Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last week,
Private equity’s big moment: With trillions of dollars on hand, firms are ready to feast on pandemic spoils: Private equity fund managers are planning for a summer like no other. Flush with more cash than ever before — a $2-trillion war chest — fund managers around the world are aggressively pitching deals to businesses battered by the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus. Canadian players are in the heart of the action, with everyone from multibillion-dollar pension plans and global fund managers to smaller PE funds that buy family-owned companies looking past COVID-19, and trying to find ways to invest in an economy that is bouncing back. (Andrew Willis, Mark Rendell, Jeffrey Jones and David Milstead)
Repare soars to largest ever IPO of a Canadian biotech firm in Nasdaq debut: Montreal cancer drug developer Repare Therapeutics Inc. joined the ranks of US$1-billion Canadian drug developers Friday, debuting in late-morning trading at $32.05 a share on the Nasdaq – a 60-per-cent leap from its issue price set Thursday. It is the largest ever initial public offering of a Canadian biotech and follows a string of big fundings of domestic startups. (Sean Silcoff)
IIROC alleges misconduct against former PACE executives: A regulatory body is seeking to discipline two former senior executives of Pace Securities Corp., a now-defunct investment dealer, alleging they failed to address conflicts of interest and to ensure the financial products they sold were suitable for clients. (James Bradshaw)
Laurentian Bank CEO François Desjardins to exit at end of June: Laurentian Bank of Canada is replacing chief executive officer François Desjardins after the bank posted a string of weak financial results and slashed its dividend in part because of the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. (James Bradshaw)
Court orders receiver to take control of Toronto-based StableView Asset Management: An Ontario judge has ordered a receiver to oversee Toronto’s StableView Asset Management Inc. after a regulatory probe found investors’ money had been overconcentrated in a penny stock that paid cash consulting fees of more than $100,000 to the wealth manager. (Greg McArthur)
Founder Prem Watsa buys US$149-million of Fairfax Financial stock: After repeatedly telling investors that Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. shares are “ridiculously cheap,” founder Prem Watsa has committed US$149-million of his own money to buying additional shares in the insurance company. (Andrew Willis)
Foreign investors bought record $54-billion of Canadian debt in April: Foreign investors bought a record amount of Canadian debt in April, helping absorb a flood of new government and corporate bonds as investors turned to Canada as a safe place to park money amid market turmoil. (Mark Rendell)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Strong demand for Canadian bonds boosts economic recovery effort: After nearly seizing up during the pandemic panic in March, the bond market has proven to be a lifeline for Canadian corporations and governments. (Tim Shufelt)
Ottawa facing $256-billion deficit before latest CERB extension: PBO: Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux says this year’s federal deficit could reach $256-billion, a figure that does not include the major expansion of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit announced this week by the government. (Bill Curry)
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