Cheung Kong Property Holdings Limited (CKP), through Canadian subsidiary CKP (Canada) Holdings Ltd., has agreed to acquire Reliance Home Comfort from Alinda Capital Partners for an equity purchase price of $2.82 billion and an assumption of all of Reliance’s existing debt.
CKP’s largest shareholder is Li Ka-Shing family trust. CKP intends to on-sell up to 25% of Reliance to CK Infrastructure (CKI), another company of which the Li family trust is the largest shareholder.
The Li family trust has a substantial investment portfolio in Canada. In addition to Husky Energy, other Canadian businesses in their investment portfolio include Park’N Fly, Canadian Power Holdings Ltd, Wex Pharmaceuticals and Santé Naturelle AG.
“We are thrilled to have CKP as our new investment partner. This acquisition will continue to support our offerings to our customers,” said Sean O’Brien, President & CEO, Reliance. “We believe that CKP will help accelerate the momentum we have generated over the last few years where Reliance experienced strong business results over that time.”
“We have been proud owners of Reliance since June 2007 when we took private the income trust UE Waterheater Income Fund. The company has been well led by its management team and its team members have provided exceptional customer service. We believe Reliance and its customers will be in great hands with CKP as the new owners,” said Chris Beale, Alinda’s Managing Partner
“I am very happy about the Reliance acquisition. With my close ties in the country, I have always been on the lookout for sizeable investments back in Canada,” commented Victor Li, Managing Director of CKP and co-Chairman of Husky Energy Inc.
“For our Group, Canada has always been an important market. We have had very positive experiences nurturing Canadian businesses like Husky Energy and Park’N Fly. We hope that Reliance will also grow and succeed just like our other Canadian companies, creating value to Canadians and contributing to the growth and development of the country’s economy,” added Li.
Goldman, Sachs & Co. served as Alinda’s lead financial advisor and CIBC Capital Markets served as Alinda’s financial co-advisor on the transaction. Torys LLP served as Alinda’s legal counsel on the transaction.
In 2007, Alinda Capital Partners acquired UE Waterheater Income Fund for $1.74 billion including VOXCOM Income Fund acquisition. In July 2014, Alinda sold Reliance Protectron Inc. to ADT Corporation (NYSE: ADT) for $555 million. In November 2014, Reliance Comfort acquired National Home Services from Just Energy Group, Inc. (TSX/NYSE: JE) for $505 million.