TORONTO-Tricor Pacific Capital Inc., based in Vancouver, is making an equity investment into locally based Avison Young’s common stock to fund the latter firm’s growth and expansion plan. Avison plans to use the proceeds, which make Tricor a minority partner with two board seats, to build out its Canadian and US platforms.
Mark Rose, chairman and CEO of Avison, says his principal-owned firm has been courted by numerous firms in the past few years, especially as the company grew 30% to 40% each year since the recession. The company has grown from 11 to 25 offices and from 300 to 800 real estate professionals across Canada and the United States.
“We had many private companies come calling, but in each and every case they wanted a controlling interest,” Rose says. “The people who manage the company, who build the strategy and execute for clients, those are the people we want as the owners.”
He says Tricor and Avison have a lot in common. Both firms have a headquarters office in Canada but a main US office in Chicago. “They also see life the way we do,” he says. “They agree the importance in this business is on bringing value to the client, how you go about solving the client’s problem, getting paid for the solution rather than the quantity of deals.”
Roderick Senft and Bradley Seaman, managing directors of Tricor, have joined the Avison Board of Directors. Their firm paid about $40 million to gain its part of Avison, though Rose says he can’t reveal the percentage of the stake. Rose says his company will push further in its expansion in core US markets, and eventually into overseas markets such as Asia and Europe.
Seaman said in a statement that his firm backs Avison’s aggressive expansion plans. “(They are) a debt-averse company playing offense, and are fortunate to not have to contend with legacy issues, monthly debt payments or quarterly public shareholder expectations,” Seaman said.
Robert W. Baird & Co. acted as Avison’s financial advisor. Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP acted as legal advisors.
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