Steve Hudson's specialty lender, ECN Capital Corp., is fuelling up for its next round of acquisitions through the $1.25-billion (U.S.) sale of its U.S. commercial- and vendor-finance business.
On Tuesday, ECN said it would unload a business that helps companies lease equipment in the United States – everything from construction diggers to big rigs and even large kitchen appliances for franchises. The buyer is Pittsburgh-based bank PNC Financial Services Group, and the value of the basket of financial leases included in the deal is nearly $1.1-billion.
The big question now is what will ECN buy next?
Canadian growth companies hurting from lack of capital, TMX study finds
Canadian growth companies face a $4-billion funding shortfall compared to U.S. rivals that should be filled by tapping the country's pension plans, banks and insurers, according to a study due to be released Tuesday and backed by TMX Group Ltd.
A roundtable made up of Canadian venture capitalists, bankers and executives from the country's largest pension funds found that domestic entrepreneurs are good at launching leading-edge companies but struggle to scale up the businesses compared to peers in the United States and Britain, in part due to a lack of capital.
The study found that over the past decade, the capital available to Canadian growth companies has declined and domestic companies are now only able to access approximately a third as much money as their U.S. counterparts, with the gap growing as businesses get larger. The roundtable estimates $1-billion is needed to fund growth at early stage Canadian companies to match the financing available to U.S. and British businesses, and a further $3-billion is needed to boost more mature innovation companies, which are currently not growing as quickly as they should due to a lack of money for investment.
DAILY DEALS
The parent company of Burger King and Tim Hortons is buying Popeyes for $1.8-billion, with plans to accelerate the growth of the fried chicken chain.
Veresen Inc. said on Tuesday it would sell its power generation business, its largest division, for $1.18-billion in three separate deals.
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