Reuters News

Canadian alternative investment firm Brookfield Asset Management made a US$3.3 billion approach for Australian hospital group Healthscope, trumping a local buyout proposal and sending shares of the target up to a two-year high, Reuters reported. The approach, disclosed by Healthscope in a statement, sets the scene for a takeover battle for the No. 2 Australian private hospital operator which has seen its shares slide due to high debt and a shift back to public health services after a scandal in the private sector. New Australian private equity player BGH Capital made an approach worth US$3.1 billion on April 26.

Canadian Tire Corp will buy Norway-based Helly Hansen for $985 million, the diversified retailer said on Thursday, as it expands its sportswear business, Reuters reported. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. Oslo-based Helly Hansen, currently owned by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, sells a range of apparel used in sailing, skiing, mountaineering and hiking at its own stores as well as retailers such as Nordstrom. Ontario Teachers’ acquired a majority stake in the business in 2012.

Enbridge Inc has received higher-than-expected bids for the Canadian midstream assets it is selling as part of its debt-reduction efforts, with initial bids valuing the portfolio as high as $4.5 billion, sources told Reuters. Keyera Corp, Pembina Pipeline Corp and Husky Energy Inc’s midstream unit are among suitors that placed preliminary bids ahead of a recent deadline. Wolf Midstream Inc, backed by Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, has made a bid for some of the assets on offer, and Inter Pipeline and KKR & Co were also said to be interested.

Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge Inc will sell a U.S. gas pipelines business and part of its renewable energy assets for a total of about $3.2 billion (US$2.5 billion) as it seeks to shed secondary assets and reduce its massive debt load, Reuters reported. Enbridge said it had sealed a $1.75 billion agreement with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to sell a 49 percent stake in wind and solar power assets in North America and Germany. It will also sell Midcoast Operating LP, its U.S. gas pipelines unit, to an affiliate of U.S. private equity firm ArcLight Capital Partners for US$1.12 billion.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Allianz Capital Partners have agreed to take 55 percent of the units in an infrastructure investment trust backed by a subsidiary of India's Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Reuters reported. L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd (IDPL) is scheduled to list on the market this week. CPPIB will invest US$154.68 million for its 30 percent stake in IDPL, it said in a joint statement with Allianz. Allianz Capital Partners, on behalf of Allianz insurance companies, will buy 25 percent of the units in its first direct investment in Asia.

ReNew Power Ltd filed for an initial public offering this week that could raise more than US$1 billion in one of India’s biggest listings so far this year, Reuters reported. Goldman Sachs and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are among the backers of the company, which has about 3,921 megawatts of operational wind and solar power generation capacity and another about 1,668 megawatts under development. ReNew, which in April agreed to buy Ostro Energy Private Ltd in one of India’s biggest renewable energy deals, said in a filing it plans to raise 26 billion rupees (US$387 million).

Hudson’s Bay Co is working with investment bankers and consultants to identify deals and new measures to turn around its Lord & Taylor department store chain, once the cornerstone of its retail empire, sources told Reuters. The Canadian retailer has been working with investment bank PJ Solomon Co for advice on potential deals regarding its department store portfolio, and is also working with consulting firm AlixPartners LLP on cutting costs and reforming its business. Much of their focus has been on Lord & Taylor, which accounts for about one-tenth of Hudson’s Bay’s stores.