M&A Deal Summary

ECP, CPP Investments and Access Industries Acquire Calpine

On August 18, 2017, private equity firm ECP, pension CPP Investments and Access Industries acquired utilities company Calpine for 5.6B USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is ECP’s 6th, CPP Investments’ 1st and Access Industries’ 1st transaction in the Utilities sector.
  • This is ECP’s 2nd, CPP Investments’ 10th and Access Industries’ largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is ECP’s 37th, CPP Investments’ 13th and Access Industries’ 7th transaction in the United States.
  • This is ECP’s 13th, CPP Investments’ 5th and Access Industries’ 2nd transaction in Texas.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2017-08-18
Target Calpine
Sector Utilities
Buyer(s) ECP
CPP Investments
Access Industries
Deal Type Going Private
Deal Value 5.6B USD
Advisor(s) Lazard Ltd. (Financial)
White & Case (Legal)

Target

Calpine

Houston, Texas, United States
Calpine Corporation is America’s largest generator of electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources with operations in competitive power markets. Company fleet of 80 power plants in operation or under construction represents approximately 26,000 megawatts of generation capacity. Through wholesale power operations and retail businesses Calpine Energy Solutions and Champion Energy, Company serve customers in 25 states, Canada and Mexico. Calpine clean, efficient, modern and flexible fleet uses advanced technologies to generate power in a low-carbon and environmentally responsible manner. Company are uniquely positioned to benefit from the secular trends affecting our industry, including the abundant and affordable supply of clean natural gas, environmental regulation, aging power generation infrastructure and the increasing need for dispatchable power plants to successfully integrate intermittent renewables into the grid.

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Buyer(S) 3

Buyer

ECP

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 2005
PE ASSETS 27.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Focused
DESCRIPTION

ECP is a specialist private equity firm focused on investments in energy infrastructure. Specific areas of interest include power generation, including renewable energy facilities; electric transmission; midstream gas, including gas storage and pipelines; and other energy service businesses and infrastructure assets. The Firm primarily targets opportunities located in North America. ECP was formed in 2005 and is based in Summit, New Jersey.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 38 of 51
Sector (Utilities) 6 of 7
Type (Going Private) 3 of 5
State (Texas) 13 of 15
Country (United States) 37 of 48
Year (2017) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 2 of 12
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-05-26 Chieftain Sand and Proppant

Garland, Arkansas, United States

Chieftain Sand and Proppant LLC is a manufacturer and supplier of frac sand and proppants for natural gas and oil wells, as well as a producer of industrial minerals for specialty markets and aggregates for the construction industry. Chieftain Sand and Proppant was founded in 2009 and is based in Garland, Arkansas.

Sell $36M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-03-06 Gopher Resource

Eagan, Minnesota, United States

Gopher Resource is a technologically-advanced secondary lead processor that recycles lead-acid batteries and other lead bearing materials, with a majority of the refined lead being used in automotive and industrial batteries. Additionally, the company recycles polypropylene from battery casings through its subsidiary, Resource Plastics. Gopher Resource employs more than 300 people and is headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota with an additional facility in Tampa, Florida.

Buy -
Buyer

CPP Investments

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Pension
Founded 1997
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

CPP Investments is a Canadian pension fund focused on a variety of investing strategies, including public equities, debt, and alternative investments. The Firm's private equity arm looks to acquire direct stakes in private companies, as well as make fund investments and acquire secondary positions. For direct stakes in companies, CPP looks to invest across North American and Europe and seeks to commit a minimum of $150 million per transaction. CPP has no industry preferences however the Firm will not invest in real assets. CPP Investments was established in 1997 and is based in Toronto, Ontario.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 23 of 51
Sector (Utilities) 1 of 4
Type (Going Private) 5 of 10
State (Texas) 5 of 6
Country (United States) 13 of 26
Year (2017) 7 of 7
Size (of disclosed) 10 of 26
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-06-30 Parkway

Houston, Texas, United States

Parkway, Inc. is an independent, publicly traded, self-managed real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that owns and operates high-quality office properties located in attractive submarkets in Houston, Texas.

Buy $1.2B
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2018-01-30 Refinitiv

New York, New York, United States

Refinitiv is a large provider of financial markets data and infrastructure, serving over 40,000 institutions in over 150 countries. It provides data and insights, trading platforms, market data infrastructure and open technology platforms that support and connect the global financial markets community. Refinitiv was formerly known as Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk and is based in New York.

Buy $20.0B
Buyer

Access Industries

New York, New York, United States
Category Company
Founded 1986
Sector Diversified
DESCRIPTION

Access Industries, Inc. is a US based holding company focused on long-term investments worldwide. This includes companies located in the US, Europe, and South America. The Firm targets companies operating in the fields of natural resources, chemicals, telecommunications, media, real estate, emerging technology, and retail. Access Industries, Inc. was formed in 1986 and is based in New York City.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 19 of 19
Sector (Utilities) 1 of 1
Type (Going Private) 1 of 1
State (Texas) 2 of 2
Country (United States) 7 of 7
Year (2017) 2 of 2
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 2
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2017-03-27 Bad Wolf

Cardiff, United Kingdom

Bad Wolf is an international film and television production company that produces high-end television and film for the global market. Bad wolf productions include the night of (HBO), his dark materials (HBO/BBC) and industry (HBO), a discovery of witches, and I hate Suzie. Bad Wolf was founded in 2015 and is based in Cardiff, United Kingdom.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-03-25 Dynamic Yield

New York, New York, United States

Dynamic Yield is an AI-powered Personalization Anywhere platform that delivers individualized experiences at every customer touchpoint: web, apps, email, kiosks, IoT, and call centers. The platform’s data management capabilities provide for a unified view of the customer, allowing the rapid and scalable creation of highly targeted digital interactions. Marketers, product managers, and engineers use Dynamic Yield daily for launching new personalization campaigns, running server-side and client-side A/B tests, leveraging machine-learning for product and content recommendations, and employing algorithms for smartly triggered email and push notifications. Dynamic Yield was founded in 2011 and is based in New York City.

Sell -
Mergr

Product

Company

Legal