Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours.
Aimia talks: Aeroplan’s parent company, Aimia Inc., is currently in partnership talks with the Oneworld airline alliance as it fends off a recent hostile takeover bid from Air Canada and three financial partners. Story (Tim Kiladze, for subscribers)
MORE DEALS NEWS
Enercare deal: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP is buying Enercare Inc., the home heating and cooling company, for $3.1-billion, adding a major consumer business that fits in with its own house-building and utilities holdings. For Enercare, the deal ends a more than four-month search for a buyer with a hefty premium for shareholders. The company had previously spurned takeover attempt by U.S. private equity firm TPG Capital that would have offered half the value of the BIP transaction, though it has expanded significantly since. Story (Jeffrey Jones and Tim Kiladze, for subscribers)
Scrapped Sale: Canadian building-interior manufacturer DIRTT Environmental Solutions Ltd has abandoned an effort to sell itself after soliciting offers from private equity firms and other companies, people familiar with the matter said. Story (Reuters)
Joint venture: Molson Coors Canada, the country’s second-largest brewer by volume, has found its way into the cannabis sector. The Toronto-based beermaker has agreed to partner with Gatineau, Que.-based marijuana grower Hydropothecary Corp. to launch a new joint venture that will develop cannabis-infused beverages that are non-alcoholic, the two companies said Wednesday. Molson will own 57.5 per cent of the new entity and control three seats on its board of directors, while Hydropothecary will own the rest and control the other two board seats. Story (Christina Pellegrini, for subscribers)
WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE
Bank Fine: Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $2.09-billion in penalty to settle claims related to mortgage loans originated in the run-up to the financial crisis. The civil fine is for alleged origination and sale of residential mortgage loans that the lender knew contained misstated income information and did not meet the quality that Wells Fargo represented, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on Wednesday. Story (Reuters)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Commercial real estate: With help from activist investors, Brookfield Asset Management reached a US$11.4-billion deal, including debt, to buy Forest City Realty Trust and gain control of its offices, apartments and buildings in top U.S. cities. Brookfield’s offer of $25.35 per share comes after a major shake up at the Cleveland-based company’s board in March, where nine directors resigned and two activist shareholders gained seats. Story (Rachelle Younglai, for subscribers)
Mortgage growth slows: Canadians took out 6.5 per cent fewer new mortgages in 2017 as home sales slumped, but delinquency rates improved as buyers were better able to afford their monthly payments even as costs rose. Home buyers originated 959,000 new mortgages with a total balance of $264.2-billion in 2017, down 6.5 per cent from 1,025,400 new mortgages with a total balance of $268.7-billion in 2016, according to new data from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. Story (Janet McFarland, for subscribers)
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