Lexpert Magazine

LEXPERT MAGAZINE | MARCH 2017 37 | 2016 DEALMAKERS | and consulting services in the infrastruc- ture and facilities sector at every stage, from concept and financial feasibility to project completion and beyond. Colorado- based MWH is also a global engineering, consulting and construction management firm — but one with special expertise in water and natural-resources projects built for infrastructure and the environment. e company was hired, for example, to help expand the Panama Canal. e acquisition makes Stantec a global leader in water-resources infrastructure, in- creasing its presence in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South and Central Ameri- ca, Europe and the Middle East. About 70 per cent of Stantec's revenue will now come from outside of Canada. e all-cash deal was expected to create annual synergies of C$33 million from operations integration to be realized in 2016 and 2017. And expect more to come. Gomes says, now that his company has firm a foothold in additional overseas markets, it is looking to grow there by acquisition. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Open Text Corp. buys Dell EMC's enterprise content division for $1.62 billion Waterloo-based Open Text Corp. was already one of Canada's largest business- soware makers when it reached a widely anticipated cross-border deal to acquire Dell EMC's enterprise content division, for $1.62 billion. Open Text, which makes products that are used by companies and governments to digitally store and manage large volumes of content, has been purchasing related busi- nesses to boost its customer base. Includ- ing the EMC deal, Open Text will have purchased five businesses since May worth about $2.4 billion, adding about C$900- million in annualized revenue, roughly half the company's total, for the fiscal year ending June 30. e EMC division was Open Text's lar- gest competitor and this acquisition is the Canadian firm's largest in its 25-year his- tory. Open Text Chief Executive Officer Mark Barrenechea said the deal "is right in our wheelhouse," adding that it will help his company's customers accelerate their digital transformation. e deal was also welcomed by Dell EMC, which inherited the enterprise-con- tent division aer its $67-billion takeover of EMC, by permitting it to shed a non- core asset and help pay off some of the re- lated debt. Under terms of the agreement, the soware, associated services and em- ployees in the Hopkinton, Massachusetts, division will be integrated into Open Text. INFRASTRUCTURE & UTILITIES Fortis Inc. acquires ITC Holdings Corp. for $11.3 billion. Fortis Inc. was making a power play with its acquisition of Michigan-based ITC Holdings Corp., the largest independent electric transmission company in the Unit- ed States, in a friendly deal valued at about $11.3 billion. It is not just the Canadian company's largest ever deal, but the largest ever Canadian takeover of a US utility. Fortis Inc., based in St. John's, New- foundland & Labrador, is a diversified electric utility holding company. It oper- ates in Canada, the United States, Central America and the Caribbean. ITC owns and operates high-voltage transmission facilities in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. e combination transforms Fortis into one of the top 15 North American public utilities ranked by enterprise value, esti- mated to be around $30 billion. President and Chief Executive Officer Barry Perry said the acquisition comes at an opportune time in the US, as the coun- try transitions away from coal-fired elec- tricity generation toward more natural gas and renewable power. With a network of transmission lines that stretches 25,000 kilometres, the merged company is well positioned to grow by building out new infrastructure as part of that transition, he added. "Fortis has grown its business through strategic acquisitions," Perry said when the deal was announced. "ITC not only fur- ther strengthens and diversifies our busi- ness, but it also accelerates our growth." Shareholders say amen to that. MID-MARKET Enercare Solutions Inc. acquires SEHAC Holdings Corp. for $341 million. When Toronto-based Enercare Solutions Inc. acquired SEHAC Holdings Corp. for $341 million in June, John Macdonald, Enercare's President and CEO called it "a defining acquisition." Enercare provides water heaters, fur- naces, air conditioners and other HVAC rental products, as well as plumbing servic- es, protection plans and home protection services, to more than 1.2 million custom- ers in Canada. Dallas-based SEHAC, also known as "Service Experts," provides sales, installa- tion, inspection, maintenance and repair of HVAC heating and cooling systems to existing homes and small to mid-size busi- nesses. It also offers services such as indoor air-quality solutions and energy-saving green solutions. e privately held compa-

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