Three IPOs hit the Canadian market in as many days

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The list of launched and pending initial public offerings is growing so long that it's hard to keep track of the deal flow. This week alone three new public companies started trading in Canada. Summaries of the offerings are below:

Crown Capital Partners Inc.

After setting out to raise $100-million, Crown Capital Partners, an alternative lender for mid-market companies, settled on $65-million. The company was set up in October, 2000, by former Crown Life Insurance Co. employees and has raised three funds since 2002. Crown looks to finance companies that can't necessarily find bank debt, but that also don't want to issue equity. Its loans to these borrowers often yield 10 to 15 per cent annually and are typically worth $10-million to $50-million each. Crown made $6.6-million in 2014 and its new shares will pay a dividend yield of 4 per cent. Cormark Securities Inc. and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. served as lead underwriters, and Torys LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP offered legal advice.

Alignvest Acquisition Corp.

Alignvest is the latest special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, to launch in Canada. These acquisition vehicles, often referred to as "blank-cheque companies," raise money from public shareholders and are then given roughly two years to buy a private asset. The structure is more common in the United States, but crossed the border in March. Alignvest initially looked to raise $125-million, but the deal size was boosted to $259-million because of strong demand. TD Securities Inc. and Cantor Fitzgerald were the lead underwriters; Stikeman Elliott LLP and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP were the legal advisers.

TMAC Resources Inc.

It's rare to see a mining deal in these markets, but TMAC Resources raised money to fund its gold project in Nunavut – and then some. The deal was initially for $105-million, but got upsized to $135-million. The miner's Hope Bay project had been tackled by Newmont Mining Corp. and BHP Billiton Ltd. in the past, and was picked up again by TMAC, who likely won support from shareholders because the company's leaders used to work for or run respected names such as FNX Mining and KGHM International. BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and CIBC World Markets led the offering, and Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP and Bennett Jones LLP offered legal advice.

Beyond these, a slew of IPOs remain in the Canadian market including offerings for Spin Master Corp., Shred-it International Inc. and Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. Others loom, including the large pending IPO from Hydro One Inc..