners have wrapped up their buy of a 57.6 percent stake in Isagen SA. The seller in the previously announced deal, valued at US$1.99 billion, was the Colombian government. Headquartered in Medellin, Colombia, Isagen is an energy generation business.

Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) has sold its 50 percent interest in Autopista Central de Chile to Abertis Infraestructuras SA, a subsidiary of Abertis. Abertis paid €948 million ($1.5 billion) for Autopista Central, a 61-kilometre highway concession, giving it full control of the asset. AIMCo acquired the stake in December 2010, joining a consortium with 100 percent ownership of Autopista Central SA unit, a Santiago-based toll road services provider. Ben Hawkins, senior vice president, infrastructure and timberlands, at AIMCo, said the Edmonton-based pension fund manager is "committed to investing further in Chile given the right opportunities."

SFX Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ: SFXE), a New York-based producer of live events and digital entertainment content, recently secured US$20 million in financing. A subsequent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said the investor is Catalyst Fund LP V, the fifth distressed-for-control fund of Canadian private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group. The funding is a credit facility that will be used by SFX for working and general corporate purposes. Founded in 2011, SFX operates a group of business brands focused on electronic music culture and festivals held around the world. Catalyst's Fund V raised $2 billion in a final close last October.

Brookfield Property Partners joint venture began work on a US$1 billion office tower in Dubai this week as the Canadian firm bets the emirate's commercial property sector will be unaffected by the sustained slump in oil prices, Reuters reported. Brookfield is forming a 50-50 joint venture with state-owned Investment Corp of Dubai (ICD) to build a 53-storey tower in the Dubai International Finance Centre that is slated to be completed in late 2018.

CPI Card Group Inc (Nasdaq: PMTS, TSX: PNT) has appointed Doug Pearce to its board of directors. Pearce was the founding CEO and CIO of the British Columbia Investment Management Corp (bcIMC). He led bcIMC for more than two decades, retiring in June 2014. Based in Littleton, Colorado, CPI is a provider of payment card products and related services. A portfolio company of Tricor Pacific Capital since 2007, it raised US$137.5 million in an initial public offering on U.S. and Canadian exchanges last October. In late 2015, Tricor rebranded its fifth fund, creating Parallel49 Equity.

Riverbed Technology Inc has acquired Germany's Ocedo, a provider of software-defined networking and software-defined wide-area-network solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. Riverbed, a San Francisco-based application performance infrastructure company, said the acquisition accelerates its strategy to deliver software-defined networking solutions and creates new opportunities for growth. Last April, Riverbed was taken private by Thoma Bravo and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). The deal was valued at about US$3.5 billion.

Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) has acquired a minority ownership stake in DFG Investment Advisers Inc, an asset management firm specializing in structured and alternative credit products. No financial terms were released. Based in New York, DFG manages about US$2 billion of assets. AIMCo said the deal deepens an existing partnership between the two organizations, which goes back to 2009. Edmonton-based AIMCo manages $85 billion of assets on behalf of Alberta pension, endowment and government funds.

Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate investment arm of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, has participated in the acquisition of 16 multifamily properties in San Francisco. The deal, valued at US$200 million, was done in collaboration with Veritas Investments, an Ivanhoé partner since 2014. Ivanhoé said it and Veritas now jointly own a total of 45 properties, averaging 30 residential housing units per building, across San Francisco.

Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) has invited investment banks to pitch for a Hong Kong IPO worth up to US$15 billion, a source told Reuters, setting the ball rolling for what is likely to be the world's biggest listing this year. The move follows PSBC's raise in December of US$7 billion from a group of private investors, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.