Caisse invests in budget hotel chain, CPPIB and PSP complete sale of medical devices company
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s real estate arm Ivanhoé Cambridge, along with real estate manager ICAMAP, is taking over EasyHotel, a European budget hotel chain.
The hotel chain, which was started by the founder of EasyJet Airline Company Ltd., targets the super-budget segment of the market. It has a total of 39 hotels total, 27 of which are franchised and 12 that are owned directly.
As of Aug. 2, 2019, the ICAMAP fund was the largest shareholder in EasyHotel with a 38.7 per cent stake.
“For some time, ICAMAP had believed that finding another equally supportive investor to share its commitment to developing EasyHotel was a priority for the company,” said a press release. “ICAMAP was therefore delighted to partner up with Ivanhoé Cambridge, an existing investor in the ICAMAP fund, to achieve its ambitions for the company. Ivanhoé Cambridge, like ICAMAP, recognizes that EasyHotel needs significant investment to ensure it can fulfil its potential as a leading European budget hotel company.”
Read: Caisse ups stake in European multi-technical service provider
The two companies launched a recommended offer on the share capital not owned by the ICAMAP fund on Aug. 5, 2019. Together, the companies now own 68.8 per cent of share capital in EasyHotel.
“This investment perfectly illustrates our innovative value-creation strategies through a complex operation,” said Karim Habra, head of Europe for Ivanhoé Cambridge, in a press release. “The EasyHotel concept is pioneering and visionary. It is already a strong brand and we believe in its growth potential on a pan-European scale at a time when mass tourism is growing rapidly every year.”
In other investment news, consortium partners the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, as well as funds advised by Apax Partners, have completed the previously announced sale of Acelity Inc. and its Kinetic Concepts Inc. subsidiaries, a wound care business, to 3M for about $6.7 billion.
Read: CPPIB, PSP sell stakes in medical device company
“Since 2011, Apax and its consortium partners worked to reshape Acelity from a loose collection of businesses into a focused global leader,” noted a press release. “This was achieved through a strategic M&A program which included targeted acquisitions as well as the disposals of non-core businesses. In addition, a range of activities were undertaken to accelerate organic growth, including investments in R&D, medical education, clinical studies and the expansion of its sales force.
“The result of these initiatives transformed Acelity into the world’s largest wound care company focused on advanced wound care, including negative pressure wound therapy.”
This article originally appeared on Benefits Canada‘s companion site, the Canadian Investment Review.