36 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
MARCH 2016
2015 IPO
OF THE
YEAR
Shopify Inc.
Shopify Inc.'s initial public offering was
the first new technology listing to debut in
Toronto in nearly a year and investors loved
the story, opening their wallets for gross
proceeds of US$150.5 million. Demand
was so great, the Class A subordinated vot-
ing shares were reportedly over 30 times
oversubscribed. e company had original-
ly planned to issue 7.7 million shares priced
between $12 and $14; it ended up issuing
8.5 million shares at $17 each.
Shopify is a cloud-based commerce
platform that allows people and busi-
nesses to create online stores. Its soware
helps to design, set up and manage stores
on the web, on mobile devices and social
media, as well as brick-and-mortar loca-
tions and pop-up shops — providing mer-
chants with a single view of their business
across platforms.
With more than 900 applications, the
Ottawa-based company also provides us-
ers with the tools to manage all aspects of
their shops, from uploading products and
customizing the design to accepting credit
cards, and viewing incoming orders as well
as completed transactions.
More than 165,000 stores use Shopify,
with the list of company clients including
retailers such as Angry Birds, General Elec-
tric, Foo Fighters and Epic Meal Time. e
stock is listed on the New York and Toron-
to stock exchanges. e IPO price valued
the company at $1.27 billion.
2015
FINANCIALS
DEAL OF
THE YEAR
Element Financial Corp.
acquires GE Capital
fleet management
business for $8.6 billion
Toronto-based Element Financial Corp.
instantly became North America's leading
fleet management and services enterprise
with the $8.6-billion friendly purchase of
GE Capital's remaining North American
fleet management operations in the US and
Mexico, as well as operations in Australia
and New Zealand.
Steven Hudson, Element's company's
Chief Executive Officer, called the latest
$8.6-billion all-cash purchase "a game-
changer," saying it brings together the sys-
tems, technologies, products and people
"that have helped to define excellence in
the fleet management industry in North
America for more than five decades."
"Because of our scale, we are the big
barking dog in the North American sec-
tor," Hudson said on a call.
Element already acquired the Canadian
operations of GE Capital's North Ameri-
can fleet management business for $570
million in 2013.
e former GE business covers the full
range of corporate-fleet requirements, from
ordering and financing vehicles to provid-
ing analytics and location systems, that al-
low companies to keep track of their vehi-
cles in real time. It counts major companies
such as DuPont, Comcast Corp. and Tim
Hortons Inc. among its customers.
| 2015 DEALMAKERS |
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
