Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is seeking to buy the rest of Britain's Bristol Airport in a deal worth up to US$424.6 million, a source told Reuters. The pension fund, which already owns 49 percent of the regional airport, has the right of first offer for the 50 percent owned by Australian asset manager Macquarie Group. Ontario Teachers is eyeing the stake as it seeks to expand its infrastructure holdings from US$12 billion to around US$18 billion.
Smiles were brighter at Canadian private equity firm Imperial Capital Group and OPTrust Private Markets Group (PMG) this week as the two organizations completed a joint $121 million majority investment in Dental Corp, a group of Canadian dental care clinics. The investment is the largest in Imperial's 25-year history and its fifth healthcare deal. The transaction also holds significance for OPTrust PMG, which recently flagged an interest in sourcing more direct investment opportunities.
The Boyd Group, a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based operator of non-franchised collision repair centres in North America, has been approached for takeover by private equity firms, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Boyd, the report notes, is the only large auto-body repair chain that is currently not owned by private equity investors. Auto-body repair shops have been a source of intense dealmaking of late, in part because of the fragmented nature of the industry.
The fourth time is the charm for U.S. private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg, which finally has found a buyer for First American Payment Systems. An investor group led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is acquiring the payment processor, according to a July 18 statement. While the financial terms weren't announced, First American likely sold for around US$700 million, a source told peHUB. Lindsay Goldberg originally invested in Fort Worth, Texas-based First American, which provides payment processing services for more than 140,000 merchants, in April 2003.
Shareholders in Formula One, including private equity fund CVC Capital Partners, are set to share a US$1 billion dividend thanks to a refinancing of the high-profile motor sport business, Reuters reported. CVC is the largest shareholder in Formula One with a stake of around 35 percent after investing in the sport eight years ago. In 2012, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) agreed to provide the business with approximately $400 million in debt financing.
Canadian private equity firm KERN Partners has launched its fourth energy-focused partnership, KERN Energy Partners IV Fund (KEP IV), peHUB Canada has exclusively learned. In early July, KEP IV, which is targeted to raise $750 million, completed a first close for an unspecified amount anchored by existing LPs in prior KERN funds. KEP IV has also made its premiere platform investment, backing Steelhead LNG, a Vancouver company focused on liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects that recently announced plans for building a $30 billion LNG export facility on Canada's West Coast.
Activist investor Bill Ackman urged Botox maker Allergan Inc to negotiate a possible takeover by Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc and not delay a special shareholder meeting that could overturn most of Allergan's board, Reuters reported. Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund, Allergan's largest shareholder, is attempting to gain support of shareholders to call a special meeting, during which it would seek to remove six directors. Laval, Québec-based Valeant made a cash and stock bid for the company in April and has since raised its US$51-billion offer.
Spain's Grupo Villar Mir and Portuguese utility Energias de Portugal (EDP) have emerged as potential buyers for German utility E.ON's Spanish assets, people familiar with the process told Reuters. EDP is teaming up with Borealis Infrastructure, an investment arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). The Spanish operations could fetch between US$1.1 billion and US$2.7 billion, depending on whether E.ON sells the whole business or only individual assets.
Nordion Inc, a Canadian supplier of medical isotopes, said it had cleared a U.S. antitrust hurdle, paving the way for the company to be acquired by Sterigenics International, Reuters reported. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission terminated the waiting period for the acquisition. Last month, shareholders of Nordion voted to support a US$805 million takeover offer by Sterigenics. The deal is expected to close later this year.
Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp is in advanced discussions to buy insurance claims services provider York Risk Services Group Inc for more than US$1.3 billion, sources told Reuters. U.S. private equity firm ABRY Partners currently owns the Parsippany, New Jersey-based company, which provides third-party claims management for all lines of insurance including general liability and workers' compensation. A deal announcement could come as early as next week, sources said.