Brookfield Property plans to whittle down its mall portfolio but sees J. C. Penney surviving the downturn: Brookfield Property Partners plans to whittle down its portfolio of U.S. malls in addition to slashing 20 per cent of staff at its U.S. retail division after the novel coronavirus pandemic upended shopping centres. (Rachelle Younglai)
Calfrac rejects Wilks Brothers' takeover, sweetens recapitalization bid: Calfrac Well Services Ltd. has rejected a takeover bid from Texas-based Wilks Brothers LLC, instead tabling a new recapitalization plan in the latest episode of a continuing battle for the Calgary oil field service company. (Emma Graney)
Planned Topaz IPO expected to be worth $253-million, source tells Globe: Topaz Energy Corp., the spinoff of natural gas producer Tourmaline Oil Corp., aims to raise up to $253-million in an initial public offering and secondary issue of shares that follow months of difficult conditions in Canada’s energy industry. (Jeffrey Jones, Tim Kiladze)
MEC board considered turning to members for funding before deal with Kingswood: Struggling outdoor retailer MEC considered turning to members for funding to save the business before selling it to a U.S. private equity firm, but ultimately decided the option would have been “impractical to impossible.” (Susan Krashinsky Robertson)
Hootsuite drops controversial U.S. contract with ICE after tweetstorm from unhappy employee: Vancouver’s Hootsuite Inc. backtracked Thursday from a controversial business decision after the company, which helps corporations track what people say about them on social media using its software platform, saw one of its own employees take to Twitter to denounce it. (Sean Silcoff)
E.W. Scripps scales up with $2.65-billion Berkshire-backed deal for ION Media: E.W. Scripps Co. said on Thursday it has agreed to buy broadcaster ION Media for US$2.65-billion as the TV station owner, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., scales up operations to counter a rise in online streaming. (Reuters)
The Streetwise newsletter is Monday to Friday. If you’re reading this on the web, or if someone forwarded this e-mail to you, you can sign up for Streetwise and all Globe newsletters on our signup page.