Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours,
Cannabis firm Beleave acknowledges participation in securities scam: Ontario cannabis producer Beleave Inc. has admitted to participating in a scam that saw the company shuffle $7.5-million into the pockets of “consultants” who are at the heart of the BridgeMark Group penny stock scandal, currently under investigation in British Columbia. Story (Mark Rendell, for subscribers)
Quebec regulator drops last action against former Amaya CEO: Quebec’s securities watchdog has ended a five-year, multipronged inquiry into what has become known as the Amaya affair without having won sanctions against anyone involved, closing the book on its part in what was one of Canada’s biggest insider-trading cases. Story (Nicolas Van Praet and Tim Kiladze, for subscribers)
Toronto’s Intelex Technologies acquired by Pittsburgh’s Industrial Scientific for $570-million: For the second time in two weeks, a leading Toronto-based software company in the environmental health, safety and quality audit business has been sold to a U.S. buyer. Story (Sean Silcoff)
MORE FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS
Failure of FCA-Renault merger talks a blow to Goldman Sachs’s alumni network: sources: The collapse of merger talks between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Renault marks a setback for a tight network of current and former Goldman Sachs’ bankers who tried to convince the French political establishment to back the deal. Story (Reuters)
MORE DEALS NEWS
Google to buy data analytics company Looker despite new antitrust scrutiny: Just as government officials step up their antitrust scrutiny of U.S. tech giants, Google had a surprising announcement Thursday: It was buying another company. Google said it planned to buy the data analytics company Looker for US$2.6-billion in a bid to catch up to rivals in the business of cloud computing. Story (New York Times, for subscribers)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Globe wins PMAC awards for investment journalism: The Globe and Mail’s Janet McFarland has won another award for her investigative reporting on an Ontario-based real-estate developer. Story
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