Markus Frind, founder and CEO of PlentyOfFish, poses in this undated handout photo.Doug Batchelor/The Canadian Press
No initial public offerings but lots of sweet deals, with banks on the move and strategic sales as companies seek to realign and streamline in an ever more diverse and competitive marketplace.
DEAL OF THE DAY:
Here's a good match. Match Group said it would buy Vancouver-based online dating website Plentyoffish for $575-million (U.S.) in cash, ahead of an IPO expected by the end of the year. Plentyoffish, launched in 2003, has more than 90 million registered users worldwide with about 3.6 million active daily users, according to its website. The transaction is expected to close early in the fourth quarter. Match currently owns Match.com, OkCupid and Tinder. Full story
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Scotiabank acquires Citigroup's banking businesses in Panama and Costa Rica
Bank of Nova Scotia announced that an agreement has been reached to acquire Citigroup's retail and commercial banking businesses in Panama and Costa Rica. The transaction is expected to provide a significant lift to the bank's market share in credit cards to approximately 18 per cent in Panama and 15 per cent in Costa Rica, ranking Scotiabank number two in both countries in the segment. Scotiabank's customer base in these two countries will grow from approximately 137,000 to 387,000. Full story
RBC sells its Swiss private banking and wealth management arm to SYZ
Royal Bank of Canada has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Royal Bank of Canada (Suisse) SA, its Switzerland-based private banking business, to SYZ Group. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Full story
Onex acquires largest professional hair care product retailer in Canada
Oncap, an investment platform of private equity firm Onex Corp., announced that it has acquired Chatters Canada Ltd., an Alberta-based retailer of hair care products, in partnership with the existing management team. The investment is being made by Oncap III, an $800-million (Canadian) fund. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Full story
Fairfax offers to increase stake in Indian brokerage
Fairfax India Holdings Corp., the $1-billion fund created by Toronto-based investor Prem Watsa, has offered to buy a 26-per-cent stake in Indian brokerage IIFL Holdings Ltd. for $255-million.The offer is expected to close later this year. Parent company Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. already owns 14.21 per cent in IIFL. Full story
TMX sells off its investor relations subsidiary
TMX Group announced that it has sold the business of its investor relations subsidiary Equicom Group Inc. to National Public Relations Inc., citing the decision as part of the stock exchange company's recent organizational review and strategic realignment. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Full story
Blacks lives on online
Telus Corp. has agreed to sell its Blacks photo business to Montreal-based Les Pros de la Photo, which will operate it as Blacks.ca. Telus didn't disclosed the terms of sale, but said the deal is set to close Aug. 4. The existing 59 physical stores will be closed next month. Full story
TIO Networks acquires Softgate Systems Inc.
TIO Networks Corp., a cloud-based bill payment processor, announced it will acquire Softgate Systems Inc., a consumer retail bill payments provider. The transaction is valued at approximately $31-million (U.S.), which includes the issuance of 25 million TIO shares to Softgate shareholders. The acquisition is expected to close later this year. Full story
PRIVATE EQUITY AND VENTURE CAPITAL
TD backs tissue company in America
Toronto-Dominion Bank's U.S. subsidiary announced that it has provided $23-million (U.S.) in financing to Atlas Paper Holdings, a Miami-based manufacturer of tissue products. The credit facility will also finance the debt recapitalization of the company. Full story
Influitive gets $1-million in venture funding
OurCrowd, an equity crowdfunding platform based in Israel, has invested $1-million in Influitive, a Toronto-based advocate marketing software provider that recently secured $30.5-million in a series B financing led by Georgian Partners. Full story
ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT
Ten companies that are probably going public next year
Private equity and venture capital research firm Pitchbook compiled a list of 10 U.S.-based companies that are likely to go public over the course of the next year.
Know of any upcoming deals we should cover? Have suggestions for making the Daily Deal Roundup more useful? E-mail me at deals@globeandmail.com. I'll respond personally to every e-mail.