Financial Services Acquisitions in Canada

Kelso & Company closed a nearly CAD 400 million secondary minority common equity investment to acquire a 25% stake in Wellington-Altus Financial Inc., implying an enterprise value of more than CAD 1.5 billion. The transaction provides liquidity to existing advisors and employees while supporting Wellington-Altus’s continued growth as the firm surpasses 1,000 employees and CAD 45 billion in assets under administration.

iA Financial Corporation Inc. has completed the acquisition of RF Capital Group Inc., the operator of the Richardson Wealth brand, via a court-approved plan of arrangement. The deal, in which a wholly-owned subsidiary of iA purchased all issued and outstanding RF Capital shares for C$20.00 per common share (and C$25.00 per Series B preferred share), expands iA's wealth platform to more than $330 billion in combined AUM/AUA and over 500,000 clients.

Neighbourhood Holdings Ltd. has acquired Fisgard Asset Management Corporation to create one of Canada’s largest alternative mortgage investment platforms. The combined business will manage roughly $750 million in AUM across ~1,550 mortgages, expand scale and product capabilities, and continue operating existing investment vehicles while retaining key Fisgard leadership.

Lorne Park Capital Partners Inc. (TSXV: LPC), through its wholly owned subsidiary Bellwether Investment Management Inc., has acquired 100% of the outstanding securities of 1001273791 Ontario Ltd., a practice holding approximately $40 million in assets under management. The seller, advisor Gordon (Gord) Archer, will become a Bellwether employee; the purchase price is CAD 1,300,000 paid with a specified installment schedule tied to trailing revenue.

Wealthsimple has acquired Fey, a Montreal-based investing platform founded in 2021 that offers trader-focused tools including earnings analysis, natural-language stock screening, and a real-time personalized news feed. The acquisition will bring Fey's AI-driven trading features into Wealthsimple's platform to enhance its DIY trading experience for millions of Canadian clients, with initial Fey-powered features expected by year-end.

Mubadala Capital, through its investment vehicle MC Accelerate Co‑Invest LP, completed a take‑private acquisition of CI Financial Corp. for C$32.00 per share, in a transaction implying an enterprise value of approximately C$12.1 billion. CI will remain headquartered in Toronto and operate under its existing management and brands while gaining access to Mubadala Capital's global network and capital to accelerate its private wealth and U.S. expansion.

Oxford Economics has acquired a majority stake in Alpine Macro, a Montreal-based investment research firm founded in 2017. The deal combines Oxford Economics' macroeconomic capabilities with Alpine Macro's market-focused investment research to deepen research capabilities, accelerate global expansion, and deliver enhanced, AI-enabled research products to institutional clients; financial terms were not disclosed.

Toronto-based Polar Asset Management Partners has acquired Castlefield Associates, a Toronto quantitative relative-value futures hedge fund manager founded in 2019 by Chris Schindler. The deal brings Castlefield’s systematic relative-value strategy and team onto Polar’s platform as Polar looks to build a new systematic strategy vertical complementary to its existing multi-strategy offerings.

Kensington Capital Partners has acquired the venture capital investment business of ONE9 and taken a minority stake in ONE9 Capability Labs (with an option to acquire the remainder upon milestone achievement). ONE9's legacy investments are excluded and remain with the original vendors; the deal positions Kensington to lead investments in National Security technologies, including cybersecurity and defense-focused dual-use technologies.

The leadership team of WD Capital Markets Inc. completed a management buyout, acquiring 100% of the company and relaunching it as HDL Capital Inc., effective March 31, 2025. HDL will continue providing M&A advisory and transaction services to small- and mid-market clients from its Toronto base and expects to expand its team and Transaction Services practice.

OneDigital has made a strategic investment in PWL Capital, a Montreal-headquartered independent wealth management firm, marking OneDigital's first international expansion into Canada. PWL will transition to the OneDigital brand and continue operating as an independent subsidiary, leveraging OneDigital's resources to expand its client offerings across Canada.

TriWest Capital Partners completed a majority equity investment in Alta West Mortgage Capital Corporation, partnering with the company's existing management team led by CEO George Botros and Executive Chairman Charles McKitrick, who will remain significant shareholders. The investment positions Alta West to accelerate growth as a platform in the Canadian alternative residential mortgage market by leveraging TriWest's capital and operational resources to expand assets under management and product offerings.

TMX Group Limited has acquired Newsfile Corp., a Canadian newswire and regulatory filing solutions provider that serves over 2,500 public and private clients. The purchase bolsters TMX's Capital Formation business by adding Newsfile's news distribution, SEDAR+/EDGAR and XBRL filing capabilities to TMX's market and data offerings.

Celero Commerce, a Nashville-based electronic commerce and payments provider, has acquired SONA, a Halifax, Nova Scotia-based provider of electronic payments technology for Canadian merchants. The acquisition gives Celero a strategic entry into Canada and increases its processed card volume to approximately $26 billion annually across North America; MAPP Advisors advised SONA on the transaction.

Montreal-based digital lender nesto has acquired CMLS Group, one of Canada’s largest mortgage finance companies, creating the country’s largest technology-enabled mortgage lender. The combined business will operate across residential and commercial mortgage markets with more than 1,000 employees, roughly $60 billion in mortgages under administration, and transaction support from a group of institutional and strategic investors including Diagram Ventures, Portage, NAventures, IGM Financial, BMO Capital Partners, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction.

National Bank of Canada entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding common shares of Canadian Western Bank in a share-exchange transaction valuing CWB at approximately $5.0 billion. The deal (exchange ratio 0.450 NB shares per CWB share) expands National Bank's footprint in Western Canada, is expected to close by the end of 2025 subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, and is supported by an approximately $1.0 billion equity financing including a private placement to CDPQ.

JanOne Inc. (NASDAQ: JAN) has executed a definitive agreement to acquire blockchain fintech provider ALT 5 Sigma Inc.; the transaction is expected to close the week of May 13, 2024 and will result in ALT 5 becoming a wholly owned subsidiary. JanOne will issue 1,799,100 common shares (≈19.9% of outstanding shares as of May 10) and 34,207 shares of Series B preferred stock to ALT 5's former stockholders; the deal is intended to expand JanOne's product portfolio and scale ALT 5's blockchain payment and OTC trading technologies globally.

Hampton Financial Corporation (TSXV:HFC) has agreed to acquire a controlling interest in Oxygen Working Capital Corp. (OCC), an Oakville, Ontario-based commercial factoring lender, with closing anticipated on April 1, 2024. Under the deal Hampton will issue 21,755,071 subordinate voting shares (plus ~5,438,779 warrants) to OCC shareholders in exchange for 100% of OCC's outstanding common shares (aggregate value $9,783,250), marking Hampton's first entry into commercial lending and expected to be accretive to earnings.

Amynta Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sutton Special Risk Inc., a Toronto-based managing general underwriter (MGU) specializing in accident & health and specialty insurance products. The acquisition expands Amynta’s accident and health capabilities and accelerates its growth plans in the Canadian market; Greg Sutton will continue to lead Sutton following the transaction.

CI Financial Corp. agreed to acquire Coriel Capital Inc., a Montreal-based wealth manager that serves ultra-high-net-worth families and manages approximately $1.3 billion in client assets. The acquisition expands CI's presence in the ultra-high-net-worth market and complements its CI Private Wealth and Northwood Family Office businesses; the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

The Canada Life Assurance Company, a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco, has agreed to acquire Value Partners Group Inc., a Winnipeg-based wealth planning and investment firm. The deal will integrate Value Partners’ investment counsel, investment management and financial planning capabilities into Canada Life’s advisor-focused wealth platform to expand capabilities for independent advisors; the transaction is expected to close by end of 2023 subject to regulatory approvals.

Servus Credit Union Ltd. has acquired Calgary-based Stride Capital Corp., an equipment financing and leasing provider, to strengthen its commercial equipment leasing capabilities across Canada. Most of Stride's management and all ~20 employees will join the new Servus subsidiary, enabling expanded leasing capacity for Servus members and Stride clients across agriculture, construction, transportation and other sectors.

TRAFiX LLC has acquired Integrated Transaction Systems Ltd. and ITS Online Ltd., adding Canadian trading applications, connectivity and smart order routing capabilities to its OMS/EMS and FIX routing suite. The deal expands TRAFiX’s geographic footprint into Canada and strengthens its trading connectivity and product offering while ITS continues to support its existing clients and products.

B. Riley Financial, Inc. has acquired the corporate division of Farber and rebranded it as B. Riley Farber. The acquisition expands B. Riley’s advisory capabilities and provides Farber with greater access to B. Riley’s cross-platform services and North American market reach, particularly across Canada.

Co-operators Financial Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Co-operators Group Limited, agreed to acquire all issued and outstanding common shares of Smart Employee Benefits Inc. (SEB) for C$0.30 per share in a statutory plan of arrangement, implying an equity value of approximately C$89.1 million. The acquisition is intended to bolster Co-operators' Group Benefits capabilities by integrating SEB's benefits administration technology, SaaS products and managed services; closing is subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals.

First Financial Equipment Leasing (FFEL), a member of JA Mitsui Leasing Ltd., has acquired Toronto-based NorFund Capital to expand its equipment financing operations into Canada. NorFund’s expertise in capital equipment, solar and alternative energy financing and vendor finance programs will be integrated into FFEL’s new First Financial Canadian Leasing division to grow FMV lease offerings and renewable energy financing in Canada.

Smith Financial Corporation (via a wholly-owned purchaser) acquired all outstanding shares of Home Capital Group Inc. in a court-approved plan of arrangement, paying CAD 44.00 per share (increased to CAD 44.28 per share due to a post-May 20, 2023 closing adjustment). The transaction valued Home Capital at approximately CAD 1.7 billion, will result in Home Capital being taken private and its common shares delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Novacap has completed an investment in Ratehub.ca, a Toronto-based online marketplace for mortgages, insurance and other financial products. The partnership will support Ratehub.ca's organic growth and acquisition strategy to expand its reach and product capabilities across Canada.

Guardian Capital Group Limited agreed to acquire a 60% majority interest in Rae & Lipskie Investment Counsel Inc., a private wealth manager based in Waterloo, Ontario. The deal (expected to close in Q3 2022) will add over C$1 billion in assets under management to Guardian's Private Wealth segment while current employees will retain the remaining 40% ownership.

FTX Trading Limited announced an agreement to acquire Calgary-based Bitvo, Inc., a Canadian crypto-asset trading platform registered as a restricted dealer and with FINTRAC. The deal (subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions) is intended to support FTX's regulated expansion into the Canadian market and integrate Bitvo into FTX's global team serving Canadian customers.

Hardbacon, a Montreal-based personal finance app and comparison platform, has acquired Simplerate.ca to strengthen its credit card and rewards content offering and expand its audience. Hardbacon will continue to operate Simplerate.ca, add its proprietary comparison tools, and broaden its reach across financial product comparisons; financial terms were not disclosed.

Zafin acquired FINCAD to expand its pricing and analytics capabilities and create an end-to-end pricing and analytics offering for financial institutions. FINCAD will operate as Zafin's Capital Markets Group under the FINCAD brand, broadening Zafin's product portfolio, client base and global footprint.

Two Sigma announced an investment in Figment, a crypto staking, middleware, and application-layer provider, to support Figment's continued growth and Web3 ecosystem development. The investment will see Figment work more closely with the Pyth Network to bring enhanced functionality and usability to Pyth HiFi market data.

Revolution Capital, a Woodbridge, Ontario-based provider of factoring and cash-flow financing, has acquired Growth Capital, a Canadian factoring firm focused on the transportation industry. The deal brings Growth Capital's transportation-focused receivables financing capabilities and team (including former president Nelko Mahlyanov, who will stay on as SVP) into Revolution Capital to expand scale, capability and market share in North American factoring.

Cboe Global Markets has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aequitas Innovations, Inc. (NEO), the operator of the Toronto-based NEO Exchange and related businesses including NEO Connect. The deal strengthens Cboe's Canadian equities and listings capabilities, combining NEO with Cboe's existing MATCHNow ATS to create a more comprehensive Canadian equities platform; the transaction is expected to close in H1 2022 subject to regulatory approvals.

Mogo Inc. completed the acquisition of Canadian registered investment dealer Fortification Capital Inc., which will be renamed MogoTrade. The deal gives Mogo the necessary regulatory licenses, registrations and technology (including an order management system and market data processing) to accelerate the launch of its commission-free stock trading platform.

IBM acquired Montreal-based fintech Expertus Technologies Inc., strengthening IBM's hybrid cloud and AI-powered digital payments and treasury management capabilities. The deal brings Expertus' payments-as-a-service platform and SWIFT processing expertise into IBM Global Business Services to expand end-to-end payments solutions for financial institutions.

Simply Group (Simply Green Home Services Inc.) acquired SNAP Financial Group Inc. in a transaction with an enterprise value of $511 million, which included $412 million of consumer loan assets and a cash equity investment of $73.5 million. The deal adds SNAP's SNAP Home Finance division and dealer network to Simply Group, growing its assets under management to over $1.25 billion and expanding its consumer financing capabilities for home improvement and HVAC markets in Canada.

Hub International Limited has acquired JM Rose Insurance Agency Limited, d/b/a usefulideas, a Toronto-based employee benefits and group retirement consultancy. The transaction expands Hub Ontario's employee benefits and retirement capabilities in Canada; terms were not disclosed.

Hub International Limited acquired Vestas Financial Services Firm Inc., an independent Montreal-based commercial and personal insurance brokerage focused on construction and design professionals. Terms were not disclosed; Vestas' leadership (President Phillipe Monette and Senior VPs Martin Brodeur and Patrice Gravel) will join Hub International Quebec Limited to strengthen Hub's specialty practices and local presence.

Jefferson Capital Systems has acquired Canaccede Financial Group, the largest buyer of charged-off consumer receivables and insolvencies in Canada, to expand its consumer receivables purchasing and servicing footprint into Canada. Scott Coffin was named CEO of Canaccede, co-founder Andy Szemenyei will join Jefferson Capital's board, and Jefferson Capital's founder David M. Burton will join Canaccede's board.

Duo Bank of Canada, supported by Stephen Smith, Centerbridge Partners and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Fairstone Financial Holdings Inc. from an investor group led by J.C. Flowers and Värde Partners. Fairstone, headquartered in Montreal, is a leading Canadian non-bank lender serving near-prime borrowers with more than $3 billion in assets and roughly 1,400 employees; the transaction is expected to close in Q2 2020 subject to regulatory approvals.