Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last week
FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS
Brookfield investing $350-million in Superior Plus: Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is investing about $350-million in propane supplier Superior Plus Corp., as it continues to use its mountain of “dry powder” to invest in public companies trading at attractive valuations. (Mark Rendell)
Torstar stock spiked before news of takeover: Shares of Torstar Corp. jumped unexpectedly on heavy trading volume the day before the company announced late last month that it had received a takeover offer at a significant premium. (David Milstead)
IIROC proposes merger to reorganize regulation of Canada’s investment industry: A merger of the two regulatory organizations that oversee Canada’s investment industry could save hundreds of millions of dollars in regulatory fees over the next decade, according to a new report from Canada’s brokerage industry regulator. (Clare O’Hara)
CEOs launch initiative to boost Black representation on boards: A group of high-profile Bay Street executives is calling on Canadian businesses to use their economic and social clout to challenge anti-Black racism in Canada and to commit to increasing Black representation in corporate leadership positions. (Mark Rendell)
HBC issues bond offering to shore up finances: Department store chain HBC LP is expected to raise up to US$900-million from a bond sale, money that Canada’s oldest company will use to weather the store closings that came with the novel coronavirus pandemic. (Andrew Willis and Susan Krashinsky Robertson)
PACE credit union launches investigation of improper investment sales by brokerage arm: PACE Savings and Credit Union is launching an investigation into whether a subsidiary improperly sold risky investment products that lost up to 86 per cent of their value when the coronavirus pandemic upended financial markets. (James Bradshaw)
Quadriga’s missing money due to fraudulent trading by founder, watchdog says: Gerald Cotten, the late founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX, ran the company like a Ponzi scheme, engaging in fraudulent trading that created substantial losses for its users, Ontario’s securities watchdog says in a new report. (Alexandra Posadzki and Greg McArthur)
Canaccord energy franchise hit with staff cuts, departures: Canaccord Genuity cut key staff in its Canadian energy franchise this week as part of the investment dealer’s plan to find $20-million in savings amid a worsening outlook for Alberta’s already-struggling oil patch. (Jeffrey Jones and Mark Rendell)
DEALS NEWS: MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS, IPOs and FINANCINGS
Fusion the latest to seek listing on Nasdaq in a flurry of Canadian biotech IPOs: Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Hamilton-based cancer-treatment company, is seeking to be listed on the Nasdaq exchange, part of a surge of Canadian biotech companies going public in the United States. (Greg McArthur and Sean Silcoff)
Proposals emerge to reopen OneEleven accelerator, including Paramount founder: Toronto-area entrepreneur Mohamad Fakih has offered to fund and reopen OneEleven, which was once one of Canada’s most prominent startup accelerators – but he says its future could be decided by a tug-of-war with a government innovation agency. (Josh O’Kane)
Richardson GMP, Cormark Securities announce ‘strategic alliance’: After selling off its capital markets division late last year, Richardson GMP Ltd. is aligning with investment bank Cormark Securities Inc. in a move that could help keep advisers from jumping ship as the money manger works on its final stage of a corporate restructure. (Clare O’Hara and Mark Rendell)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
RCMP and securities regulators investigating cross-country stock promotion scheme touting tiny B.C. mining company: A capital markets fraud investigation involving the RCMP and several securities regulators is under way into an apparent “pump and dump” stock promotion mail campaign that has blanketed the country over the past few months and caused wild swings in the shares of a tiny Canadian mining exploration company. (Niall McGee, Greg McCarthur)
Are mortgage deferrals key to sustaining Canada’s financial stability through the pandemic? The Bank of Canada thinks so: As the Bank of Canada fretted over bloated household debts for the better part of the past decade, its biggest fear was that stretched-to-the-limit mortgage holders would collapse under the weight of the next major economic shock. (David Parkinson)
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