LEXPERT MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2019 15
pany, won't be made public.
Interestingly, when Private Equity transactions do become pub-
lic, they typically involve buying a publicly traded or high-profile
Canadian company. e kind of deals that make headlines. And
the headlines can make it seem as if US firms are hogging the lion's
share of Canadian PE transactions.
Not true, says Akkawi. US funds may be linked to one or two
mega-deals a year and they're also around on many mid-market
deals. But he says there are scores of transactions in the $3-million
to $500-million range being done regularly by Canadian PE firms,
many of whom, by the way, also hunt south of the border.
"Onex and Brookfield are very large players in Private Equity,
just to name a couple," he says. "ey both have large Private-Equity
funds in the billions that they invest not just in Canada but around
the world.
"e next layer are very sophisticated mid-market. ese would
be ONCAP, Birch Hill, Torquest, Clairvest, Imperial Capital and
one or two others. is is where we have a lot of deal activity in Can-
ada and, given their size, they also look to the US for investment.
"So they're competing in Canada with the top funds in the US.
Yes, you see US Private Equity funds here but not as much as in the
past. e market is dominated by our Canadian mid-market."
It's not just because of deal size. It's also because Canadian
firms invest a lot of time courting local family-owned businesses,
discussing vision and strategy, in the hopes that when
the time comes they will sell to them without a com-
petitive auction.
Akkawi calls that "the golden egg" for Private Equity
funds, and he says in Canada, Canadians have clear
home-field advantage.
Like Private Equity lawyers in other parts of the coun-
try, Sophie Lamonde, a partner at Stikeman Elliott
LLP in Montréal, is seeing a high number of smaller
and mid-market deals.
She agrees that Canadian PE players are getting a lot
of traction, with new names popping up in auctions.
But with so much Private Equity capital being raised
for new funds right now, she says, Canadian firms face
increasing competition on their own turf.
"ere are players coming to Canada to look for
good stories, including US and European firms," says
Lamonde, whose practice focuses on Private Equity,
particularly cross-border transactions. "We see foreign
buyers taking a keen interest in Canadian assets. at's
good from a seller's perspective."
From a buyer's perspective, given their finite life span,
one of the issues for Private Equity investors is always
PRIVATE EQUIT Y FEATURES
MICHAEL AKKAWI
TORYS LLP
"A lot of this is happening
around the same time,
so in terms of raising capital
we're seeing a lot of activity.
Just in Canada, you've got
almost all the typical names
that either just closed
raising a fund or are
in the middle of it."
SUSAN TOMAINE
BLAKE, CASSELS & GRAYDON LLP
"I'm not sure you're
going to see new players
in this particular cycle,
but I think Private Equity's
always interested in a good
story, a compelling story,
so the ones that are
in the space already will
continue to support it."
