PE Deals

Avison Young Inc, a portfolio company of Canadian private equity firm Tricor Pacific Capital, has bought Roy et Tremblay Inc, a Montréal-based project management services company active in cultural projects and other areas. The financial terms of the deal were not published. Avison Young, which has been backed by Tricor since 2011, said the purchase grows its business-line coverage in Montréal and Québec. The Toronto-based commercial real estate services company has over the last five years expanded from 11 to 58 offices and from 300 to more than 1,500 professionals in North America and Europe.

Gibson's Insurance Agency Ltd, an insurance brokerage with offices in Treherne and Notre Dame de Lourdes, Manitoba, has been acquired by Hub International Ltd. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Hub, a Chicago-based insurance brokerage with significant operations in Canada, said the acquisition broadens its local market reach and specializations in Manitoba. In 2013, Hub was acquired by U.S. private equity firm Hellman & Friedman from its previous private equity owners for US$4.4 billion.

Canadian private equity firm Auxo Management has completed a minority equity recapitalization of its portfolio company UCIT Online Security, a Mississauga, Ontario-based provider of tailored solutions for security installations, system maintenance and video monitoring. The deal involved a new investment by U.S. private equity firm Egis Capital Partners, which targets opportunities in security and homeland defense sectors. The value of the transaction was not disclosed. Auxo, which invested in UCIT in 2011, said the recapitalization is the first exit of a Canadian search fund. Torys LLP's Michael Akkawi and Sophia Tolias recently discussed the rise of search funds in the domestic market in a feature article for peHUB Canada.

Canadian uranium producer Energy Fuels Inc (TSX: EFR) has agreed to sell non-core uranium assets to a private investor group led by U.S. hedge fund manager Baobab Asset Management and George Glasier, a past president of the company. The sale, which involves Energy Fuels' Piñon Ridge mill license and related assets, as well as other mining properties located along the Colorado-Utah border, will be made for a cash consideration of US$2.05 million. Related transactions are expected to be completed in October. The Toronto-based company is selling assets as part of a cost reduction and rationalization strategy.

The board of directors of Tuckamore Capital Management has released a letter to shareholders concerning the proposed acquisition of Tuckamore by private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners in partnership with senior managers. The letter said the deal is intended to be a long-term solution that provides the capital resources needed to "de-risk the balance sheet and surface value for shareholders." The $0.75 per share offer gives shareholders "an opportunity to receive cash for their shares, while leaving the purchaser to assume approximately $280 million in debt and capital leases," it said. A number of investors have publicly opposed the deal.

Thorpe Specialty Services Corp, a portfolio company of U.S. private equity firm CapStreet Group, said Monday that it has acquired the assets of Clayburn Refractories Ltd. No financial terms were disclosed for the transaction. With offices in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and in Edmonton, Calgary and Fort McMurray, Alberta, Clayburn Refractories is a provider of corrosion and refractory services. Update: The deal is the first international acquisition of the Houston, Texas-based Thorpe, which received its initial investment from CapStreet in 2010.