Toronto and New York (June 28, 2022) – Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers’) announced that it has closed an investment in Orva (the “Company”), a full-service e-commerce platform specializing in the sale of footwear, apparel, accessories, and home products from leading consumer brands. The investment is being made in partnership with Trilantic North America, a leading private equity firm, and the Aizer and Shalom families. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.
Founded in 1948 as a chain of brick-and-mortar stores, Orva has evolved its business model in parallel to the digitization of the retail landscape. Today, the Company operates as a leading e-tailer, providing its longstanding brand partners with comprehensive e-commerce solutions.
“We are excited to have Ontario Teachers’ support as we enter the next chapter of our company,” said Abe Shalom, President at Orva. “Our partnership with both Ontario Teachers’ and Trilantic North America will enable Orva to continue learning alongside trusted professionals and unlock valuable opportunities to accelerate our growth as a full-service e-commerce partner to leading consumer brands.”
“The investment in Orva is consistent with our strategy of investing in the megatrends shaping the future of retailing, and our first in the growing e-commerce facilitator space. We are particularly attracted to Orva given its track record of using data and merchandising expertise to drive incremental online sales for its top-tier brand partners,” said Kevin Mansfield, Senior Managing Director for Consumer, Private Capital at Ontario Teachers’. “We look forward to working closely with the Aizer and Shalom families and Trilantic North America to support the Company in its next stage of growth.”
“Since our original partnership with the Shalom and Aizer families in December 2020, we’ve been impressed with the founders’ ability to drive tremendous growth across existing and new brand partners and product categories, while strategically investing in new hires and IT-related projects to position Orva for continued scaling,” said Jamie Manges, Partner and Head of Consumer at Trilantic North America.
Lee Nussbaum, Managing Director at Trilantic North America, added, “Our partnership with the Shalom and Aizer families exemplifies our strategy of partnering with exceptional founders and families, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the Orva team, alongside the Ontario Teachers’ team, as the Company continues on its impressive growth trajectory.”
About Orva
Orva is a family-owned, full-service e-commerce platform that has actively managed leading brands on the Amazon platform since 2011. Orva provides long term solutions that sustain a brand’s health and drive growth on the Amazon Marketplace through merchandising, optimized content, marketing, design and supply chain management. Since its founding as a retail chain of stores in 1948, the business has been passed on from generation to generation within the Aizer and Shalom families with each succeeding generation upholding the founding fathers’ core focus on Orva’s customers and valuable brand relationships.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers’) is a global investor with net assets of C$241.6 billion as at December 31, 2021. We invest in more than 50 countries in everything from equities to real estate to infrastructure and venture growth, to deliver retirement income for 333,000 current and retired teachers in Ontario.
With offices in Hong Kong, London, San Francisco, Singapore and Toronto, our more than 350 investment professionals bring deep expertise in industries ranging from agriculture to artificial intelligence. We are a fully funded defined benefit pension plan and have earned an annual total-fund net return of 9.7% since the plan’s founding in 1990. At Ontario Teachers’, we don’t just invest to make a return, we invest to shape a better future for the teachers we serve, the businesses we back, and the world we live in. For more information, visit www.otpp.com and follow us on Twitter @OtppInfo.
About Trilantic North America
Trilantic Capital Management L.P. (“Trilantic North America”) is a leading, growth-focused middle market private equity firm focused on control and significant minority investments in North America. Trilantic North America’s primary investment focus is in the consumer and business services sectors. Trilantic North America has managed six private equity fund families with aggregate capital commitments of $9.7 billion. Trilantic North America has been recognized by Inc. Magazine’s 2021 list of Top Founder-Friendly Investors and has been named one of Growthcap’s 2021 Top 25 Private Equity Firms for Growth Companies. For more information, visit www.trilanticnorthamerica.com.
For more information, please contact:
Orva / Trilantic North America Claire Walsh +1 646 818-9177 pro-trilantic@prosek.com
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
