A worker carries a Wavefront Technology Solutions device, which attaches to the business end of conventional downhole equipment, pulses fluid into a well to loosen oil that would not otherwise be recovered.
Inside the Market's roundup of some of the Canadian small caps making news and on the move today. This post will be updated through the morning.
MasTec Inc. announced it has acquired WesTower Communications Inc., a unit of Exchange Income Corp., for about $199-million in cash. The sale does not include the Canadian operations of WesTower.
Separately, Exchange Income Fund announced its subsidiary, Regional One Inc., has agreed to acquire 12 Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft.
AltaCorp Capital Research analyst Chris Murray reiterated his "outperform" rating and $24 (Canadian) price target on Exchange Income Corp. after reviewing the WesTower sale. "With WesTower's U.S. operations having been underperforming over the recent quarters, driving the decline in the company's infrastructure business, we believe the sale not only enables the company to de-risk its operations, helping the company eliminate the diversification issues related to WesTower operations (about 60 per cent of the company's total revenue was related to WesTower, with 75 per cent of that coming from the U.S. operations), but also provides the company with additional capital to fund future growth through acquisitions. In the short term, funds will be used to pay down the company's senior debt to zero," Mr. Murray commented.
Kevin Chiang from CIBC World Markets is maintaining a "sector outperformer" rating and says the deal addresses the elephant in the room: US WesTower's underperformance which "even though was starting to show some improvement, was a drag on EIC's consolidated leverage ratios and dividend payout ratio.
Shares in Exchange Income, which has an annual dividend yield of about 8 per cent, were up 11 per cent in early TSX trading. The company is focused on acquiring companies in the industrial products and transportation sectors.
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Martinrea International Inc. has announced that Pat D'Eramo will be appointed as Martinrea's next president and chief executive officer. He will join the company on Nov. 1, 2014, at which time Nick Orlando, Martinrea's current president and chief executive officer will step down. Mr. Orlando will continue to provide services to the company as a consultant as required.
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AutoCanada Inc. has announced that it has obtained approval from Chrysler Canada to purchase the operating assets of Toronto Dodge Chrysler Ltd., which owns and operates a Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership located in Toronto, ON. The acquisition is expected to close Oct. 20, 2014.
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Wavefront Technology Solutions Inc., along with a Canadian integrated energy company, have filed two patent applications related to its new "WaveAxe" stimulation approach for for steam assisted gravity drainage well pairs.
"Wavefront and its partnering companies will be the sole providers of the technology to SAGD operators in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin," says the company, in a statement. "Pilot testing of the SAGD well pair stimulation approach will commence once all engineering facets of the technique have been completed, the appropriate well candidates identified by the operator(s), and a rigorous monitoring program defined to assess efficiency and future works."
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Cogitore Resources Inc. announced that it has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to sell the majority of its exploration assets in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario to Yorbeau Resources Inc.
"The Board of Directors of Cogitore has undertaken a strategic review of the Company's property holdings in light of depressed resource markets and the scarcity of resource exploration funding. Various alternatives were reviewed to maximize the value of the resource holdings of Cogitore. It has been determined that a larger land package with a broader selection of exploration targets would maximize the value of the Cogitore's exploration lands," the company said in a statement.
As part of the deal, Yorbeau will issue 25 million shares to Cogitore. Based on the current issued and outstanding shares of Yorbeau, Cogitore would own approximately 11.5 per cent of the issued and outstanding shares of Yorbeau. Following this transaction, Cogitore intends to complete a further review of corporate strategy. Cogitore may consider investment alternatives outside of the resource sector, it said.
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Contact Exploration Inc. announced that it has entered into a strategic merger with Donnycreek Energy Inc. to form a new, amalgamated corporation having a 75 per cent working interest in Contact's core East Kakwa, Alberta property. The combined company will also have significant additional acreage in the Kakwa/Resthaven and Wapiti areas of Alberta's Deep Basin.
Contact also announced that it has entered into a $20-million bought deal private placement equity financing.
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International Northair Mines Ltd. announced that exploration at its La Cigarra silver project, located in the Parral silver district of Chihuahua State, Mexico, has identified a potentially significant silver and gold occurrence known as La Colorada.