Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last week,
FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS
Caisse CEO Michael Sabia to step down: Michael Sabia is stepping down from his post as chief executive of Canadian pension fund giant Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec after a decade at the helm, leaving an institution once marred by crisis on stable footing but with several looming challenges. Story (Nicolas van Praet and Sean Silcoff)
Expect a nationalist reset at the Caisse under Sabia’s successor: Michael Sabia could hardly pick a better moment to step down as head of Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec, having guided the giant provincial pension fund manager out the mess it was in when he arrived nearly 11 years ago and leaving before the next recession plunges it back into the dumps. Opinion (Konrad Yakabuski)
Strong housing market, lower funding costs fuel Home Capital’s resurgence: Home Capital Group Inc.'s comeback went into high gear as a rebounding housing market and lower funding costs sent its earnings soaring just two years after the company plunged into financial crisis. Story (David Berman)
Bankers to see disappointing bonuses after slow year for deals: Canada’s bank-owned investment dealers will cut bonus cheques to employees in the next few weeks. It’s going to be a disappointing experience at most brokerage houses and a wake-up call for Bank of Nova Scotia, where strong credit relationships failed to translate into more lucrative assignments in stock sales and merger advice in the recently concluded fiscal year. Story (Andrew Willis)
DEALS NEWS: MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS, IPOs and FINANCINGS
The secret is out: Toronto’s 1Password raises $200-million led by U.S. venture capital giant Accel: Silicon Valley venture capital giant Accel has made the largest single investment in its history, leading a US$200-million funding for the Toronto company behind a popular password management software product. AgileBits Inc., which operates as 1Password, has never taken outside investment in its 14-year history. It is little-known in the Toronto tech community where it is based, despite having millions of users who pay $3 or more monthly for its product, which automatically creates and stores complex passwords for users that they can use to auto-fill login credentials on a range of websites and platforms. Story (Sean Silcoff)
Quebec invests $30-million in France blimp maker Flying Whales in bid for local plant eventually: Quebec thinks there’s money in blimps. The province is spending $30-million to back budding French blimp maker Flying Whales, gambling the deal will give it a toehold in an industry finally poised for commercial acceptance. Story (Nicolas Van Praet)
Alibaba gets strong demand for $13.4-billion Hong Kong listing, report says: Alibaba’s order books for its US$13.4-billion Hong Kong share sale have already been covered “multiple times,” sources with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday, as the e-commerce group kicked off its campaign for the secondary listing in the city gripped by protests. Story (Reuters)
U.S. fund Digital Colony acquires Toronto-based Beanfield Technologies, makes $130-million investment: A U.S. investment firm that has been quietly amassing a trove of Canadian fibre and data-centre assets has acquired Toronto-based Beanfield Technologies Inc., an independent fibre-optic internet provider, for more than $130-million. Story (Christine Dobby)
Montreal startup Stradigi AI raises $53-million from Quebec investors, rap star will.i.am: One of Montreal’s early artificial intelligence leaders, Stradigi AI Inc., has raised $53-million in a financing from a group of investors that includes Quebec institutions and U.S. rap star will.i.am. Story (Sean Silcoff)
OpenText acquires cloud computing company Carbonite: Open Text Corp. plans to buy U.S. security software firm Carbonite Inc. for US$800-million, boosting the services it can sell to larger companies while gaining a greater foothold among smaller businesses. Story (Josh O’Kane)
Brookfield returns to its roots, plans acquisitions in major Canadian markets: Brookfield Property Partners LP is putting renewed focus on its roots in Canada after spending years building a huge portfolio of foreign real estate holdings, saying it is now seeking investments in Canadian hotels, apartments, offices and large-scale development projects. Story (Rachelle Younglai)
Triple Flag looking to raise $350-million in Canadian mining IPO: Royalty and streaming company Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. is looking to raise around $350-million in what would be the biggest mining initial public offering in Canada in more than two years, according to sources. Story (Niall McGee)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The reinvention of Onex: Schwartz bets on wealth management as the key to more stable growth: Call it Onex 2.0. Canada’s pioneering private-equity investor, Gerry Schwartz, is reinventing his firm on the fly. At a time when many of his billionaire peers are responding to increasing competition for deals – and their looming mortality – by closing down their funds to play with their grandkids, Onex Corp.’s 77-year-old founder and chief executive is in change mode at the $8-billion Toronto company. Story (Andrew Willis)
Early signs of an energy boom abound in Kitimat, B.C., with LNG Canada’s $18-billion plant: It’s an awe-inspiring scene, set against a backdrop of mountains on the coast of northern British Columbia. At a construction site larger than 600 city blocks, more than 1,000 workers have started building a massive liquefied natural gas plant and export terminal that is the only energy megaproject in Canada firing on all cylinders. Story (Brent Jang)
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