Portfolio

Acquisitions

W. Graeme Roustan has been active in the Mergers and Acquisitions of many entities, a sample of which is represented here.

McKenney Hockey & Lacrosse

W. Graeme Roustan, Executive Chairman of Roustan Capital and Roustan Hockey today announced its acquisition of McKenney, the custom original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of hockey and lacrosse protective gear based in the Scarborough district of Toronto in Ontario, Canada since 1996. “Trevor McKenney has been a pioneer in the design, development and production of custom hockey and lacrosse gear since 1996, and I am thrilled that he and his team will now become an integral part of the Roustan Hockey team,” said Mr. Roustan.

Press Release Website

The Curling News

W. Graeme Roustan, Executive Chairman, Owner and Publisher of Roustan Media, acquired the iconic publication The Curling News from Gonzo Communications Inc., owned by Olympic silver medalist George Karrys (Nagano 1998). The Curling News is the world’s only independent curling newspaper and a global authority on the sport. Founded in Calgary in 1957 as Canadian Curling News, each modern-day issue of The Curling News is packed with the latest analysis, behind-the-scenes stories, brilliant action photography, event and team previews, stunning design values and information fans simply won’t find anywhere else.

Press Release Website

Heritage Hockey Sticks

Roustan Capital acquires Heritage Hockey Sticks, the only manufacturer in Canada and the U.S.A that mass-produces wooden, ABS, foam-core and hybrid composite sticks. With roots dating back to 1908 in Cambridge, Ontario, Heritage has been manufacturing hockey sticks since before the NHL was officially founded. Today, Heritage Hockey Sticks makes hockey sticks for NHL goalies and position players, foam-core goalie sticks, as well as street hockey, sledge hockey and autograph sticks for the hockey industry.

Press Release Website

The Hockey News

Founded in 1947, The Hockey News, often referred to as the “Hockey Bible”, has served its loyal readers with independent journalistic excellence for more than for 70 years. “As a Quebec-born entrepreneur, it is an honor and a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Remi Marcoux and Pierre Karl Peladeau, the previous successive owners of The Hockey News who are two of the greatest Quebec and Canadian entrepreneurs ever.” said Mr. Roustan.

Press Release Website

Christian and Torspo

Roustan Capital was presented with the unique opportunity to acquire Supreme Brands L.L.C., owner of the authentic and iconic globally recognized TORSPO and CHRISTIAN hockey brands and it wasted no time to acquire them before these brands fell into the hands of others.

While Chairman of Performance Sports Group, negotiations to acquire TORSPO were held but were not successful. Mr. Roustan has a deep understanding of the importance of the authenticity and iconic value that is inherent in a global brand with his experience overseeing Bauer around the world as its Chairman.

Read More >

Press Release Website

Nike Bauer

W. Graeme Roustan, as Chairman and CEO of Roustan Capital, was invited by Nike’s executives to enter the Nike Bauer sale process in the Fall of 2007. Mr. Roustan engaged a Wall Street firm who scheduled interviews with private equity firms that wanted to be Mr. Roustan’s partner in the process.

Mr. Roustan had deep relationships in place with Nike and the industry that put him and his new partner in an advantageous position to acquire Nike Bauer in April 2008 for $200 million dollars. Mr. Roustan as Chairman took Bauer public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in March 2011 and departed the Board in October 2012.

Press Release Toronto Star Story

Active Investor

W. Graeme Roustan makes investments in publically traded companys as an Active Investor by acquiring a position in the company’s common stock before contacting the Board of Directors to effect change that will unlock shareholder value. A sample of these activities are detailed here.

Power Corporation

W. Graeme Roustan, Chairman and CEO of Roustan Capital today announced that he has acquired shares in Power Corporation and has written to its Chairman and Co-CEO Paul Desmarais Jr. asking for a meeting to discuss selling and/or spinning off non-core divisions and assets to enhance and unlock shareholder value after a ten year decline in stock price of approximately -16%.

AEterna Zentaris

After being approached by the Chair of AEterna Zentaris with an invitation to join the Board, Mr. Roustan acquired more than one percent of the company’s common shares. After several discussions between the Chair and Mr. Roustan, where Mr. Roustan outlined the changes that he would want to see at the Board level, the Chair withdrew the invitation to join the Board.

Mr. Roustan wrote a letter to the Board on July 7, 2017 asking for changes to be made at the Board immediately to improve best practices in corporate governance and requested three Board seats. The company responded on July 20th with the formation of the Strategic Review Committee to maximize shareholder value.

Performance Sports Group (closed)

Mr. Roustan had more than one percent of the company’s common shares before writing a letter to the Board in 2015 that its January 8th, 2015 announcement that it was opening its own retail stores was a mistake. As its former Chairman, he believed that he had the best long-term interests of all stakeholders at heart having been its Chairman since the acquisition of Bauer from Nike in 2008, through the IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange on March 10, 2011, and serving as its Chairman through 2102. The Board did not take Mr. Roustan’s advice and coincidence or not, the Company filed for bankruptcy in 2016.

Apr. 15, 2016 Media Story Press Releases

Venture Capital

W. Graeme Roustan has invested Venture Capital in many startups, a sample of which is represented here.

GTA Sports & Entertainment (GTA Centre)

W. Graeme Roustan as Chairman and CEO of GTA Sports & Entertainment (GTASE) began investing capital in 2010 and assembled a team of professionals to commence the pre-development design and work of a 20,000 seat multi-purpose arena known as the the GTA Centre in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

With the NHL’s announcement on June 24th, 2015, that new franchises might become available in the future, Mr. Roustan informed the NHL of his interest in obtaining a franchise for the GTA but was unable to submit an application during the 2-week time period but communicated that it was still working on the development of the GTA Centre.

Work continues!

Private Equity

W. Graeme Roustan has been active in Private Equity, a sample of which is represented here.

Community Ice Rinks

W. Graeme Roustan as Chairman and CEO of Roustan Capital launched a fund dedicated to investing in community ice rinks and related companies in the USA previously struggling to stay open or had closed its doors. The intention was to give them a second chance for success.

One trait the investment criteria contained was that the community ice rink or operation would have to be the only one in a given community, and that its demise would cause its hockey players and figure skaters to hang up their skates for good. Investments were not made if one ice rink was to close and the users could go to another ice rink close by, having the effect of making the surviving one a more financially viable operation as opposed to two financially weak operations. Read More >

Shot Taken - Didn't Score

Montreal Canadiens Sale – 2009

The odds of W. Graeme Roustan scoring the Montreal Canadiens in the 2009 sales process was less than 10% at the outset at best. Although taking the shot and not scoring, being invited into the Habs sale process, let alone making it to the final round as a finalist, was a shot this kid from Sherbrooke was thrilled to take.

Mr. Roustan is eternally grateful to the Canadiens family and the NHL for providing him this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity he will never forget.

Media Story