Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours,
From Palm Beach to Congo: How the Barrick-Randgold deal came together: The biggest gold-mining takeover in seven years got its start with an arranged meeting. A mutual friend introduced John Thornton, Barrick Gold Corp.’s executive chairman, to Randgold Resources Ltd.'s founder and chief executive officer Mark Bristow, and in late 2015 they sat down together. Mr. Thornton hosted Mr. Bristow at his villa in Palm Beach, Fla., a limestone mansion on the oceanfront. Story (Niall McGee and Rachelle Younglai, for subscribers)
New funding boosts Montreal’s Hopper to near $1-billion valuation: Hopper Inc., a rapidly growing Montreal travel-booking startup that uses data science and artificial intelligence to predict the cheapest time to book flights, is closing in on a $1-billion valuation after raising US$100-million in a financing led by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System. Story (Sean Silcoff, for subscribers)
Investment banks reap rewards with $2.8-billion in cannabis equity deals: Canada’s burgeoning cannabis sector is helping to fill the gap created by a slowdown in capital raising by energy and mining companies. In the first nine months of the year, investment bankers helped a slew of Canadian medical marijuana producers – including Canopy Growth Corp., ABcann Global Corp. and Aphria Inc. – raise a total of $2.8-billion to help finance their expansion plans, according to data from Refinitiv. Story (Alexandra Posadzki, for subscribers)
Husky CEO discussed takeover of MEG Energy with ex-director: Husky Energy Inc.’s chief executive officer discussed a potential acquisition of MEG Energy Corp. with the one of the oil sands producer’s largest shareholders weeks before the investor quit MEG’s board in frustration over the company’s direction. Story (Jeffrey Jones, for subscribers)
MORE FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS
Crypto currencies: Retail brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp said on Wednesday it has invested in a new cryptocurrency exchange called ErisX in a bid to offer clients digital asset investment options beyond the popular bitcoin. Story
Bitcoin: Argentina could get up to 30 automated teller machines that buy and sell bitcoin by the end of the year, industry representatives said, an expansion of the cryptocurrency market amid an economic crisis that has seen the peso’s value tumble. Story
MORE DEALS NEWS
Auto industry: Honda Motor Co. Ltd. will invest US$2.75-billion and take a 5.7-per-cent stake in General Motors Co.’s Cruise self-driving vehicle unit, to jointly develop self-driving vehicles for deployment in ride-services fleets around the world. Story
Unit sale: Aecon Group Inc. has signed a deal to sell its contract mining business to North American Construction Group Inc. for $199.1-million in cash. Story
IPO filing: Tencent Music Entertainment, which owns China’s most popular music apps, has filed for a U.S. IPO seeking funds to develop content and new services, in what is expected to be one of the biggest U.S. listings by a Chinese company this year. Story
IPO debut: Shares in luxury automaker Aston Martin fell as much as 6.5 per cent on their market debut in London on Wednesday as investors and analysts raised concerns over its ability to deliver an ambitious roll-out of new models. Story
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