Toronto (Canada) – Fasken congratulates Novacap and thanks the 21st annual Canadian Private Equity Summit for naming Novacap’s “Project Nexus” Deal team as the Gold winner for 2019 Deal of the Year.
The Private Equity Summit Awards honour individuals and firms who established exemplary achievement in personal and organizational development, client service, and success in private equity. The awards ceremony took place last night in Toronto.
Fasken advised Novacap, one of the most prominent buyout and growth equity firms with over $3.4 billion of assets under management, and other shareholders in the sale of its portfolio company, Knowlton Development Corporation Inc. (KDC), to a group of investors led by Cornell Capital LLC, a private investment firm based in New York and Hong Kong.
KDC is a leading value-added partner to beauty, health and personal care brands, providing product innovation, research support, custom formulation, batch processing, assembly, packaging and quality assurance services for prestige beauty and health, specialty personal care and household products. The company experienced rapid growth through the successful completion of multiple acquisitions over the past four years.
This sale constituted a major transaction in terms of both value and complexity, involving Canadian-U.S. cross-border issues, a number of regulatory matters including competition and antitrust compliance, and significant corporate restructuring. It also included a rollover by major shareholders Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Investissement Québec, who retained a significant stake in KDC, as well as rollover investments by certain key members of the senior management team.
The Fasken team that represented KDC in this transaction was led by Michel Boislard and included Denis Chaurette, Caitlin Rose, Alexandra Lazar, Martin Racicot, Marc Novello, Pierre-Olivier Charlebois, Jean-Philippe Therriault, Jean-Philippe Mikus, Huy Do and Chris Margison.
The Firm’s Private Equity & Venture Capital group has significant expertise in private and public M&A transactions, providing guidance from fund formation, to investments and through to IPOs and other exit strategies. The group regularly acts for foreign private equity firms in their acquisitions of Canadian entities, including tax structuring and regulatory advice. Fasken has renowned expertise in mining, communications, technology and life sciences, as well as robust labour and employment and environmental lawyers across the country.
About NOVACAP
Founded in 1981, Novacap is a leading Canadian private equity firm with $3.4 billion of assets under management. Its distinct investment approach, based on deep operational expertise and an active partnership with entrepreneurs, has helped accelerate growth and create long-term value for its numerous portfolio companies. With an experienced management team and substantial financial resources, Novacap is well-positioned to continue building world-class businesses. Backed by leading global institutional investors, Novacap's deals typically include leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, add-on acquisitions, IPOs, and privatizations. Over the last 38 years, Novacap has invested in more than 90 companies and completed more than 130 add-on acquisitions. The company has offices in Toronto, Ontario and Brossard, Quebec. For more information, please visit www.novacap.ca.
About Fasken
Fasken is a leading international law firm with more than 700 lawyers and 10 offices on four continents. Clients rely on us for practical, innovative and cost-effective legal services. We solve the most complex business and litigation challenges, providing exceptional value. For additional information, please visit the Firm’s website at fasken.com.
