Edper Investments Ltd. was the primary holding company and investment vehicle for brothers Edward Bronfman and Peter Bronfman between 1959 and 1995. At its peak in the 1980s, and early 1990s, Edper was one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Canada, controlling more than 500 private and publicly traded companies in a complex structure that was estimated to be worth $100 billion, employed more than 100,000 Canadians, and comprised 15% of the total capitalization of the Toronto Stock Exchange.[1][2] Edper, whose name is an amalgam of the names of the two Toronto-based brothers, was initially financed with proceeds from their interests in the Seagram Company Ltd. The main investments of their cousins in the Montreal-based branch were managed through their own holding company, Cemp Investments.
History
Edper was established in 1959 with approximately US$15 million in proceeds from the half of their shares in Seagrams they were forced to sell by the Montreal branch of the family, who retained control.[3] Over the following four decades, Edper grew from a family holding of shares in a single company to a vast conglomerate with a reputation for corporate takeovers in some of Canada's largest companies. Below is an outline timeline:[4]
- 1954: Edper Holdings established as a trust for brothers Edward and Peter.
- 1959: Edper Investments Ltd.is established.
- 1989: Edper Investments Ltd. is renamed Edper Enterprises and makes its first public offering.
- 1989-95: The Bronfmans divest themselves of all holdings of Edper.
- 1995: The Pagurian Corporation approved changing its name to The Edper Group Limited.
- 1996: Hees International Bancorp Inc. and The Edper Group Limited amalgamated to form The Edper Group Limited
- 1997: The Edper Group Ltd. and Brascan Ltd. amalgamated to form EdperBrascan Corporation
Major holdings
Edper had direct and indirect ownership interests in numerous companies. Below is a list of the largest and most significant to its corporate empire.
Carena Bancorp
In 1971, the Canadian Arena Company (Carena) was purchased for $15 million from the Molson family by Placements Rondelle Ltée, ("Puck Investments Ltd." in English), a consortium of owners led by the Bronfman brothers.[9][10] Carena was the owner of the National Hockey League Montreal Canadiens and the manager of the Montreal Forum.[11] In 1978, the Canadiens team was sold to Molson Breweries for $20 million.[12]
Legacy
The Bronfman brothers participation in Edper and its subsidiaries ended in 1995, but most of the companies continued. The three major holding companies of the Edper empire – Edper, Hees, Pagurian – were all taken over by Brascan during the 1990s and early 2000s. Jack Cockwell and Trevor Eyton reorganized Brascan and its subsidiaries into a much simpler corporate structure, with three main divisions: real estate (from TrizecHahn), power (from Brascan), and financial services (formerly Trilon).[51]
Trilon continued as served largely as the financial arm of Brascan and in 2002, Brascan took over the remaining shares of Trilon it didn't already own. In 2002, Brascan renamed itself Brookfield Asset Management.[4] In 2006, Trizec Properties Inc. and its Canadian affiliate Trizec Canada Inc. merged with Brookfield Properties Corp. (formerly Carena) in a deal valued at US$8.9 billion.[52]