A unit of U.S. private investment firm Starwood Capital Group said it would buy Canada's Milestone Apartments Real Estate Investment Trust in a deal valued at about US$2.85 billion, Reuters reported. Milestone Apartments' portfolio consists of 78 multi-family residential properties, comprising 24,061 apartment units, located throughout the Southeast and Southwest United States. The transaction implies an average price of about US$120,000 per apartment unit, the Toronto-based REIT said.
Torys LLP this week released its much-anticipated overview of Canadian private equity market trends in 2017. In an exclusive PE Hub Canada feature article, Torys Partners Cameron Koziskie and Michael Akkawi and Counsel Sophia Tolias discuss what's ahead in the context of 2016's slower deal-making. They also highlight factors expected to shape the 2017 market, including the rise of a new class of financial investor and the steps being taken by many PE firms to address competition, deal flow and pricing issues.
Intrawest Resorts Holdings Inc, the owner of some of the most popular ski resorts in North America, is working with investment banks on a possible sale, sources told Reuters. The company, majority-owned by U.S. private equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC, is in the initial stages of reaching out to potential buyers, including buyout firms, the sources said. Intrawest, which has a current market capitalization of US$750 million, has its principal offices in Denver, Colorado and Banff, Alberta.
Canada’s top 10 private equity deals in 2016 reflected values of more than $10.8 billion, down 11 percent from the $12.2 billion invested in the top 10 deals in 2015. That number is based on PE Hub Canada’s list of the largest deals announced last year, supplemented by preliminary Thomson Reuters data. It suggests that PE dollar flows in Canada’s market declined in 2016, relative to a year ago, as they reportedly did on a global basis.
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp is exploring a sale of USI Insurance Services, hoping that a deal will value the U.S. insurance brokerage at as much as US$4 billion, including debt, sources told Reuters. A sale of USI would underscore the wave of consolidation sweeping the commercial property and casualty insurance market, which has not grown quickly enough to support the smaller brokerages, and has attracted buyout firms keen to cut costs. Onex is working with Bank of America Corp on an auction for USI, the sources said.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc is selling its Dendreon cancer treatment business and three skincare brands for US$2.12 billion as the troubled Canadian drugmaker looks to reduce more than US$30 billion in debt, Reuters reported. The company is trying to regain investor confidence after its stock plunged over the past year amid disclosures that it worked secretly with a specialty pharmacy to boost sales of its medicines. Valeant's major shareholders include U.S. hedge funds, such as William Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management.
Brookfield Asset Management said it had submitted alternative proposals regarding its interest in buying bankrupt solar company SunEdison Inc's "yieldco", TerraForm Power IncReuters reported. Canada's largest alternative-asset manager said it would purchase all of TerraForm Power's outstanding shares for US$11.50 in cash for a total consideration of US$1.6 billion. It said it was open to raising the offer to US$12.50 per share in cash if it can also buy SunEdison's other "yieldco", TerraForm Global Inc. Brookfield is TerraForm Power's largest investor, with a 12.12 percent stake.
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp is nearing a deal to acquire Ferrara Candy Co, potentially valuing one of the largest U.S. makers of non-chocolate confectionary at close to US$1.3 billion, including debt, sources told Reuters. Onex has prevailed in an auction for Ferrara and is now negotiating final terms with its owner, U.S. private equity firm L Catterton, the sources said. The deal would be a big bet for Onex on Ferrara's increasing clout and pricing power in the seasonal candy market.
Neiman Marcus Group LLC said on Friday it would withdraw its initial public offering, nearly two years after the upscale department store chain filed its intent with U.S. regulators to go public, as it grapples with weaker customer demand, Reuters reported. Neiman Marcus, which also operates the Bergdorf Goodman and MyTheresa brands, was acquired by U.S. private equity firm Ares Management LP and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board three years ago for US$6 billion. The Dallas-based company filed to go public in August 2015.
National Bank of Canada was the top adviser on Canadian debt issues for corporations and governments in 2016, ending Royal Bank of Canada's 10-year reign, Reuters reported, citing data from Thomson Reuters. The value of debt issues rose 1 percent to $163.6 billion last year, excluding self-led issuance by banks, from about $162.3 billion in 2015. While 2016 started off slowly with increased volatility and sluggish credit markets, deals started to gain momentum from the second quarter.