A second Burnaby company in the past few months has made a blockbuster purchase in an effort to boost their fortunes.
Interfor Corp. will become the only lumber company with operations in all four producing regions of North America with its purchase of Eacom Timber Corp. for $490 million.
The Burnaby company says it signed a deal that increases its total lumber production capacity by 25 per cent and expands its business in Eastern Canada.
“This transaction makes Interfor a truly North American lumber producer, with operations in all the key fibre regions on the continent, further diversifying and de-risking our operating platform and enhancing our growth potential and opportunity set,” said CEO Ian Fillinger in a company statement.
Interfor says the acquisition fits with its growth strategy as a lumber producer by expanding its geographically diverse operations by adding scale in a new region. Eastern Canada is a major lumber producing region in the continent, with highly competitive log costs and a desirable spruce-pine-fir (SPF) product mix.
Back in August, Burnaby’s Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers pulled off their own blockbuster deal.
The Burnaby-based auction giant revealed it’s paying £775 million ($1.35 billion) to acquire Euro Auctions UK Ltd. in a bid to expand its global footprint.
The all-cash deal sees Ritchie Bros. taking a 100% equity stake in the British firm’s entire portfolio of companies. The deal is being funded through a mix of cash and new debt, with a bridge financing commitment coming from Goldman Sachs Bank USA.
Both Ritchie Bros. and Euro Auctions are best known for facilitating sales of heavy equipment and trucks through live auctions and online bidding.
The acquisition deal sees Ritchie Bros. absorbing 200 employees based in 14 different countries, bringing the Canadian auction firm’s global headcount to about 2,800 workers, according to BIV data.
"Dave Ritchie and his brothers were a big inspiration for my brothers and I in the creation of Euro Auctions. We modelled much of what we do off Dave's customer-centric philosophy, which still runs through Ritchie Bros. today,” Euro Auctions founder and director Derek Keys said in a statement, referring to the founders of the Canadian company.
- With additional reporting by the Canadian Press and Tyler Orton, Business in Vancouver
