Canadian mid-market buyout firm Novacap confirmed its acquisition of the Boca Raton, Florida-based Host.net, Inc., reported earlier by peHUB Canada. Novacap's other investment platform, Novacap Industries, already has three US-based transactions under its belt, a process which began with the firm's investment in package labels manufacturer Smyth Companies, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2010.
Krystal Financial Corp., a Canadian PE firm focused on lower mid-market opportunities, completed two British Columbia-based transactions. In December 2012, Krystal purchased a 45% stake in Mission's Fraser Valley Building Supplies Inc., a provider of hardware and building supplies to retail consumers and contractor builders. Additionally, in January, Krystal took at 25% interest in Abbotsford's North West Rubber Ltd., which produces rubber flooring and other recycled rubber products. The financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Tervita Corp. will refinance its existing senior secured credit facilities due in 2014. The announcement came on the heels of a decision by Moody's Investors Service to change its outlook for the Calgary, Alberta-based company from stable to negative, citing declining EBITDA in recent quarters. Moody's said the company must improve earnings and significantly reduce leverage. Tervita was taken private in 2007 by a consortium of private equity firms, including CAI Private Equity, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kelso & Co., Vestar Capital Partners, and OSS Capital Management.
Business software maker Compuware Corp. turned down hedge fund Elliott Management Corp's proposal for a $2.3 billion buyout, choosing instead to proceed with spinning off a non-core unit, Reuters reported. Paul Singer's Elliott Management had offered in December to buy Compuware for $11 per share, raising questions about the management of the company.
U.S. asset manager BlackRock has a stake of just over 5 percent of French bank Societe Generale, French market regulator AMF said on Friday, Reuters reported. The disclosure was made after BlackRock's holding - acquired on and off the market - rose above the 5 percent threshold at which such disclosures are mandatory.
Clearview Capital has exited its investment in Hillsdale Furniture, selling the company to an investor group led by Brookside Equity Partners and management. Louisville, Kentucky-based Hillsdale is a designer, importer and marketer of residential furniture. Clearview’s investment in Hillsdale was made through a 2002 vintage fund. Terms were not released.
Japan's Aeon Co Ltd and a unit of Thailand's Central Group are eyeing a bid for PT Matahari Department Store, a CVC-owned retail group in Indonesia for which the private equity firm is seeking as much as $3.5 billion, Reuters reported. Reuters reported last October that CVC had hired banks to help sell the 80 percent stake it bought in PT Matahari in 2010 for $790 million. CVC had then teamed up with local Indonesian investment vehicle Matahari Putra Prima TBK (MPP) to buy a combined 98 percent stake in Matahari, in what is still the nation's biggest ever private equity buyout.
A potential bid by private equity firm Silver Lake and its partners to take Dell Inc private is unlikely to be topped by other investors, people familiar with the matter said.
Hamilton Lane, the Bala Cynwyd, Penn.-based private equity asset management firm, has hired Paul Waller as a partner in its London office. Waller recently retired from 3i after 35 years.
KingSett Capital is pressing ahead with plans to acquire, directly or indirectly, units of Canadian shopping mall owner and operator Primaris Retail Real Estate Investment Trust. The Toronto, Ontario-based KingSett, a private equity firm focused on opportunities in the real estate sector, leads an investor group that includes the C$17 billion Ontario Pension Board. The previously-announced offer has been estimated to value C$4.4 billion.