The logo of gaming company Amaya Inc is seen at its head office in Montreal June 22, 2015.© Christinne Muschi / Reuters
DEAL OF THE DAY
Tahoe Resources buys Lake Shore Gold for $751-million
Miner Tahoe Resources Inc. said it would buy Canada's Lake Shore Gold Corp. for about $751-million to add low-cost gold mines in Ontario to its portfolio.
Precious metals miners have been clamping down on costs amid a sharp decline in the price of bullion that has weighed on exploration spending, capital to sustain operations and dividends.
Spot gold prices have fallen nearly 40 per cent from their peak of $1,920.30 an ounce in September, 2011.
The deal comes after Goldcorp Inc. sold its 25.6-per-cent stake in Tahoe for $998.5-million last June. Story
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Amaya says four employees may join CEO in buying PokerStars owner
The owner of PokerStars and other online gambling sites says several of its employees may be joining an effort to take the company private.
Amaya Inc. says it has been notified that its executive vice-president of corporate development, along with three other employees, may be participating in the potential takeover being contemplated by chief executive officer David Baazov.
The online gambling company didn't identify Mr. Baazov's allies by name but its executive vice-president of corporate development is Marlon Goldstein, who is also Amaya's general counsel. Story
Two consortiums with Canadian bidders vie for port and rail business Asciano
Canadian investors are digging in their heels on both sides of the $9-billion (Australian) tug of war for port and rail company Asciano Ltd. – and the latest development shows neither side is backing down.
On Monday, the months-long negotiations to acquire the Melbourne-based company took a turn as a revised offer from an Australian consortium became the new preference of the board of directors, putting previous board favourite Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP on unsteady ground.
Last summer, Asciano seemed to be solidly in the hands of a consortium led by Brookfield, which said it would acquire the company in a deal valued at $8.9-billion, or $9.15 a share. The deal was to be the largest buyout by a Canadian firm in Australia, and Brookfield's goal was to use the business as a foundation for global rail and port platforms. Story
CHARTERED BANKING
National Bank quickly takes writedown on Germany's embattled Maple Bank
When German regulators on Sunday essentially shut down Maple Bank GmbH, the German subsidiary of Maple Financial Group of Canada, following continuing investigations into its trading activities, National Bank of Canada's quick response showed that the move was no surprise.
The bank, which owns a 24.9-per-cent stake in the parent company, immediately announced that it was taking a $165-million reserve against the full value of its investment, which will appear in the bank's first-quarter results at the end of the month.
The pain should be modest, as well. For one thing, the lost earnings from Maple Financial amount to less than 1 per cent of the bank's profit – an immaterial hit, according to CIBC World Markets analyst Robert Sedran. ("With no lasting earnings impact, there should be no lasting valuation impact either," Mr. Sedran said in a note.) Story
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Brokerage Bust
Independent brokerages are under siege. Big players are cutting deep and smaller boutiques are vanishing. How "a perfect storm" is battering a crucial piece of the financial ecosystem. Story
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Niall McGee