Onex’s Private Equity Unit Drives Gain in Quarterly Earnings
Onex’s Private Equity Unit Drives 20% Rise in Quarterly Earnings
(Bloomberg) -- Onex Corp. earned $602 million in the third quarter, up 20% from a year earlier, as its private equity group generated strong returns and the pace of dealmaking picked up.
The firm’s private equity investments brought in returns of 11% in the quarter and were up 25% in the first nine months of the year on a gross basis, Onex said Friday. The company’s private equity unit received $3 billion from asset sales and distributions this year through October and deployed $2.7 billion of capital. Both figures are higher than for all of 2020.
“It was a very active quarter for Onex, with strong momentum across all businesses,” Chief Executive Officer Gerry Schwartz said in a statement.
Some leveraged buyout firms are accelerating their asset sales, encouraged by higher valuations, after a slow period during the depths of the pandemic. Onex President Bobby Le Blanc said in a recent interview that the firm is leaning toward becoming a net seller of assets.
The Toronto-based investment firm oversees $47 billion, including almost $8 billion of its own capital, and focuses on industrials, financial services, health care and business services, including software. Onex’s investments include WestJet Airlines, Canada’s second-largest air carrier; Parkdean Resorts, a theme park operator; and Laces Group, which manufactures and sells home products.
Executive Departure
Onex credit head Jason New will leave the firm for family reasons, Le Blanc told investors Friday. New will stay until next year to help ensure a smooth transition, and the firm will take the “the appropriate time to identify a new leader,” Le Blanc said.
The departure of New, who joined Onex from Blackstone Inc. in April 2020, may affect the opportunistic fund that he co-runs in the short-term, Onex’s president said.
“The fund that Jason was going to run himself, or co-run himself, we may see a little bit lower goal in terms of AUM,” Le Blanc said. “But we’re going to keep the strategy, keep the team.”
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