Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours,
DEALS NEWS: MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS, IPOs and FINANCINGS
TD sells stake in key U.S. unit to rival Schwab: Toronto-Dominion Bank has signalled that it won’t invest more in the U.S. online brokerage business by selling its stake in TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. to rival Charles Schwab Corp. as part of a US$26-billion takeover. Story (James Bradshaw and Andrew Willis)
TD Bank’s cash management deal will slowly disappear with Schwab’s deal for TD Ameritrade: Charles Schwab Corp.’s deal to acquire TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. will gradually erode a lucrative side deal that has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue a year to Toronto-Dominion Bank. Story (David Milstead)
How TD Bank got rich off discount stock trading: The conquest started with a toll-free telephone number – and a fight with some Bay Street titans. In 1983, Toronto-Dominion Bank, then the country’s fifth-largest lender, saw what Charles Schwab and Co. was doing in the United States, allowing retail investors to buy and sell stocks cheaply by phone, and decided it wanted in on the action. Story (Tim Kiladze)
Detour Gold premium vanishes as investors dump Kirkland Lake shares amid takeover: Investors punished Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. after the underground mining company said it will acquire struggling open pit specialist Detour Gold Corp. in an all-stock deal valued at about $4.9-billion. Stock (Niall McGee)
Luxury group LVMH aims to restore Tiffany’s lustre with $16.2-billion takeover: Louis Vuitton owner LVMH has agreed to buy Tiffany for $16.2-billion in its biggest acquisition yet, as the French luxury goods maker bets it can restore the U.S. jeweller’s lustre by investing in stores and new collections. Story (Reuters)
Toronto’s Knix Wear raises venture capital to take on lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret: Joanna Griffiths has built one of Canada’s most successful new consumer brands and fastest-growing companies with little outside funding. It’s not for lack of interest: The founder and CEO of women’s undergarments startup Knix Wear Inc. has repeatedly turned down venture capitalists who offered to invest tens of millions of dollars. Story (Sean Silcoff and Susan Krashinsky Robertson)
FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS
Regulator adds former directors of PACE credit union to lawsuit alleging fraud, ‘secret’ payments: Ontario’s financial regulator has added 10 former board members of PACE Savings and Credit Union Ltd. as defendants to its legal action against former senior executives, alleging the directors acted “negligently and in breach of their duty of care." Story (James Bradshaw)
Trade wars, recession fears expected to weigh on banks: After years of strong results from outside the country, Canada’s six largest banks are expected to report international growth is slowing amid trade wars and recession concerns. At home, the banks are expected to set aside more capital for bad loans, in part because of low energy prices. Story (Andrew Willis)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Web of deals: PACE credit union executives committed civil fraud with years of ‘secret’ payments, regulator alleges
It is a convoluted web of suspect dealings and payments that stretches back more than two decades.
For years, Larry Smith, the man at the top of a sizable Ontario credit union, arranged loans and business deals, as was his job. But Mr. Smith and a number of his family members and associates – including one former provincial cabinet minister – also pocketed millions in “consulting fees” and other benefits in connection with those deals, according to an extraordinary set of allegations levied by a financial regulator. Story (James Bradshaw)
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