AutoCanada Inc. has signed a deal to buy a Montreal-area Mercedes-Benz dealership.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
Savanna Energy Services Corp. (SVY-T) has received a notice of "an event of default" related to its second lien credit facility with Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo).
It said the notice is due to the acquisition by Total Energy Services Inc. (TOT-T) of more than 50 per cent of the outstanding common shares and Savanna's failure to pay the obligations owning due to the change of control.
"AIMCo has demanded the immediate payment of all obligations outstanding under the facility, including the aggregate principal amount outstanding of $105-million, the change of control payment of $6-million and all accrued and unpaid interest thereon," the company said.
"Savanna is reviewing the impact of the notice and its refinancing options and will look to engage with Total with respect to its refinancing options, as appropriate."
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Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (NDM-T; NAK-N) says its U.S. subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership has received notice of approval of a land use permit from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for activities at its Pebble Project.
"The Alaska Department of Natural Resources and other state agencies have had an active oversight presence at the Pebble Project site for more than a decade, and have confirmed that Pebble is a well-managed exploration project," said Tom Collier, Pebble Partnership CEO.
It said the permit includes a requirement for a $2-million performance guarantee related to any potential reclamation liability.
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Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (SSL-T) said it sold 10 million common shares of Pinecrest Resources Ltd. (PCR-X) for $2.1-million.
The sale reduces Sandstorm's holdings of Pinecrest common shares to zero.
Sandstorm said it still holds 10 million share purchase warrants of Pinecrest, "which if exercised would result in Sandstorm holding 13.9 per cent of the then issued and outstanding Pinecrest shares (on a partially diluted basis)."
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AutoCanada Inc. (ACQ-T) says it bought Mercedes-Benz Rive-Sud in Montreal, which increases its dealership count to 57.
"The acquisition is consistent with AutoCanada's strategy of adding new brands in metropolitan areas to further expand our dealer network and drive growth potential across major Canadian markets," the company said.
As part of the transaction, AutoCanada will lease the dealership lands, including an 112,643 square foot facility, 50 car showroom, and 28 service bays.
The price of the deal wasn't disclosed.
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TIO Networks Corp. (TNC-X) says its security holders voted in 99-per-cent in favour of the takeover by PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL-N).
The deal still needs to be approved by the Supreme Court of B.C. and requires regulatory approvals and has to meet other closing conditions. TIO said it expects the deal to be completed in the second half of 2017.
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GoldMining Inc. (GOLD-X) is acquiring Bellhaven Copper and Gold Inc. and its Colombian gold-copper project in a deal valued at $13.5-million.
"We are pleased to announce our second major transaction in Colombia, which will further expand our significant land package within the Mid Cauca Belt, one of the most prospective and underexplored gold belts in the world," said GoldMining chairman Amir Adnani. "Beyond the current defined resource base, La Mina hosts several underexplored porphyry targets, which we believe offer excellent opportunities for new gold discoveries in an area of excellent infrastructure."
Bellhaven shareholders will receive 0.25 common shares of GoldMining for each Bellhaven share. The companies said existing warrants and options of Bellhaven will also become exercisable.
The transaction represents approximately 6-per-cent dilution to GoldMining shareholders for a transaction value of $13.5 million based on GoldMiningꞌs share price as of the close on April 11, the company said.
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Just Energy Group, Inc. (JE-T; JE-N) says its preferred shares have been added to the S&P U.S. Preferred Share Index after rebalancing on April 7.
The addition of Just Energy preferred shares will be effective prior to the open of trading on April 24.
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Gold Standard Ventures Corp. (GSV-T; GSV-N) is buying the remaining shares it doesn't already own of Battle Mountain Gold Inc. (BMG-X), owner and operator of the Lewis gold project in Nevada, in a deal valued at about $35-million.
The deal is for 0.1891 of a common share of Gold Standard plus 8 cents in cash for each Battle Mountain common share held.
The proposed arrangement values Battle Mountain at approximately 59 cents per share, the company said, which is a premium of about 47 per cent to the closing price of Battle Mountain on April 11.
The deal "enhances Gold Standard's leading position in Nevada, one of the world's most prolific gold producing regions," the company said. "Gold Standard now has district-scale property positions on both the Carlin Trend and Battle Mountain Trend, the most productive gold trends in Nevada."
The deal requires approval of two-thirds of Battle Mountain shareholders.
Gold Standard already owns about 27.5-per-cent of Battle Mountain.
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Enghouse Systems Limited (ENGH-T) has acquired Tollgrade Communications Inc. for $23-million.
Pennsylvania-based Tollgrade provides software-based test systems for broadband telecom access providers.
"The Tollgrade solution is an excellent addition to our OSS Service Assurance portfolio," said Sunil Diaz, general manager of Enghouse Networks Group. "It enables Enghouse to offer service providers the ability to reduce costs, increase profitability, assure network reliability and improve service quality."
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Crius Energy Trust (KWH.UN-T) says its board has approved a 2-per-cent increase to distributions paid on units of the trust.
That represents an annualized increase of 1.6 cents per unit to 78.9 cents per unit.