December 21, 2011

Montreal construction engineering firm Genivar raises nearly $160 million from institutional investors

Engineering services firm Genivar Inc. of Montreal announced Wednesday it has completed a private equity placement resulting in gross proceeds of $159.7 million.

The company is issuing a combined total of 6.5 million common shares to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec. The placement will increase the number of shares outstanding by nearly 25 per cent and the proceeds will be used to repay debt and for general corporate purposes, Genivar stated in a press release.

Both CPPIB and Caisse, which manages funds primarily for public and private pension and insurance plans, will own nearly 10 per cent each of Genivar’s common shares.

In its management discussion and analysis for the period ending October 1, the firm said as of Nov. 8, it had 26,129,920 common shares outstanding.

According to its SEDAR filing Nov. 9, Genivar reported that as of October 1, it had $20.508 million in cash on its balance sheet, with total current assets of $303.165 million. Total liabilities were $264.476 million, including $137.901 million in current liabilities.

In the quarter ending Oct. 1, Genivar reported net earnings of $14.152 million on revenues of $173.088 million.

The company has about 5,000 employees in 100 offices. Projects awarded to Genivar during the third quarter included the design of the Attawapiskat new elementary school in Northern Ontario, wireless infrastructure projects for Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. and Telus Corp., and an environmental impact study for a lithium mine project in Northern Quebec for Galaxy Resources Inc.

Genivar president and CEO Pierre Shoiry stated in a press release that the financing from Caisse and CPPIB “will allow us to continue growing our Canadian business while moving forward on executing our international expansion plans.”

Genivar Acquisitions this year have included:

• Le Group Giroux, which specializes in surveying and geomatics;

• Delcom Engineering Ltd. a Prince Edward Island-based engineering consulting and land surveying firm;

• Decibel Consultants Inc., a Quebec-based engineering consulting firm specializing in architectural acoustics and industrial environmental noise measurement and control;

• WHW Architects Inc.;

• Groupe OptiVert Inc., a Quebec City-based consulting firm specializing in forest management services;

• JMH Environmental Solutions Ltd., a Camrose, Alberta-based oil and gas environmental consulting firm; and

• Dakins Engineering Group Ltd. of Mississauga, Ontario, which specializes in water and wastewater management.

Both CPPIB and Caisse have the right to nominate one person each to Genivar’s board of directors, provided both funds own more than 9.5 per cent of outstanding shares.

At September 30, 2011, the Canada Pension Plan Fund totalled $152.3 billion. As of December 31, 2010, Caisse held $151.7 billion in net assets.

DCN DIGITAL MEDIA

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