The Yellow Media Inc. logo is shown at the company's quarterly results meeting in Montreal, Thursday, May 6, 2010.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
Yellow Pages Ltd. (Y-T) has added two additional nominees to its board, David Eckert and Stephen Smith. The proposal goes to a shareholder vote on May 10.
"Following discussions with certain of its significant shareholders and other stakeholders, the board of directors of the company has decided to increase the size of the board from 10 directors to 12 directors," the company said.
"The board strongly believes that the nomination of Messrs. Eckert and Smith, with their proven track record and expertise in businesses involved in the same industries as YP, is in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders," said chairman Robert MacLellan.
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Money manager Sprott Inc. (SII-T) is selling its $3-billion mutual fund arm to its executives for $46-million.
Sprott will go forward with $7.5-billion of assets under management and will remain a sub-adviser on 10 funds it is selling.
The transaction was widely anticipated, as analysts picked up on Sprott's talks with rival money managers, but the price the business fetched is below expectations. Last month, CIBC World Markets analyst Paul Holden said in report that a sale of the division was likely due to the importance of scale and the "challenge of competing in the mutual fund space" and he projected a $75-million to $125-million price tag.
Sprott looked to TD Securities Inc. at its financial adviser on the sale, along with law firms Baker McKenzie and Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. The buyers were advised by law firm Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP.
--Andrew Willis
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Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund (CHE.UN-T) is raising $175-million in a bought-deal offering of convertible unsecured subordinated debentures.
They're priced at $1,000 per debenture, with an interest rate of 4.75 per cent per year maturing May 31, 2024.
The offering is being made through a syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Capital Markets.
The net proceeds of the offering will be used to repay debt.
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Input Capital Corp. (INP-X), a Regina-based agriculture streaming company, says its signed 126 canola streaming contracts for total up-front payments of $20.2-million in the second quarter.
"This is the highest number of streaming contracts ever signed by Input in a quarter (126 compared to 39 in the same quarter last year), and is also a record for quarterly capital deployment ($20.2-million compared to $11.3-million in the same quarter last year)," the company said.
It said the quarter also included $3.5-million of stream buybacks.
"With this successful quarter, Input now has more revenue producing streams than any other publicly-traded streaming company," said CEO Doug Emsley in a release.
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Northern Blizzard Resources Inc. (NBZ-T) says its May 11 annual meeting will be rescheduled after its significant shareholders, NGP IX Northern Blizzard S.à r. l. and R/C Canada Coöperatief U.A. agreed to sell their common shares to Waterous Energy Fund.
NGP IX and R/C Canada currently collectively own approximately 67 per cent of the company's shares.
"Northern Blizzard will provide an update for the rescheduled meeting towards the end of May," the company said.
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Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB-X) is raising $40-milion in a bought-deal financing of convertible debentures.
It has an agreement with Canaccord Genuity Corp., on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters, to purchase the convertible debentures.
In connection with the offering, it said certain holders have agreed to convert $17.5-million of outstanding convertible debentures into about 8.8 million additional common shares.
"This lower cost financing places Aurora in an extremely powerful position to aggressively pursue international expansion opportunities, with what we believe will be the strongest cash balance, at more than $150-million, in the global cannabis sector," said CEO Terry Booth in a release.
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The Hydropothecary Corp. (THCX-X) says it has converted about $3.3-million of convertible debentures into equity, resulting in the issuance of 4.7 million common shares.
The company said the debentures automatically converted to common shares after it was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and maintained a volume weighted average trading price equal to or greater than the conversion price of 70 cents (U.S.) for 15 days. The company also paid accrued interest of $107,711 related to the conversion of the debentures.
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Artis Real Estate Investment Trust (AX.UN-T) says it has sold a handful of properties in Alberta and B.C. in recent weeks. The sales include:
--Airdrie Flex Industrial in Airdrie, Alta for $5.4-million.
--Southview Centre in Medicine Hat, Alta. for $28.1-million.
--Its 75-per-cent-interest in Westbank Hub Centre North and Westbank Hub Shopping Centre in Westbank, B.C. for $80.1-million.
--Ford Tower and Alpine Building, sold as a portfolio for a sale price of $37.5-million
--Edson Shoppers Mall in Edson, Alta. for $7-million.
Including all dispositions year to date, Artis said it has sold seven properties for an aggregate sale price of $158.1-million, totaling nearly 740,000 square feet of leasable area.
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