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.
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.
Below is an outline timeline:[4][5] The ownership of Edper Investments Ltd. was held by the personal trusts of brothers Edward and Peter.
The Edper corporate empire was noted for its intricate web of ownership and control that extended from the top tier.
[6][7] After its peak in 1989, several factors combined to cause a near-collapse of Edper's empire in the early 1990s: a major economic recession, the Olympia and York collapse, a meltdown in commercial real estate that affected both revenue and valuation of key assets, increased scrutiny of leveraged financing and complex ownership structures.
For revenue, the Edper corporate structure relied heavily on dividend payouts from subsidiaries to their parent companies to cover debt obligations.
It was estimated their pay-out ratio was half again as large as the average of the top 35 companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
To cover their cascading losses in 1991-93, the Edper companies raised more than $9-billion through share issues, asset sales and debt financing in just 20 months.
By careful use of structured partnerships with Peter Bronfman and control of cash flow, Jack Cockwell in effect took over Edper.
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.
[12][13] Under Bronfman ownership Carena expanded its property development holdings, including Trizec Corporation.
[14][15] O&Y collapsed in 1992, and four years later the slimmed-down company emerged from bankruptcy with Carena (as Brookfield Properties Corporation) owning a 47% stake.
[16] In 1970, the Bronfman brothers were brought onto the board of Toronto-based Trizec Corporation Ltd., one of Canada's largest property developers, and given a 9% equity stake.
In 1976, Carena acquired a 25% equity interest and effective voting control of Trizec; the holding was increased to 50.1% later in the 1970s.
Bramalea held more than 20 million square feet of commercial, retail, and industrial real estate across North America.
[25] Great Lakes Group, a northern-Ontario based producer and distributor of electric power, had been owned by Brascan before it was transformed into a holding company.
Merchant bank Hees International Bancorp served "as the nerve centre for Brascan" in the late 1980s.
[4] Hees' Jack Cockwell was a key strategist, investing Bronfman money in numerous publicly traded firms and gaining significant or controlling interest.
By 1987 the firm was bankrupt and Hees assumed control in a workout by swapping debt for an equity stake.
[35][36] Pagurian was controlled by Hees Bancorp's Jack Cockwell and the senior Edper group managers.
The acquisition began quietly in 1978, and soon became a hostile takeover which ultimately resulted in 1979 Carena Bancorp's owning 50.1% of Brascan.
Brascan received a restraining order in US District Court preventing Edper from acquiring exercising more than 5% of its shares due to alleged violations of the US securities laws.
Under Edper's/Brascan's control the company expanded and diversified rapidly in Canada, the United States, and South America.
Within its first six months, Trilon became Canada's sixth largest financial institution, behind only the big five Canadian banks.
LePage, the country's largest commercial real estate brokerage, which was sold to parent company Trilon in 1987.