Pension Pulse

The Canadian Press reports  La Caisse and Archimed Diagnostics buy French company Stago: Quebec investment manager La Caisse and health-care private equity firm Archimed Diagnostics have bought Stago, a French company specialized in the analysis of blood coagulation issues. Financial terms of the agreement with the founding Viret family were not immediately available. Stago sells its products in 115 countries and last year had revenue of about $880 million. Martin Longchamps, head of private equity and private credit at La Caisse, said Stago is a recognized leader in blood coagulation analysis. Stago, founded in 1945, develops and manufactures hemostasis equipment and reagents. Stago's leadership team is taking a minority stake as part of the deal.  Stago issued a press release stating it is accelerating its growth with ARCHIMED and La Caisse: For nearly eighty years, Stago has been developing solutions grounded in rigorous scientific standards, driven by a const...

Amit Chowdry of Pulse 2.0 reports  Stonepeak And Bernhard Capital Partners acquire Cleco to strengthen Louisiana energy infrastructure: Stonepeak and Bernhard Capital Partners announced an agreement to acquire Cleco Group from a consortium including Macquarie Asset Management, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, and Manulife Investment Management, marking a significant transition in ownership of the Louisiana-based utility. Headquartered in Pineville, Louisiana, Cleco serves approximately 298,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers across 24 parishes and employs around 1,200 people. Following the transaction, the company will remain locally managed and operated, retain its workforce and benefits structure, and continue to be regulated by the Louisiana Public Service Commission. The acquisition is expected to bring additional capital and operational expertise to support Cleco’s ongoing efforts to enhance grid reliability, expand infrastruct...

Stephanie Ha of CTV News reports  PM Carney announces Canada’s first national sovereign wealth fund:  Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced Canada’s first national sovereign wealth fund, calling it the “Canada Strong Fund,” ahead of Tuesday’s spring economic update. Carney officially made the announcement in Ottawa on Monday morning, saying it will allow Canadians who have “a bit of extra money” to invest into it directly, similar to a government bond. The federal government will initially contribute $25 billion into the fund, which Carney says “will grow through asset recycling and reinvestment, creating even greater opportunities for future generations.” A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund that uses government surplus reserves to invest in financial assets like stocks and bonds but is independently managed. Alberta has its own sovereign wealth fund, called the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, that was established back in 1976. Accordi...

Sean Conlon and Lisa Kailai Han of CNBC report the S&P 500, Nasdaq close at records, boosted by Intel, as investors hope for a restart to U.S.-Iran talks: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record levels on Friday after investors were given a hopeful sign that peace talks between the U.S. and Iran would soon take place in Pakistan. The broad market index finished up 0.8% at 7,165.08, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.63% to settle at 24,836.60. Both indexes also scored fresh all-time intraday highs. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.61 points, or 0.16%, to end the at 49,230.71. MS NOW reported, citing a Pakistani official, that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to arrive in Islamabad on Friday evening to have a discussion with Pakistani mediators about a possible second round of negotiations with the U.S. U.S. oil prices pulled back following the development. U.S.  West Texas Intermediate futures settled above...