Torys LLP has released a new report that takes an in-depth look at current Canadian private equity deal-making trends. In Private Equity Markets in Canada: 2013 Breakdown, 2014 Outlook, Michael Akkawi, Guy Berman and Sophia Tolias discuss how Canadian PE market trends of last year have provided key stage-setting dynamics for stronger market activity in 2014. Based on the evidence, Torys sees a promising deal environment in Canada in 2014, with a continuing investor focus on sell-side deals, but with greater emphasis given to PE-led acquisitions.
The global secondary market has seen unprecedented growth in recent years, and has steadily diversified its coverage of PE and other alternative assets. It has also attracted countless buyers and sellers, particularly in the institutional community. But the market's true size remains a bit of a mystery. Canadian advisory firm Setter Capital, which reported global activity in 2013 as totaling US$36 billion, is making a difference in this regard – and in a deal-making sense as well, completing US$12 billion in client transactions over the past seven years.
In the coming weeks, we'll see the wrap-up of Louisiana-Pacific’s buy of Ainsworth Lumber (TSX: ANS), a Vancouver-based manufacturer of homebuilding products. Announced in Sept. 2013, the US$1.1 billion acquisition will once closed be the largest private equity exit from a Canadian-based company in nearly a year. That’ll be a feather in the cap for the PE team at Toronto-based alternative asset manager Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) (TSX: BAM.A) (Euronext: BAMA), as Brookfield Capital Partners II is Ainsworth's majority owner. As it turns out, the deal was only one of a number of headline-grabbing events that characterized Brookfield’s market activity in 2013.
Onex Corp’s flagship buyout vehicle Onex Partners IV LP is expected to reach a rapid close at or near its US$4.5 billion target by the middle of 2014, an LP familiar with the firm told Buyouts, a sister publication to peHUB Canada. “Onex will have it done within six months,” the LP said of Toronto-based Onex, which has been visible with deals and capital commitments of late. Onex Partners IV disclosed about US$3.1 billion commitments in a Form D filing on Dec. 16 with 38 investors participating in the offering.
Canadian law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP this week published its 2014 Capital Markets Report. It paints a picture of mixed activity in Canadian capital markets in 2013 – a situation that has created new pockets of opportunity for PE and venture capital fund investors.
Torys LLP this week published its always much-anticipated M&A Top Trends 2014. The report contains numerous implications for private equity activity in the year upcoming. To read all about the top 10 trends that will influence M&A activity in coming months, please visit www.torystrends.com.
Canadian buyout, mezzanine and related PE firms have done pretty well for themselves on the fund-raising trail this year. Major partnership closings of the last few months have been particularly successful. As a consequence, 2013 appears to be shaping up as the best year yet for Canadian fund-raising – bar none – with new capital committed likely to total well above $15 billion.
When considering liquidity options for their business, many Canadian entrepreneurs seek out deal structures that allow them to sell most of their ownership to a private equity firm or other financial investor while remaining in a management capacity and retaining a stake to get a proverbial “second bite at the apple.” Glen Ampleford of Carpedia Capital believes there are key considerations that entrepreneurs must take into account to ensure they select the right partner and avoid shortcomings of the capital-raising process.
Callisto Capital, a mid-market private equity firm with headquarters in Toronto, is currently preparing for the imminent first close of its $300 million Callisto Capital Fund IV. Torys' Michael Akkawi and Sophia Tolias recently spoke with Callisto managing partner Lawrence Stevenson about the firm's fund-raising activity and deal initiatives.
Having recently completed two major portfolio exits, Novacap Technologies will soon announce the first close of its fourth private equity partnership, Novacap TMT IV LP, at well over $250 million, peHUB Canada has exclusively learned.