Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours,
Why Hydro One still wants to buy Avista: Like a dog chasing a car, executives at Hydro One Ltd. are going into the new year determined to complete their $4.4-billion takeover of U.S. utility Avista Corp. The acquisition, launched in the summer of 2017, seems doomed to fail. Opinion (Andrew Willis, for subscribers)
How blocked mergers foiled banks' ambitions — and forced the Big Six to innovate: When Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal announced a surprise plan to merge on Jan. 23, 1998, the news landed like a bombshell. By the time then-finance minister Paul Martin dashed their hopes less than a year later, the notion of mega-bank mergers had turned radioactive. It was 20 years ago, on Dec. 14, 1998, when Mr. Martin turned down RBC and BMO’s plan, as well as a subsequent tie-up proposed by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Toronto-Dominion Bank. His ruling stamped big bank mergers as politically untouchable in Canada, and that imprint is still clearly visible today. Story (James Bradshaw, for subscribers)
Aphria faces takeover threat from startup U.S. cannabis firm: Already under siege from American short-sellers, Aphria Inc. now faces the threat of a takeover by a newly created U.S. cannabis company − a proposal revealed on the same day that Aphria replaced its board chair. The acquisition proposal from Xanthic Biopharma Inc., operating as Green Growth Brands Ltd., was announced late Thursday. Minutes later, Aphria announced it had removed chief executive officer Vic Neufeld from the role of chair and replaced him with an independent director. Story (David Milstead, Tim Kiladze, David Ebner, for subscribers)
MORE FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS
Regulation: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Thursday that it will partially operate with reduced staff during to the ongoing federal shutdown. Story
Money laundering: Wall Street’s industry-funded watchdog fined the U.S. brokerage unit of Morgan Stanley US$10-million on Wednesday for compliance failures in the firm’s anti-money laundering program, the regulator said. Story
MORE DEALS NEWS
Airports: France’s Vinci is taking advantage of a Brexit hit to U.K. asset prices to buy a majority stake in Britain’s second-busiest airport, London’s Gatwick, for 2.9 billion pounds ($3.7 billion), the construction company said on Thursday. Story (for subscribers)
BEST-READ OF THE YEAR
The news is quiet this week, so here are a few of the most popular Streetwise stories from 2018. And yes, they were all about cannabis,
BMO first major bank to lead marijuana equity financing: Bank of Montreal became the first major Canadian bank to lead an equity financing for a public company in the medical marijuana sector, underwriting a $175-million stock sale for Canopy Growth Corp. The bank’s capital-markets arm and GMP Capital Inc. will be the co-lead underwriters on the bought deal financing, which was announced after the markets closed Wednesday. Story (January 2018, for subscribers)
Soaring marijuana stocks blunt high-profile deals: The frenzied run-up in marijuana stocks is threatening the sector’s highest-profile takeover deals. Aurora Cannabis Inc.'s hostile bid for CanniMed Therapeutics Inc., and CanniMed’s friendly deal to acquire Newstrike Resources Inc. – both all-stock proposals – could get blown off course in their late stages by sharp gains in the targets' shares that are making the transactions unattractive. Story (January 2018, for subscribers)
Aurora Cannabis is chasing billion-dollar deals. Do investors benefit?: During a news conference to unveil his signature deal, the chief executive of Aurora Cannabis Inc. was hailed as a “pioneer and visionary” by his executive team. Yet, when he was asked a simple question by an analyst, to explain which metrics he used to value his $3.2-billion takeover of MedReleaf Corp., Terry Booth got a little tripped up. “Metrics ...” he said, trailing off. After an awkward silence, he conjured up half an answer. “That’s our secret.” Story (May 2018, for subscribers)
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