2019 Annual Report CHAIRMAN’S LETTER
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2019 Annual Report CHAIRMAN’S LETTER Dear Shareholders, The year just past was an active and productive one for Onex. Our private equity platforms invested $2.7 billion. Of that amount, $1.1 billion came from our limited partners, about $470 million from Onex Corporation and $1.2 bil- lion from certain other investors. The most notable investments were the acquisition of WestJet, Canada’s second larg- est airline, and the launch of Convex, a specialty insurance provider being built with top industry entrepreneurs. The unusually high amount of capital from investors outside our funds stemmed from various motivations and highlights the strong partnerships we’ve built with our investors. We were even more active with private equity realizations, with the Onex Group total coming in at $3.7 billion – the second-largest amount in our history. Onex Corporation’s share was $1.2 billion. Contributing to the great year were the sales of Jack’s Family Restaurants and BrightSpring Health and secondary share sales of Clarivate Analytics and SIG Combibloc. Together with the increase in value of our unrealized investments, the gross value of Onex’ private equity investments climbed 21% in 2019. We also made an important strategic acquisition. In June, we acquired Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc. (“Gluskin Sheff”), Canada’s pre-eminent wealth management firm. Our goal is to build a comprehensive wealth manager with institutional-calibre public and private market strategies, and best-in-class financial planning offerings tailored to sophisticated high net worth clients. Our new partners at Gluskin Sheff are just beginning to introduce their clients to the benefits of being part of the Onex family, but we’re already excited by the prospects. A growing number of high net worth investors and family offices want both publicly traded and private market investment opportunities. The combination of Gluskin Sheff with Onex creates one of the few platforms in North America fully capable of meeting that market demand. Gluskin Sheff finished the year with C$8.3 billion of fee-generating client capital, an increase of approximately 2% since our acquisition. Our private credit platform grew fee-generating assets under management by 16% to $10.5 billion in 2019. This was driven by the issuance of three collateralized loan obligations and the introduction of Senior Credit funds to Gluskin Sheff clients in September. We have also begun to add to our direct origination capabilities in middle-market lending in anticipation of the launch of Onex Credit’s second direct lending fund. Lastly, we’ve made good progress to further integrate environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations across the organization. In 2019 we established an ESG Committee, comprised of representatives from all Onex plat- forms and our corporate office, which is focused on enhancing the firm’s holistic approach to ESG. We also became an Alliance Member of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (“SASB”) and are incorporating SASB standards throughout the investing lifecycle. These steps do not mark a change in how we do business or our view as to the importance of responsible investing, but rather are formal acknowledgements of the standards we’ve always believed are fundamental to successful investing. At Onex, we pride ourselves on the strength of our team, our successful long-term track record, our entrepreneurial culture and our strong partnerships. As I hope all of you know, alignment between Onex, our team and our sharehold- ers is core to our culture and critical to our success. This is evidenced by the Onex management team’s $1.9 billion investment in Onex shares, DSUs and various Onex funds. Overall, 2019 was a good year for Onex. As we enter a new decade, we’d like to thank you – whether you’ve been with us throughout the past 10 years or are just starting to support us in 2020 – for entrusting Onex with your capital. We are committed to delivering results that will make you proud of your decision to invest with us. [signed] Gerald W. Schwartz Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Onex Corporation Onex Corporation December 31, 2019 1 MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS Throughout this MD&A, all amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. The Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) provides a review of Onex Corporation’s (“Onex”) consolidated financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019 and assesses factors that may affect future results. The financial condition and results of operations are analyzed noting the significant factors that impacted the consolidated statements of earnings, consolidated statements of comprehensive earnings, consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statement of equity and consolidated statements of cash flows of Onex. As such, this MD&A should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in this report. The financial results have been prepared using accounting policies that are consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) to provide information about Onex and should not be considered as providing sufficient information to make an investment or lending decision in regard to any particular Onex operating business, private equity fund, credit strategy or other investments. The following MD&A is the responsibility of management and is as of February 27, 2020. Prepara- tion of the MD&A includes the review of the disclosures by senior management of Onex and by the Onex Disclosure Committee. The Board of Directors carries out its responsibility for the review of this disclosure through its Audit and Corporate Governance Committee, composed exclusively of independent directors. The Audit and Corporate Governance Committee has reviewed and recommended approval of the MD&A by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has approved this disclosure. The MD&A is presented in the following sections: 4 Company Overview 22 Financial Review 12 2019 Activity 67 Glossary Onex Corporation’s financial filings, including the 2019 Annual Report, interim quarterly reporting, Annual Information Form and Management Information Circular, are available on Onex’ website, www.onex.com, and on the Canadian System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (“SEDAR”) at www.sedar.com. Forward-Looking/Safe Harbour Statements This MD&A may contain, without limitation, statements concerning possible or assumed future operations, performance or results preceded by, followed by or that include words such as “believes”, “expects”, “poten- tial”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “intends”, “plans” and words of similar connotation, which would constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information because they involve significant and diverse risks and uncertainties that may cause actual operations, performance or results to be materially different from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by Canadian securities law, Onex is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein should material facts change due to new information, future events or other factors. These cautionary statements expressly qualify all forward-looking statements in this MD&A. 2 Onex Corporation December 31, 2019 MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS Non-GAAP Financial Measures This MD&A contains non-GAAP financial measures which have been calculated using methodologies that are not in accordance with IFRS. The presentation of financial measures in this manner does not have a standard- ized meaning prescribed under IFRS and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar financial measures presented by other companies. Onex management believes these financial measures provide helpful informa- tion to investors. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to information contained in the consoli- dated financial statements have been presented where practical. References References to Onex or the Company represent Onex Corporation. References to the Onex management team include the management of Onex, Onex Partners, ONCAP, Onex Credit and Gluskin Sheff. References to man- agement without the use of “team” include only the relevant group. For example, Onex management does not include management of Onex Partners, ONCAP, Onex Credit or Gluskin Sheff. References to an Onex Partners Group represent Onex, the limited partners of the relevant Onex Partners Fund, the Onex management team and, where applicable, certain other limited partners as co-investors. References to an ONCAP Group represent Onex, the limited partners of the relevant ONCAP Fund, the Onex management team and, where applicable, certain other limited partners as co-investors. For example, references to the Onex Partners IV Group represent Onex, the limited partners of Onex Partners IV, the Onex management team and, where applicable, certain other limited partners as co-investors. A glossary of terms commonly used within the MD&A is included on page 67. Onex Corporation December 31, 2019 3 MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS COMPANY OVERVIEW Onex is a public company, the shares of which trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ONEX. The Company manages and invests capital in its private equity, credit and wealth management platforms on behalf of shareholders, institutional investors and high net worth families from its offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey