Canadian landlord Oxford Properties Group has lobbed a last-minute A$3.3 billion (US$2.4 billion) bid for Australian office owner Investa Office Fund, edging out an earlier offer from U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group, Reuters reported. The bid lands two days before a scheduled shareholder meeting to approve Blackstone’s takeover that has Investa’s blessings. It caps years of suitors circling Investa as tight supply and strong growth lift rents in Australia, especially in Sydney where Investa’s towers are concentrated. Oxford invests in and manages real estate assets on behalf of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).
Australian property developer Goodman Group Pty Ltd and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) have committed an extra US$1.75 billion of equity to their Chinese logistics partnership to further expand in China, Reuters reported. The funds, 80 percent of which will come from CPPIB, will take the partners’ total equity commitment to US$5 billion. The investment increase is the latest in China’s logistics industry which is experiencing a boom in demand for warehousing and delivery from e-commerce companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and JD.com Inc.
Syndication of the US$13.5 billion debt package backing Blackstone Group’s buyout of Thomson Reuters’ Financial and Risk division is expected to launch in the first week of September, at the same time as a €7.3 billion debt financing backing the buyout of Akzo Nobel’s specialty chemicals business, bankers close to the deal told Reuters. Thomson Reuters’ loan and bond package is expected to launch in Europe on September 3 and in the United States on September 4 after the Labour Day holiday. The deal is the largest buyout financing since the crisis and its launch has been eagerly awaited since the deal was underwritten in January.
BDC Capital has added to the bench strength of its growth equity group to make further inroads in Canada’s lower-mid market and deploy a $250 million fund. BDC recently hired three seasoned investment pros for offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Montréal. They include Jean Bédard and Loren Rafeson, who will serve as directors. Claude Miron, vice president and head of growth equity, said the recruits bring fresh capabilities to the team, extend its reach, and will help introduce BDC’s minority-capital offering to small businesses.
At least three consortiums have been formed to launch multi-billion-euro bids for a stake in the operator of Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, sources told Reuters. The French state’s 50.6 percent stake in airports group Aéroports de Paris is likely to go on the block next year in a deal that could be worth up to 10 billion euros (US$11.4 billion). Sources said the lead players of the consortiums include French group Vinci. Vinci approached Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and other pension funds to become bid partners, Reuters reported in June.
Wynnchurch Capital has acquired a business that makes the uniforms worn by Canada’s military, border control and correctional facilities’ personnel. The private equity firm said this week it invested in Logistik Unicorp, a Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec, provider of uniform solutions to corporate and public-sector organizations. Terms weren’t disclosed. The sellers were Argosy Partners and Clearspring Capital Partners. The platform investment is Wynnchurch’s 10th in Canada and seventh since 2009, when the Chicago-based firm opened an office in Toronto.
In today’s intensely competitive deal climate, auctions are difficult to avoid, writes Shahir Guindi, national co-chair of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. In looking to stand out from a crowd of bidders, private equity firms should be strategic and proactive in their approach, including to help differentiate themselves and increase their likelihood of a successful deal. In a PE Hub Canada feature article, Guindi outlines four strategies that can give PE buyers a competitive advantage in a typical auction process.
Thomson Reuters Corp said it was thinking about acquisition opportunities after reporting quarterly earnings that were ahead of expectations and reaffirming its 2018 forecast, Reuters reported. The news and information provider agreed in January to sell a 55-percent stake in the Financial & Risk unit, which provides data and news primarily to financial customers, to U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group. It expects to use US$1 billion to US$3 billion from the proceeds to make acquisitions in legal and accounting. “Following the closure of the deal with Blackstone, Thomson Reuters will be in a position to play offense,” CEO Jim Smith said in an interview.
Canadian building-interior manufacturer DIRTT Environmental Solutions Ltd has abandoned an effort to sell itself after soliciting offers from private equity firms and other companies, sources told Reuters. Private equity firms seeking to raise debt financing for the deal have struggled to convince banks to finance a business that is vulnerable to changes in the cyclical construction industry, the sources said. DIRTT also entertained offers for a private investment in public equity transaction, that would give a private equity firm a minority stake but choose not to pursue one in the end. DIRTT, which has a market capitalization of $553.38 million, had also been a target of a U.S.-based activist investor Iron Compass.
Canadian home services company Enercare Inc said it would be bought by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners for $4.3 billion as the asset management firm looks to expand its business across Canada, Reuters reported. Brookfield Infrastructure’s offer of $29 per Enercare share represents a 53 percent premium to Enercare Tuesday’s close. Based in Markham, Ontario, Enercare provides water heaters, water treatment, furnaces, air conditioners and other HVAC rental products, plumbing services, protection plans and related services. It serves about 1.6 million Canadian and U.S. customers annually.