Q-News

December 2009

M&A News - November 2009

Posted in M&A News

In a month that was very quiet in terms of financing activity we did see considerable M&A deal flow.  The 12 transactions that occurred in November represent the highest total we have reported since December of 2007.  Of these 12 transactions, six involved a financial buyer, although one of those was merely providing additional backing to finance a strategic acquisition.  There were three acquisitions of Canadian technology companies, all small transactions, two of which were made by Hong Kong-based CDC Software. 

 

 

Canadian M&A Transactions:

 

BC-based QHR Technologies (TSX.V: QHR) announced that it is acquiring Clinicare Corporation, a Calgary-based developer of electronic medical records software, for $5 million.  

 

Stephenson’s Rental Services of Mississauga, with the partnership of EdgeStone Capital Partners, bought out part of the operations belonging to Oxford Business Supplies, a London, Ontario division of EllisDon Construction.  The transaction will see Oxford sell off its general rental equipment assets while they hold on to the part of the business that rents tower cranes, formwork and electrical equipment.

 

Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins led an investor group that paid $25 million for the Aviation Division of Les Pétroles Therrien, a Quebec-based jet-fuel distributor.

 

In a merger of two Canadian biotech firms, Quebec-based Advitech (TSX-V: AVI) joined forces with Alberta’s Botaneco Speciality Ingredients.

 

Société générale de financement du Québec has acquired the property rights to a piece of forest land located in Quebec from Smurfit-Stone Container Canada, a St. Laurent-based packaging solutions company, for $60.4 million.

 

 

Cross Border M&A:

 

CDC Software Corporation (NASDAQ: CDCS), a global provider of enterprise software applications and services, acquired Ontario-based Activplant Solutions, which develops enterprise intelligence software for the manufacturing sector.

 

CDC Software Corporation also acquired Truition, a Toronto-based company that has developed an e-Commerce platform for retailers and brand manufacturers.

 

xRM Global (TSX-V: XRM), whose enterprise relationship management platform allows clients to simultaneously process internal and external corporate intelligence, acquired the assets of Ockham Research LLC, a Georgia-based developer of an intelligence-gathering platform for the wealth management industry.  The acquisition price was $1.8 million.

 

TPG Capital and the CPP Investment Board are taking Connecticut-based IMS Health (NYSE: RX) private for $5.2 billion, including the assumption of debt.  IMS Health is a market intelligence provider to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

 

In the specialty coffee industry, Mountain Coffee Roasters of Vermont acquired Toronto-based Timothy’s Coffees of the World, from Sun Capital Partners, for $157 million in cash.

 

Huron Capital Partners (MI) put up $30 million of their own money to back a management buyout of Maple Leaf Automotive, an Ontario-based manufacturer of replacement auto parts.

 

VKR Holdings A/S, a merchant bank based in Denmark, acquired the Western Canadian assets of Gienow Group, a window and door manufacturer owned by Sankaty Advisors LLC.

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