Onex, CPPIB to sell Gates to Blackstone

Target: Gates Corp

Price: $5.4 billion

Sponsor: The Blackstone Group

Sellers: Onex Corp, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Financial Advisers: Target: Goldman Sachs Group, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup; Sponsor: Morgan Stanley, Barclays, XMS Capital, Deutsche Bank

Legal Counsel: Target: Latham & Watkins LLP; Sponsor: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said they would sell industrial conglomerate Gates Corp to private equity firm Blackstone Group LP for $5.4 billion.

Auto parts and building products maker Gates is a division of Tomkins, which Onex and CPPIB jointly bought in 2010 for about $5 billion. The sale is expected to close later this year, the companies said, sister news service Reuters reported.

Proceeds from the sale to the Onex Group, including co-investors, would be about $2.0 billion, of which Onex Corp’s share would be about $550 million, including carried interest. CPPIB’s share would be about $1.5 billion.

Reuters reported in March that Blackstone was close to a deal to buy Gates. Denver, Colorado-based Gates, which filed for an IPO in December, sells products ranging from power transmission systems to acrylic bathtubs in more than 120 countries

Gates generated $2.9 billion in sales and $536 million in adjusted EBITDA in the year ended Sept. 28, according to a regulatory filing.

Onex said in March it would sell The Warranty Group, a provider of extended warranty contracts, to an affiliate of TPG Capital Management LP for an enterprise value of about $1.5 billion.

Goldman Sachs Group, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup served as financial advisers to Gates, while Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel.

Morgan Stanley, Barclays, XMS Capital and Deutsche Bank served as financial advisers to Blackstone, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to Blackstone.

Blackstone said it has secured committed debt financing to be arranged by Credit Suisse, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and UBS.