Nordic online travel agency group European Travel Interactive (eTRAVELi) is expanding its operations through the purchase of the price comparison website Flygresor.se. eTRAVELi is a Segulah portfolio company.
Bain Capital and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec have agreed to sell more of their holdings in Valcourt, Québec-based Bombardier Recreational Products Inc (BRP, TSX: DOO). Through a secondary offering, Bain and the Caisse will dispose of 8.7 million subordinate voting shares in the company, generating gross proceeds of about $261 million. Following the close of the transaction at the end of January, Bain will hold 27.8% of issued and outstanding shares, while the Caisse will hold 5.3%. The two investors completed a similar $223 million sale in Oct. 2013. BRP, which develops, manufactures and distributes power-sports vehicles, was acquired by Bain, the Caisse and members of the Bombardier family in 2003. The company completed an initial public offering in May 2013.
Assiniboia Farmland LP has announced the close of the previously-announced sale of its farmland assets portfolio to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for $128 million. The portfolio, which will continue to be managed by the existing management team, includes about 115,000 acres of farmland located throughout Saskatchewan. CPPIB in 2012 launched its agriculture investment program, which will initially focus on farmland opportunities in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. Founded in 2005, Assiniboia Farmland LP is a Regina, Sask.-based farmland investment fund.
Goldcorp Inc (G.TO) launched an unsolicited cash-and-stock bid to acquire smaller rival Osisko Mining Corp (OSK.TO) for C$2.6 billion (US$2.4 billion) on Monday, in a move to gain control of Osisko's Malartic gold mine in Quebec, reports Reuters. The takeover bid is the Canadian gold sector's first major attempt at a merger and acquisition deal in nearly a year. Miners stung by a 25 percent drop in the price of gold over the last 12 months have focused on cutting costs and slowing down work on growth projects. Last year, Osisko Mining completed renegotiation of long-term debt facility agreements totaling $225 million. The deal involved CPPIB Credit Investments, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Ressources Québec, a subsidiary of Investissement Québec.
Music services specialist Stingray Digital Group has agreed to buy DMX Media, the Latin American residential digital music services company owned by Austin, Texas-based Mood Media Corp (TSX: MM) (LSE AIM: MM), for $16.3 million. According to Stingray, the acquisition is the second largest it has completed to date, and increases its global reach to over 100 million subscribers in 113 countries. The Montréal-based company, which produces music and video content on multiple platforms, including digital TV, IPTV, the Internet, mobile apps and game consoles, is a portfolio investment of private equity firm Novacap Technologies, profiled by peHUB Canada in Dec. 2013, and technology investor Telesystem. Stingray ranked among the top 15 Canadian winners of last year’s Deloitte Technology Fast 50™.
Darby Private Equity, the private equity unit of Franklin Templeton Investments, has bought a majority controlling stake in Acrecent Financial Corp. No financial terms were disclosed. Acrecent is a commercial finance company.
Host Hotels & Resorts, an owner of luxury and upscale hotels, has sold a majority stake in the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. The company now holds an 11 percent interest in the hotel in a joint venture with Clearview and Oaktree Capital Management.
Gladstone Capital Corp. has acquired Meridian Rack & Pinion (which does business as Buy Auto Parts). The company invested $5.6 million to make the purchase and teamed up with Digital Fuel Capital and Meridian's management for the transaction. Gladstone Investment Corp., an affiliate of Gladstone Capital, also participated as a co-investor by providing $13 million. Jean-Pierre Gilbertz, the founder of Meridian, will continue to hold a "sizeable" stake in Meridian. Based in San Diego, Meridian is a provider of aftermarket and OEM replacement automotive parts.
Japanese beverage giant Suntory Holdings Limited has agreed to acquire Beam Inc., which makes among other brands Jim Beam and Maker's Mark, for $83.50 per share in cash, or total purchase price of $16 billion, including the assumption of Beam's outstanding net debt. The share price would represent a 25 percent premium to Beam's closing price of $66.97 on Jan. 10, 2014. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.
KKR Capital Markets Holdings, Stone Point Capital, Alvarez & Marsal Capital, V.J. Dowling have joined to capitalize Vanbridge Holdings, an insurance intermediary and capital advisory firm. Vanbridge Holdings combines Sharebridge Private Equity Consolidated, a specialty insurance intermediary for private equity and venture capital clients, and Vanbridge, a recently formed advisory boutique.