IMS Health Holdings Inc, a TPG Capital Management-backed healthcare information company, said its initial public offering was priced at US$20 per share, valuing the company at about US$6.64 billion, reports Reuters. With 65 million shares offered, the IPO raised about US$1.30 billion. TPG, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Leonard Green & Partners LP took IMS Health private in 2010 for US$5.2 billion, including debt. Danbury, Connecticut-based IMS Health provides prescription data to the pharmaceutical industry, medical device makers, government agencies and other companies in the healthcare sector.
Canadian private equity firm Waterton Global Resource Management has wrapped up a new partnership earmarked for deals in the metals and mining industry. The firm’s second fund, Waterton Global Precious Metals Fund II, closed at just over US$1 billion. The partnership was oversubscribed, with a small group of institutional LPs – primarily endowments, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds – committing large individual sums, said Isser Elishis, the Toronto-based firm’s managing partner and CIO. As a result, Waterton Fund II raised 33% more than its US$750 million target.
Bank of Nova Scotia led investment banks in advising on mergers and acquisitions in Canada and finished second in equity issues in a first quarter that brought a rebound in overall activity in both categories after a weaker 2013, reports Reuters. Driven by brisker activity in the energy and mining sectors, the total value of M&A deals in the quarter rose by 20 percent to US$35.7 billion from the first quarter of 2013, according to data released by Thomson Reuters. Equity advisory totals rose 36 percent to US$7.52 billion.
TPG, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Leonard Green & Partners each stand to nearly triple their investment in IMS Health in three years. IMS, which is expected to go public on Friday, plans to sell 65 million shares for US$18 to US$21 per share. CPPIB, which had a pre-IPO ownership share of 26%, may potentially earn 2.66x its investment in the Danbury, Connecticut-based healthcare information company.
Buyout firms are finding it harder to take part in mergers and acquisitions as the lure of stronger equity markets persuades more funds seeking to exit assets to try their luck with a public share sale or turn to cash-rich corporate buyers, reports Reuters. Private equity-backed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) fell by almost a third to US$55.2 billion from a year ago, Thomson Reuters' quarterly data showed on Friday.
Trivest Partners, the Florida-based mid-market private equity firm, earned a 4.3x gross multiple on the sale of Canadian industrial distribution company Hazmasters to Wesco International in a deal that closed in March. That performance owes in part to a 50 percent growth in sales, and a doubling EBITDA, since Hazmasters was acquired by Trivest in November 2011.
Blackstone Group LP is close to a deal to buy industrial conglomerate Gates Global Inc, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The buyout firm is in the final stages of negotiations with Gates' private equity owners, Onex Corp and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and the two sides are aiming to finalize an agreement by early next week. The final deal price could not be learned, but the transaction is now expected to value the auto parts and building products maker at US$5.5 billion to US$6 billion including debt.
Clairvest Group has launched its fifth fund targeting $500 million, according to a person with knowledge of the fund-raising. Clairvest Equity Partners V has a $600 million hard cap. Atlantic-Pacific Capital is working as placement agent. Clairvest targets mid-market buyouts in North America, seeking to invest between $15 million and $50 million in equity per company. The firm has overall generated a 2.8x return multiple since inception, the source said.
U.S. private equity firms have been steadily making their presence felt in Canada's mid-market, often by zeroing in on deals of interest and demonstrating a particular competitive advantage. An example of this trend was seen last month with Clearview Capital's $45 million take-private acquisition of Novik, a Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Québec-based manufacturer of polymer siding and roofing supplies.
Loral Space & Communications Inc, which holds a majority stake in Canadian satellite communications company Telesat Holdings Inc, has selected private equity firm Apax Partners LLP and two Canadian pension funds to negotiate a sale of Telesat, reports Reuters. The move marks a key step in an auction process for Loral, in which investors who covet control of Telesat need to bring another shareholder, Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), onboard. The three parties chosen by Loral - Apax, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan - are now expected to negotiate with PSP about a deal. At stake is a leveraged buyout that could reach US$6 billion to US$7 billion.