Torys LLP partners Neville Jugnauth, Derek Flaman and Matthew Cockburn believe that the scope of private equity investment in Canada was widened in 2014 to include some areas of new or intensified interest, such as natural resources. In the second of a series of peHUB Canada articles, they argue that this broader market focus, and alternative strategies for doing new deals, will continue in 2015.
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp is looking to sell Sitel Worldwide Corp in a deal that could value one of the world's largest call center operators at close to US$1 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Onex took the Nashville, Tennessee-based company private in 2007 for US$450 million, including debt.
A Canadian aboriginal community that has partnered with Steelhead LNG on a proposed major liquefied natural gas export terminal plans to decide within months whether to take an equity stake in the $30 billion project, Reuters reported. The Huu-ay-aht are working with the Vancouver-based company on the planning and design of the plant on their land in British Columbia. Steelhead is backed by Canadian private equity firm KERN Partners.
What's in store for Canadian private equity in 2015? Torys LLP recently released its annual Private Equity in Focus, which looks at how M&A activity involving PE in 2014 has set the stage for this year’s transactions. In the first of a series of peHUB Canada articles, Michael Akkawi, Guy Berman and Sophia Tolias discuss how recent shifts in market dynamics have shaped current opportunities.
A trio of British private equity firms have set their sights on Canadian live performance company Cirque du Soleil, according to a report from a U.K. media outlet. BC Partners, CVC Capital Partners and Permira are among a number of investors that have recently tabled indicative offers for the Montréal-based company, the report said. The news follows reports in late 2014 that Cirque du Soleil had hired Goldman Sachs Group to help it find a strategic partner.
Brazilian billionaire Abilio Diniz is considering selling a portfolio of commercial properties for about US$706 million, a move that would give him extra funds to invest in France's Carrefour SA, sources told Reuters. Península Participações, the investment vehicle overseeing Diniz's fortune, has discussed the sale of 62 supermarkets with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Brookfield Asset Management and BR Properties SA, one of the sources said.
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, the Canadian property and casualty insurer run by contrarian investor Prem Watsa, said it would buy Brit Plc for about US$1.88 billion to become one of the top five underwriters on the Lloyd's of London market, Reuters reported. Fairfax received hard irrevocable undertakings to accept the offer from entities managed by Apollo Global and CVC Capital Partners, which together hold about 73 percent of Brit's share capital.
Canadian private equity firm TriWest Capital Partners has raised $500 million in the final close of TriWest Capital Partners Fund V LP, targeted to investments in mid-market companies based in Western Canada. Cody Church, senior managing director of TriWest Capital, said Fund V was oversubscribed, with commitments coming from new and existing North American LPs. The fund is the largest raised in the Calgary-based firm's 17-year history, exceeding by 43 percent the $350 million secured by Fund IV (2012).
Big private equity deals have fallen through or had to be reworked in recent weeks because many banks, under U.S. regulatory pressure to reduce their risk-taking, are no longer willing to provide as much debt as their clients want. Last month, a potential US$7 billion acquisition of Canadian satellite company Telesat Holdings Inc by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and Public Sector Pension Investment Board was scuppered by financing issues, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Privately held Canadian specialty tea retailer David's Tea, whose investors include Lululemon Athletica Inc founder Chip Wilson and Highland Consumer Fund, has selected banks for a potential initial public offering, sources told Reuters. The IPO could come later this year. The Boston-based Highland and Wilson made an minority investment in David's Tea in 2012.