Onex Corp. president and CEO Gerald Schwartz speaks at the company's annual general meeting in Toronto in 2012.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Onex Corp.'s reported fiscal third-quarter profit declined amid a tough market for acquisitions that has seen Canada's largest buyout firm sell off its investments at a record pace this year.
Toronto-based Onex reported net income of $388-million (U.S.), or $3.31 a share, during the quarter ended Sept. 30, down 2.8 per cent from a year ago when it reported earnings of $399-million, the company said in a statement.
"We're very happy with the volume and success of realizations this year," Onex chief executive officer Gerry Schwartz said.
"Our challenge remains to find great businesses at reasonable prices," he said. "With a robust pipeline and the recent volatility in the markets, we are hopeful prices moderate and allow us to find some new investment opportunities."
At the end of the quarter, Onex had roughly $20-billion of assets under management, the company said.
High valuations have seen Onex become a seller in a tough market for acquisitions, resulting in a record number of realizations on its investments during the quarter and year-to-date, it said. So far this year, Onex and its partners have received proceeds of $5.9-billion on their investments, of which Onex's portion was $1.9-billion, the company said.
During the quarter, Onex sold its remaining interest in Allison Transmissions Holdings Inc. and Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. It also completed the sale of Mister Car Wash and the Warranty Group.
Onex made its first major acquisition of the year in July by agreeing to buy York Risk Services Group Inc., which provides risk management, insurance claims and managed care services, for $1.33-billion.