Eric Waxman, President of Spara Capital Partners feels that recent media reports, detailing a softening of the US Private Equity market don’t accurately capture the situation in the Canadian Mid-Market; “Recent media reports on the US private equity market may have Canadian entrepreneurs questioning the viability of these funds, but we think they will continue…
When Canadian power and energy specialist; Spark Power and its sister company, infrastructure services investment bank; Spara Capital, set out to create a networking event for the energy and power industry they wanted to do something a little different. “At Spara Capital, we founded a quarterly hockey game that pitted financial service firms from Bay…
Canadian executives are thinking “roll up to win”, says a recent study prepared by a Canadian accounting firm, but in this case it is less about donut house coffee promos and all about ‘strategic acquisition’ (i.e. consolidations or ‘roll ups’ when done in serial). The Grant Thornton study released earlier this month found that some…
Bruce Croxon’s keynote address at The Niagara Entrepreneur of the Year Awards’ Nominee Breakfast last month, hosted at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario, where Bruce attended as a student. Bruce discusses his experience; as a “Niagara” entrepreneur; in growing and selling Lavalife; and as a judge on CBC’s Dragon’s Den! The event was sponsored…
From the Financial Post – Monday, Jul. 26, 2010 By: Derek Sankey Anywhere there are hungry university students, you will find Ryan Smolkin. “That’s my feasibility,” he says. The 36-year-old entrepreneur launched a fast-food chain of poutine restaurants in Toronto 18 months ago and the growth has been insatiable. “It just exploded on me,” Mr.…
From the National Post – Thursday, November 16, 2006 By: Carrie Tait For private business owners, the idea of a private-equity outfit knocking on your door can be an unsettling experience. After all, private-equity types are often labeled as vultures and depicted as hard-nosed, money-hungry investors wearing mean-looking black suits. Yes, private-equity investors are savvy,…