Coffrages Synergy (Coffrages) is a recognized and highly sought-after construction leader in Quebec for concrete foundations and versatile structural forms. It is led by an ambitious, result-oriented team motivated to grow beyond private-sector Quebec contracts. Others didn’t see it. We did.

Transaction Overview

Third Eye Capital provided Coffrages with a larger secured financing facility when the company’s bank had starved it of growth capital and threatened possible remedial action due to covenant breaches caused by quick amortizing equipment leases. Coffrages was concurrently in the process of obtaining regulatory approval in order to bid on public contracts. Coffrages needed a partner who would not only provide capital to support its growth plan but help effect a financial and operational turnaround to restore confidence with various skeptical stakeholders.

Opportunity

Founded in 2000 and based in Lavaltrie, Quebec, Coffrages is a recognized construction leader in concrete foundations and versatile structural forms. It is one of only three formwork contractors in Quebec, which owns and is experienced in the use of PERI Formwork Systems, specialized equipment for high-rise buildings and complex projects. Coffrages was familiar with Third Eye Capital’s hands-on experience in the construction services industry and sought its help to reorganize Coffrages, refinance bank debt and equipment leases, and to provide growth capital. In May 2016, with TEC’s guidance, Coffrages undertook a significant reorganization to maximize the possibility of regulatory approval. Such regulatory approval would provide COFF a growth boost, increase market confidence, and attract investors and traditional banks for future financings. We saw a company with a loyal, top-tier customer base, a growing contractual backlog, and a reputation for quality and timely project completion. Third Eye Capital was the perfect partner to help Coffrages turn perceived risks to actual opportunities.

Approach & Outcome

We took a hands-on approach to recognizing impediments to regulatory approval and caused a structural separation of the primary operating business from other affiliates, creating a new independent corporate entity that could meet regulatory hurdles. We also used our experience to understand Coffrages’ growth pains and tailored our facility to release cash from working capital and inefficient equipment leases. We put in strict internal controls, implemented powerful tracking tools, and helped management optimize operating cash flows. We designed processes to improve collections and structured a lending borrowing base that was compatible with the seasonality and cash flow cycle of the business. Not only did Third Eye Capital help solve many operational issues but also trained management to convert data into informative decisions that allowed it to thrive in a competitive business environment.

Our business solutions enabled Coffrages to execute its plan, obtain coveted regulatory approval in less than a year, reduce working capital constraints, and more than double EBITDA during our relationship. Coffrages eventually refinanced Third Eye Capital through very low-cost loans, including one from the bank that had previously shunned the business. We saw so Coffrages could overcome growth and regulatory impediments and ultimately soar beyond management’s expectations.

“Without the help of Third Eye Capital, Coffrages Synergy Formwork would not have grown exponentially in the last two years. The team of Third Eye Capital took the time to understand our business before recommending improvement solutions, which we applied, allowing us to reach our goal of becoming the leader in formwork in the Montreal, Quebec and Ottawa areas. They did not hesitate to challenge us, which forced us to constantly surpass ourselves. With their advice and experience, they allowed us to implement a rigorous reporting system to increase our cash flow management and collection tracking. They are passionate about creating value that other conventional financial institutions would maybe not dare to do. It was a pleasure to work with the entire team and I would not hesitate to recommend them to other entrepreneurs.”
– Michel Beaudoin, CFO

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Laura’s Shoppe Canada (Laura) is a leading Canadian retailer of women’s apparel and accessories with a loyal client base and an untapped online growth opportunity. Others didn’t see it. We did.

Transaction Overview

Third Eye Capital provided Laura with super-priority secured debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing when the company’s previous senior lender forced a court-sanctioned restructuring process. In order to execute an operational turnaround, Laura needed a transitional debt facility from a lender who would not only support its plans but also help advocate it to various skeptical stakeholders.

Opportunity

Based in Laval, Quebec, Laura is a leading retailer of women’s apparel and accessories with close to 150 stores across Canada. Laura provides women aged 40 years and over with reliable and fashionable office and casual wear through a personalized shopping experience. Family-owned and operated since 1930, Laura has an established clientele that likes to coordinate style with comfort and remain on trend. In 2011, Laura shifted suppliers and changed its merchandising and purchasing strategy to broaden its target market. However, this disappointed the retailer’s core customers and profitability was significantly impacted. Laura re-grouped and embarked on a difficult operational restructuring that lost the confidence of its senior lenders, who hastily wanted to liquidate the business. Laura needed a financing partner that could help execute its turnaround plan of improving cash flows through cost reductions, inventory rationalizations, and landlord negotiations. It also need capital to revitalize its stores and invest in an omni-channel strategy to create a robust online store. We saw a company with a core customer base motivated to buy from Laura and a dedicated and experienced management team with a plan to restore the confidence of its customers and its creditors. Laura needed an entrepreneurial lender to help keep the operational plan on track, and Third Eye Capital was perfectly suited for the job.

Approach & Outcome

We took a hands on approach and identified a viable turnaround opportunity in a challenging retail environment where others only saw risks. We underwrote a plan to change inventory mix, streamline SKUs, reduce stores, cut costs including rent, centralize purchasing, negotiate with creditors. We tracked the data that mattered and closely monitored the indicators that would determine if Laura could once again become a profitable player in the Canadian retail industry. We assess transactions from the perspective of the business owner, and match our capital to not just business need but also asset value potential.

Our financing solution enabled Laura to execute its plan, maximize working capital, and provide benefits to all its stakeholders. Laura eventually refinanced us through a traditional lender after we helped eliminate the uncertainty that almost led to the company’s demise. We saw so Laura could rise again.

“We met Third Eye Capital at a most challenging and tumultuous time for both our business in particular and our industry in general, requiring a swift and comprehensive refinancing, and following a period of disappointing results. We closed quickly, enjoyed a very good working relationship with TEC, and refinanced one year later with a major Canadian bank. Having borrowed previously from major Canadian banks as well as an alternative lender, we found TEC to stand out as being entrepreneurial, professional, supportive, practical, intuitive and insightful.”
– Josh Fisher, Senior Vice-President

The post Laura’s Shoppe $31 Million Senior-Secured Credit (DIP) Facility. appeared first on Third Eye Capital.

Industry cyclicality and customer concentrations have historically resulted in unpredictable revenues and volatile margins for pipeline contractors. Banister’s capacity and experienced team made it a preferred supplier for Canada’s largest transporters of crude, which eventually led to the firm’s acquisition. Others didn’t see it. We did.

Transaction Overview

Third Eye Capital provided Banister with financing for working capital, in order to cover costs of multiple project phases aimed at tying-in new oil sand developments to mainline pipelines. Well secured by a master services contract in excess of $500 Million, we provided Banister with a transitional debt facility that would bridge the contract payment cycle and be repaid as project milestones were met.

Opportunity

Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, and with offices in Alberta and New Brunswick, Banister is one of Canada’s leading pipeline contractors with specialized expertise in large and complex projects, particularly harsh terrains and difficult crossings. The company has its own fleet of drill barges, draglines, and dredging systems, and talented technical personnel with lengthy experience in underwater blasting and crossings. In order to meet customary performance bonding requirements for mobilization of its workforce and to bridge progress billings, Banister needed a financing partner that could recognize the value of its major contracts. We saw a company with a proven management team that were also the owners of the business. We saw a pipeline contractor with preferred supplier status, excellent labour relations, and a large backlog of contracts scheduled for completion. Banister was on the verge of capturing a greater share of new large pipeline construction across Canada, and we saw it.

Approach & Outcome

Banister’s complex collateral, concentrated customer base, cyclical business activity, and relatively small and short term financing needs, deterred other lenders, who failed to see the opportunity and value in the company’s assets. We took a hands-on approach to understanding the company’s needs, and developed a financing solution that was customized to Banister’s unique circumstances. We help good companies like Banister, which cannot access conventional credit due to perceived risk, size, complexity, or timing, reach their business goals. We assess transactions from the perspective of the business owner, and match our capital to not just business need but also asset value potential.

We aligned ourselves with Banister by providing an interim financing solution that enabled the company to execute on its strong backlog of contracts. Banister was eventually acquired in a transaction that created significant value for its stakeholders. We saw so Banister could succeed.

“Arif, I wanted to thank you and your team for your professional approach to our financing requirements. By taking the time to understand our business, our industry and our unique capital requirements, your team helped us achieve unprecedented growth in a short period of time.”
– Kevin O’Donnell, CFO, Banister Pipelines Corp.

The post Banister Pipelines Corp. $19 Million Senior-Secured Credit Facility. appeared first on Third Eye Capital.

A company engaged in upstream oilfield services that was growing faster than its competition. Big Eagle was one of the largest private oilfield service firms in Western Canada. Others didn’t see it. We did.

Transaction Overview

Third Eye Capital provided $10 million in secured financing that allowed Big Eagle to purchase heavy equipment for upstream and industrial activities in the oilfield services industry. Big Eagle had been named one of the 100 fastest growing companies in Canada three years in a row by Canadian Business Magazine. The company needed to expand its fleet of service rigs to keep pace with demand, and expected that an income trust IPO would help meet its capital requirements. However, the IPO was postponed after the Canadian federal government repealed the favorable tax treatment of income trusts, forcing Big Eagle to look for alternatives. Third Eye Capital saw a solution and quickly put a financing in place that did not disrupt Big Eagle’s existing credit arrangements.

Opportunity

Big Eagle was one of the largest field services providers for the oil and gas industry in Western Canada. The company and its subsidiaries provide a range of industrial and oilfield services across three major sectors: Drilling Services, Completion Services, and Construction Services. In Drilling Services, where it is an industry leader, the company exposed underground infrastructure utilizing a pressurized water and vacuum system called “hydrovac”. Western Canada is the most established hydrovac market in North America. In order to keep up with its growing market share and expansion, Big Eagle needed to expand its fleet but an interrupted IPO and fully-drawn credit facility meant the company was turning down business. Big Eagle needed a financing partner that could provide capital without affecting the company’s existing credit facility – a partner who was not constrained by superfluous debt ratios that deterred expansion and diversification. We saw a company with a strong reputation as a quality service provider with a hands-on and aligned CEO committed to growing the business. We saw a company with solid subsidiaries expanding beyond traditional oil and gas services to smooth out cycles and diversify cash flow sources. Big Eagle was a leading company ready to grow, and we saw it.

Approach & Outcome

Big Eagle’s existing debt load and failed IPO deterred other lenders, who failed to see the opportunity and value in the company’s assets and its prospects in a cyclical industry. We took a hands-on approach to understanding the company’s needs, and developed a financing solution that complemented Big Eagle’s already leveraged capital structure without breaching any debt covenants. We help good companies like Big Eagle solve complex or unconventional financing problems so that they can reach their business goals. We assess transactions from the perspective of the business owner, and match our capital to not just business need but also asset and enterprise value potential.

We aligned ourselves with Big Eagle’s management by providing a transitional financing solution that drew upon our practical business experience in equipment financing and construction services. Big Eagle was able to increase its geographic reach, diversify, and increase its revenue base. We saw so Big Eagle could soar.

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A Canadian infrastructure construction company that was transitioning its market focus to faster growing sectors of the global economy. Wabi quickly established a market reputation that eventually led to its merger with one of the largest energy contractors in the world. Others didn’t see it. We did.

Transaction Overview

Third Eye Capital structured a mixed revolving and term credit facility for Wabi that provided working capital during the company’s market transition. Their incumbent credit provider, a major Canadian Bank, had announced its intentions to reduce overall construction exposure in its commercial loan portfolio. Wabi was an unfortunate casualty of this decision, despite its strong growth and recent top business award from this same bank.

Opportunity

Wabi was in the midst of transitioning from an engineering construction firm with deep mechanical expertise primarily focused on the forestry sector to a highly skilled construction management company focused on the energy sector with cost plus and time-and-materials contracts. Wabi possessed a large, captive and flexible labour pool with advanced engineering talent, that we knew would be able to make the market sector transition from forestry to energy. We saw an experienced management team with a strong national reputation. We saw a company with vertical expertise that enabled a move away from an industry like forestry, experiencing a cyclical downturn, and a move towards the fastest growing sectors of the global economy. Others saw only risk; we saw opportunity.

Approach & Outcome

We help good companies like Wabi, that cannot access conventional credit due to perceived risk, size, complexity, or timing, reach their business goals. We assess transactions from the perspective of the business owner, and match our capital to not just business need but also asset value potential. How does the company make money, what is its sustainable competitive advantage, and how we best unlock value, are some of the key questions we try to answer with our portfolio companies.

We aligned ourselves with Wabi by providing a bespoke financing solution that drew upon our practical business experience in construction services. Wabi eventually unlocked value for all of its stakeholders through a buyout to one of the world’s largest energy infrastructure companies. We saw so Wabi could prosper.

The post Wabi International $16 Million Senior-Secured Credit Facility. appeared first on Third Eye Capital.

An exploration stage junior gold company rich in resources. Metanor eventually put into operation a milling complex and is now producing gold from its most prolific mine. Others didn’t see it. We did.

Transaction Overview

Third Eye Capital provided Metanor with financing for working capital, production planning, and expenditures associated with restarting a milling complex located on one of their main properties in Northwestern Quebec, a major gold mining area. Although publicly traded on the Toronto Venture Exchange, Metanor sought a non-dilutive transitional debt facility that would be repaid through an equity offering when its stock price recovered.

Opportunity

Metanor Resources Inc. is a gold exploration company, with significant mineral properties in Northern Quebec and Ontario, and possessing a senior management team with a track record of developing profitable mines. In order to properly realize the significant measured and indicated resource potential that had been identified at one of its mining properties, Metanor needed a financing partner that could recognize value not yet reflected in the company’s stock price. We saw a company with committed equity holders, strong community and government support, and a solid operational team with over 200 years of combined experience in the gold exploration and production industry. We saw a mining company with a milling complex that was strategically located in one of the most prolific gold resource areas in Quebec. Metanor was an emerging producer ready to shine, and we saw it.

Approach & Outcome

Metanor’s remote location and early stage production profile thwarted other lenders, who failed to see the opportunity and value in the company’s assets. We took a hands-on approach to understanding the company’s needs, and developed a financing solution that was customized to Metanor’s unique circumstances. We help good companies like Metanor, which cannot access conventional credit due to perceived risk, size, complexity, or timing, reach their busines goals. We assess transactions from the perspective of the business owner, and match our capital to not just business need but also asset value potential.

We aligned ourselves with Metanor by providing an interim financing solution that enabled the company to execute on its strong production opportunity. Metanor eventually unlocked value for all of its stakeholders by getting its mining properties into production. We saw so Metanor could shine.

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