Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last week
FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS
Dream Unlimited to launch private equity arm to invest in commercial property: Real estate company Dream Unlimited is launching a private equity arm, with plans to raise several billion dollars to invest in commercial property in North America and Germany after the coronavirus pandemic. (Rachelle Younglai)
National Bank of Canada names Jonathan Durocher as new president of wealth management business: National Bank of Canada is shaking up the leadership of its wealth management business. On Monday, Jonathan Durocher was named president of National Bank Financial Wealth Management, the brokerage business at Canada’s fifth-largest bank. (Clare O’Hara)
Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté weighs jumping into fight for troupe: Three months after cashing out of Cirque du Soleil, founder Guy Laliberté says he is weighing whether to jump into the looming fight for the circus troupe he founded. (Nicolas Van Praet)
Federal large employer program provides lifeline for companies shut out of bond markets: A new federal loan program for large companies is unlikely to appeal to many of the country’s premier employers, but could give an important lifeline to mid-tier corporations that are shut out of public debt markets. (James Bradshaw, Mark Rendell and Andrew Willis)
Brookfield in buy mode despite $25-billion drop in assets: Brookfield Asset Management Inc. says market turmoil in the first quarter cropped US$25-billion from the value of the assets it manages, but said its strong balance sheet is allowing it to plow ahead and buy what it sees as bargains. (David Milstead)
World’s largest asset managers seek overhaul of leveraged ETF sales rules: Some of the world’s largest asset managers are proposing an overhaul in the way leveraged exchange traded funds are sold to retail clients, as advocates in Canada call for more investor protection at discount brokerages that sell these high-risk funds. (Clare O’Hara and Mark Rendell)
Big banks are tightening lending standards for real estate investors: mortgage brokers: Big lenders are tightening their requirements for real estate investors, mortgage brokers say, which could further slow activity in places such as Southern Ontario where investor demand had driven up prices and sales. (Rachelle Younglai)
BoC warns sweeping credit-rating downgrades could force companies to refinance at higher rates, particularly in energy sector: The Bank of Canada said that its extraordinary efforts to soothe rattled financial markets are working, but it warned that credit downgrades and rising funding costs remain key threats to the corporate landscape – and the struggling energy sector in particular. (David Berman)
DEALS NEWS: MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS, IPOs and FINANCINGS
Tim Hortons strikes partnership with Tencent to speed up Chinese expansion: In the 15 months since Tim Hortons inaugurated its first store in China, the coffee chain has opened 50 locations, far from its target of 1,500 outlets in a country that has become the world’s most prized java market. (Nathan VanderKlippe)
Quebec in talks with potential Cirque du Soleil investors about troupe’s future: Quebec is in talks with potential investors in the Cirque du Soleil, the province’s Economy and Innovation Minister confirmed Friday. Pierre Fitzgibbon told a legislative committee that a process is under way to consider options for the cash-strapped circus troupe. (Nicolas Van Praet)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Coronavirus pandemic forces Aldo to quicken its transformation plan: Even before the COVID-19 pandemic stunned the retail sector with imposed shutdowns of stores and shopping malls that cratered sales, Montreal-based global footwear retailer the Aldo Group knew its business needed to change. (Susan Krashinsky Robertson)
The subtle message delivered by negative interest rates: policy makers have no options left: Growing talk of negative interest rates in Canada and the United States is stirring fear about what such a dramatic move by central banks might mean for savers and investors. (Ian McGugan)
Desmarais brothers face large vote of opposition in Power Corp. board election: Minority shareholders at Power Corp. have continued to rebuff Paul Desmarais Jr. and André Desmarais, with about half the company’s non-family shareholders voting against them in Friday’s election for the company’s board of directors. (David Milstead)
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