Nasdaq Inc. is set to launch its Canadian "dark pool" exchange on Halloween, a move that will introduce more competition into a small but growing part of the exchanges market.
In an exclusive interview with The Globe and Mail, Dan Kessous, chief executive officer of Nasdaq CXC, said the U.S. behemoth will launch its dark pool on Oct. 31. (While Nasdaq's marketing team is happy about launching the same day as the spooky holiday, the timing was just a coincidence, a spokesperson said.)
The move into the Canadian dark-pool market is one of Nasdaq's first major strategic moves since it announced a deal to acquire alternative trading-platform provider Chi-X Canada late last year.
Dark pools, sometimes called the "upstairs market," accounted for about 5 per cent of trading by value in August, according to data by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). Story
After Aritzia, Bay Street has to decide which IPO is next
Like wine makers, private equity funds describe their investments in terms of vintage years.
For an example of what's in the private equity cellar, look no further than Berkshire Partners LLC, a Boston-based fund manager that pulled the cork on a 2005 vintage this week by selling a portion of its stake in Aritzia Inc. for $230-million as part of the Vancouver-based fashion retailer's $400-million initial public offering. Aritzia shares begin trading Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Aritzia's debut marks the first IPO of the year on the TSX. Strong investor demand translated into a larger-than-expected stock sale, priced at the high end of the projected range at $16 a share. Berkshire Partners' success has rival private equity funds dusting off their own vintage holdings, many of which have been aging for a decade, and weighing the prospect of cashing in by taking these businesses public.
In coming months, if markets remain buoyant, expect to hear investment banks roll out the Aritzia game plan in IPO marketing campaigns for a string of companies. Potential IPO candidates include companies with strong U.S. growth potential – Aritzia's pitch to investors focused on expansion of its 75-store network – or businesses that can satisfy income-seeking investors by kicking off a steady cash dividend. Dean Braunsteiner, head of the National IPO Service at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), said: "The strength of the U.S. economy and the advantage of the lower Canadian dollar for manufacturers make this a good time to go public." Story
Push for quick profits 'destroying value,' executives warn
A group of international executives fed up with companies' push for quick profits at the expense of more significant gains years down the road is throwing its weight behind a new organization that will study and try to correct the issue.
What began as a research project backed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and McKinsey & Co. to measure behaviours of investors and businesses in 2013, is now a not-for-profit operation with international members that is focused on research and advocacy. FCLT Global, which takes its name from the "Focusing Capital on the Long Term" research project, wants to extend the thinking among business leaders and investors decades into the future.
The move comes as tactics that can alter the short-term performance of a company are under more scrutiny. Regulators are issuing new comments on the use of non-standard accounting measures in the United States, activist investors have become more prominent and politicians are warning of the impact that myopic thinking can have on the economy. Story
DAILY DEALS
Toronto-Dominion Bank wants to increase its corporate lending in the United States by acquiring loans from other foreign banks retreating from the country, one of its top executives said on Thursday. Story
Kirkland Lake Gold Inc., which owns mines in northwestern Ontario, said on Thursday that it has struck an all-stock $1.01-billion deal to buy Newmarket Gold Inc., which owns mines in Australia. Story
Private equity firm Onex Corp. has made the best acquisition offer in an auction for Save-A-Lot, the discount grocery U.S. retail chain that Supervalu Inc. has been considering divesting, according to people familiar with the matter. Story
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Tim Kiladze on why Toronto should sell its hydro utility. Story
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