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Novacap fund acquires OSI Maritime Systems, keeping NATO provider in Canada
Novacap-led consortium acquires OSI Maritime Systems, keeping the NATO navigation supplier in Canada.
Key points
- The consortium is led by Montreal-based Novacap and includes Export Development Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada.
- OSI was founded in 1979 and develops electronic chart software and navigation systems for ships and submarines.
- The deal is Novacap's first investment through its US$3.8-billion technology fund, which closed in February.
Why it matters. The deal keeps a NATO navigation supplier under Canadian ownership after similar recent foreign acquisitions, and Novacap said it thinks it can help grow the business internationally.
Montreal-based private equity firm Novacap led a consortium that acquired Burnaby, B.C.-based OSI Maritime Systems, a navigation technology company. Partners include Crown corporations Export Development Canada and Business Development Bank of Canada. OSI, founded in 1979, serves 27 NATO and allied navies, and its technology is installed or contracted on more than 1,000 vessels, the company said. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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Novacap fund acquires OSI Maritime Systems, keeping NATO provider in Canada
B.C. company’s navigation tech has been installed or contracted on more than 1,000 vessels around the world Open this photo in gallery: Novacap chief executive Pascal Tremblay, shown in Brossard, Que., in February, told The Globe at the time that Canada’s growing investment in defence would be a huge opportunity for the fund. Andrej Ivanov/The Globe and Mail A Canadian navigation technology company has been acquired by a consortium of largely domestic investors, keeping the nearly 50-year-old operation serving NATO in Canada after similar recent acquisitions by foreign investors. The consortium acquiring Burnaby, B.C.-based OSI Maritime Systems is led by Montreal-based private equity investment firm Novacap and includes Crown corporations Export Development Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada. The consortium is entirely Canadian, save for one Scandinavian investor. David Armstrong, a senior partner at Novacap, said the firm began speaking with OSI more than a year ago and was initially surprised by the scope and size of the business. OSI was founded in 1979 and develops electronic chart software, as well as navigation systems for ships and submarines. It serves 27 NATO and allied navies, including the Royal Canadian Navy, and its technology has been installed or contracted on more than 1,000 vessels, according to OSI. “This was a company that ticked all the boxes.