Bulletin: Avison Young (Canada) Inc. Recapitalization And Acquisition Will Increase Leverage And Scale, Earnings Should Follow

TORONTO (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 9, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that Avison Young (Canada) Inc.'s (B-/Stable/--) acquisition of GVA and plans to recapitalize will further weaken leverage but also increase the company's global reach and enhance recurring revenue streams. The acquisition has no immediate effect on our ratings. Avison Young announced its plans to acquire U.K.-based GVA, a real estate advisory business. The transaction will double Avison Young's work force to 5,100 employees. Although the purchase price was not disclosed, Avison Young announced that it will fund the acquisition through a combination of existing cash, committed commercial debt financing comprising of a new term loan, and an asset-based revolving credit facility, as well as additional common equity from Caisse

...TORONTO (S&P Global Ratings) Nov. 9, 2018--S&P Global Ratings said today that Avison Young (Canada) Inc.'s (B-/Stable/--) acquisition of GVA and plans to recapitalize will further weaken leverage but also increase the company's global reach and enhance recurring revenue streams. The acquisition has no immediate effect on our ratings. Avison Young announced its plans to acquire U.K.-based GVA, a real estate advisory business. The transaction will double Avison Young's work force to 5,100 employees. Although the purchase price was not disclosed, Avison Young announced that it will fund the acquisition through a combination of existing cash, committed commercial debt financing comprising of a new term loan, and an asset-based revolving credit facility, as well as additional common equity from Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (a Canada-based institutional investor that made a C$250 million preferred equity investment in July 2018). The company also announced that it will redeem the existing...

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