Brad Meikle
The Competition Bureau has decided not to challenge the proposed acquisition of Wind Mobile Corp by Shaw Communications Inc (TSX: SJR.B). The $1.6 billion deal, announced in December, is unlikely to reduce competition in Canada's mobile wireless industry because "the two companies do not currently compete against each other," the federal agency said. Wind is currently backed by several private equity firms and other investors, including West Face Capital, Globalive Capital, Tennenbaum Capital Partners, and the family office of Lawrence Guffey.
Exo-s, a Canadian supplier of molded plastic parts for the automotive and specialty markets, has secured a $4 million investment from Export Development Canada (EDC). The funding will be used by Exo-s to buy the assets of Mexican plastics producer Hudson Gardens and to purchase new equipment for the acquired company's plant. Sherbrooke, Québec-based Exo-s was founded in 2012 as a result of the acquisition of Camso’s thermoplastic division by Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD). CRCD is a retail fund managed by Canadian private equity firm Desjardins Capital de risque.
Alberta Investment Management Corp (AIMCo) has appointed Remco van Eeuwijk to the role of chief risk officer, effective May 2, 2016. He will report to AIMCo CEO Kevin Uebelein. Since 2008, van Eeuwijk has been the U.K. managing director of MN, a Dutch pension administrator and asset manager. He continued in this position following the acquisition of the U.K. fiduciary management activity of MN by Dutch merchant bank Kempen & Co in 2015. Van Eeuwijk also served as the global head of investment risk and performance at ABN AMRO Asset Management.
A regional fund affiliated with the Fonds de solidarité FTQ has invested $1 million in J.M. Bastille Acier Inc, a trader and distributor of ferrous and non-ferrous metals in Québec and the Maritime provinces. The funding was provided to support the takeover of the Rivière-du-Loup, Québec-based company by operator Jean-Claude Chouinard. With the deal's closing, the 45-year old company has been renamed Acier Québec-Maritimes.
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has appointed Andrew Claerhout to the expanded role of senior vice-president, infrastructure and natural resources. He will be responsible for overseeing infrastructure acquisitions and asset management, along with investments in oil and gas, farmland, timberlands and other resource sectors. Claerhout joined Ontario Teachers in 2005 from Canadian private equity firm Edgestone Capital Partners, where he served as vice president. Last month, Ontario Teachers named Bjarne Graven Larsen its new executive vice president and CIO.
Alaris Royalty Corp recently made a US$13.3 million ($18.5 million) contribution to Mid-Atlantic Health Care LLC, a nursing and rehabilitation provider with 21 facilities in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Alaris also agreed to commit another US$14 million to the Timonium, Maryland-based company. Both investments are linked to initial distributions from Mid-Altantic. Alaris reported that its first commitment to Mid-Atlantic, which closed at the end of December, brought its total capital deployed in 2015 to $173.5 million. That is the largest annual deployment to date by the Calgary-based alternative equity firm.
Canadian private equity firm DRI Capital has bought a portion of a royalty entitlement relating to the sales of Zytiga, a prostate cancer therapy. No financial terms were released. The seller in the deal was The Institute of Cancer Research, a London-based cancer research organisation, which is also entitled to a milestone payment if certain conditions are met. Zytiga is marketed by Johnson & Johnson. It reported the drug's global sales to be US$2.2 billion in 2015. Toronto-based DRI is currently investing from its third healthcare royalty fund, Drug Royalty III, which raised US$1.45 billion in 2013.
Key Safety Systems Inc (KSS), a supplier of advanced engineered safety products, has agreed to be acquired by China's Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp. The cash deal is valued at about US$920 million and is expected to close in the first half of 2016. It will create an automotive supplier business with pro forma combined worldwide sales of about US$3 billion, the companies said. Following the acquisition, KSS will continue to operate as an independent entity based in Sterling Heights, Michigan. KSS is backed by FountainVest Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Crestview Partners. CPPIB invested in the company alongside FountainVest in 2014.
Chubb has unveiled a new private equity practice to provide specialized insurance solutions to U.S. and Canadian private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Chubb said the practice will bring greater underwriting expertise and product capabilities to a broad range of companies. Seth Gillston, formerly an executive vice president at ACE Risk Management, will lead the practice. Last month, ACE Ltd completed its acquisition of Chubb Corp. Chubb has its Canadian headquarters in Toronto.
GFL Environmental Inc has closed its previously announced acquisition of Matrec Services Inc, the solid waste unit of TransForce Inc (TSX: TFI), for $800 million. GFL said the deal creates a major Canadian environmental services company valued at about $2.4 billion, and will facilitate the company's entry into the Québec market and Eastern Ontario. The acquisition was funded in part by $458 million in equity from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and an investor group led by Highbridge Principal Strategies, an existing GFL backer. Funding was also provided by a US$300 million private offering of senior unsecured notes. GFL is also backed by Hawthorn Equity Partners.