ARC Financial Corp, the Calgary-based investor in Canadian oil and gas projects, is approaching a first close on about $1 billion for its eighth private equity fund, according to a source familiar with the firm. Headed by Co-CEOs Kevin Brown and Lauchlan Currie, ARC Financial waded into the fundraising market about 10 weeks ago for ARC Energy Fund 8, which is targeted to raise about $1.5 billion in total.
Hedge fund mogul William Ackman has bought a US$3.3 billion stake in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, making his firm the drug company's fifth-largest stakeholder, a source told Reuters. Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management began building up the 5 percent stake in the Canadian drug maker this year, only months after his effort to help Valeant buy Botox-maker Allergan failed.
Canada's Concordia Healthcare Corp, which makes drugs for rare diseases and devices for diabetic patients, said it would buy some Swiss assets of Covis Pharma Holdings SARL for US$1.2 billion in cash, Reuters reported. Covis is controlled by affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management, Princeton Biopharma Capital Partners and Bourne Partners.
Torys LLP's Sophia Tolias, Stefan Stauder and Laurie Duke argue that the structure of Canadian private equity deals has changed due to the influence of 2014's seller's market. In the third of a series of peHUB Canada articles, they note that indemnity terms and the growing use of representations and warranties insurance are just two important examples of this trend.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has paid 1.1 billion pounds (US$1.67 billion) to buy Liberty Living, one of Britain's biggest providers of student accomodation, Reuters reported. As part of the deal, CPPIB said it bought residences in 17 of the largest university towns and cities across the United Kingdom from Brandeaux Student Accommodation Fund.
Small Canadian wireless operator Wind Mobile might have snagged valuable spectrum in an airwaves auction this week at a bargain-basement price, an industry analyst said after a report that a rival bidder may have dropped out, Reuters reported. The National Post reported that Mobilicity was likely to have dropped out of the auction as a financing deal it had lined up may have fallen apart just before the auction began.
Three bidding groups have entered the second round in the race for Spanish natural gas distributor Madrileña Red de Gas, owned by Morgan Stanley, sources told Reuters. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is bidding alongside Allianz and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for the asset, estimated to be worth between 1.2 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) and 1.8 billion, including debt. Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Arcus have also teamed up to make an offer.
Britain agreed to sell its 40 percent stake in the Eurostar rail link for 585 million pounds (US$899.79 million) to a consortium of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and U.K. asset manager Hermes, Reuters reported. The consortium, Patina Rail LLP, will result in the Caisse owning a 30 percent stake in Eurostar, and Hermes owning a 10 percent stake.
Brookfield Cold Storage, created two years ago in a corporate carve-out deal by the private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management, has completed its first add-on acquisition. The company has entered the market in Atlantic Canada through its buy of Nova Cold Storage, a Halifax-based provider of refrigerated warehousing, handling and third party logistics for food producers.
Canadian entrepreneur and venture capitalist Roger Hardy said he is looking to take an online shoe retailing company public this year to tap investor appetite for e-commerce businesses. Hardy told Reuters that he expects the company, which will be called Shoes.com Technologies Ltd, to record net revenue US$250 million in 2015. Last year, Hardy Capital Partners bought Vancouver's ShoeMe.ca and merged it with U.S. acquisitions.