The value of Canadian equity issues rose to an all-time high in 2016, driven by large deals in the energy and mining sectors, Reuters reported, citing data released by Thomson Reuters. Equity issues increased nearly 19 percent last year to $51.2 billion, breaking the previous high of $49.4 billion in 2009. The top advisers for 2016 were Toronto-Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Nova Scotia and National Bank of Canada.
Morgan Stanley, Barclays Plc and Royal Bank of Canada took the top spots advising Canadian mergers and acquisitions in 2016 as deals in the pipeline, power and utility sectors propelled deal volume to a nine-year high, Reuters reported. Deal value climbed 8.3 percent to US$250.7 billion last year, from 2015 levels, according to data released by Thomson Reuters.
Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht SA is in advanced talks on selling its majority stake in a US$5 billion natural gas pipeline project in Peru to Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management, Reuters reported, citing an interview with Peru’s finance minister. The two companies and the government of Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski reached an agreement on Friday, Alfredo Thorne said. Techint Group would also join the pipeline project as a junior partner and would be tasked with pipeline construction.
Side letters have long been in use in the private equity market, helping to interpret, supplement, modify and establish the terms contained in fund agreements and related documents. But while side letters are negotiated and entered into with increasing frequency, their enforceability and the preferential terms contained in them cannot be taken for granted, write Torys LLP Associates Emma Brady and Sarah Carter in an exclusive PE Hub Canada feature article. Brady and Carter cite as evidence a recent case involving investors in Facebook's IPO.
Canadian label and packaging maker CCL Industries Inc said it would buy Innovia Group, which supplies the new British plastic five pound note that has fallen foul of vegetarians, for around $1.13 billion. The acquisition of U.K.-based Innovia is expected to make Toronto's CCL the world leader in the fast-growing polymer banknote market. CCL is buying Innovia debt free and net of cash from a consortium of U.K. private equity investors managed by The Smithfield Group LLP.
AreaOne Farms is nearing the finish line with its third Canadian farmland private equity fund thanks to institutional investors eager to gain access to agricultural assets. AreaOne Farms Fund III is expected to meet its $100 million target in a close at the end of December, Joelle Faulkner, president and CEO of AreaOne Farms, told PE Hub Canada. The Toronto firm updated Fund III’s target due to enthusiasm shown by potential institutional LPs, at least two of which are expected to join repeat LPs, mostly high-net-worth investors, in the close.
Multiple suitors are weighing bids to challenge the US$575 million offer for Performance Sports Group Ltd made by a financial consortium in the bankruptcy court auction of the Bauer hockey gear maker, sources told Reuters. Private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, Bain Capital LP, KKR & Co LP, KPS Capital Partners LP, and Sycamore Partners have indicated their interest in the Canadian-born sporting goods company, the sources said. British retailer Sports Direct International plc and Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec have also submitted letters of interest.
Sovereign wealth funds are queuing up to finance the West's overhauls of crumbling roads, bridges and ports as public purse strings are loosened after a period of austerity, but they still face project delays and fierce competition for deals, Reuters reported. Qatar's sovereign fund was first off the blocks this week, promising US$10 billion for U.S. infrastructure after President-elect Donald Trump floated plans to spend up to US$1 trillion on projects that will take years to complete. Britain has flagged projects worth nearly US$632 billion, including expanding Heathrow airport and high-speed rail, European governments are backing more spending on energy, transport and telecoms, and Canada is speaking to SWFs and pension funds to create an infrastructure bank.
Altice NV, the fourth-biggest cable operator in the United States, said on Thursday it was considering an initial public offering of a minority interest in its U.S. subsidiary Altice USA, Reuters reported. A listing would help Altice's founder, French billionaire Patrick Drahi, expand his budding U.S. cable empire by giving Altice USA public stock that could be used as currency to finance more acquisitions. It would also allow investors, including U.K. private equity firm BC Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, to cash out in the future.
Leeds Equity Partners LLC is merging four companies to focus exclusively on information and compliance solutions. The New York private equity firm said December 7 that it simultaneously acquired BLR, DecisionHealth, Argosy and CCMI. Financial terms of the deal, which closed this week, weren't announced. UCG Holdings LP of Gaithersburg, Maryland, has sold all its stakes in DecisionHealth, Argosy and CCMI, said Jeffrey Leeds, president and co-founder of Leeds Equity. Argosy is the parent of PE Hub-PE Hub Canada and Buyouts Insider, publisher of this report.