Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
Sierra Wireless (SW-T) announced an agreement to divest its Omnilink offender monitoring business for US$37.6-million in cash. The buyer is Anaheim-based Sentinel Advantage LLC, which is wholly owned by Bison Capital Asset Management LLC.
“The sale of Omnilink unlocks value of a non-core asset and strengthens our balance sheet,” said Phil Brace, CEO of Sierra Wireless.
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Velan Inc. (VLN-T) announced the appointment of Rishi Sharma as executive vice-president of finance effective today and as CFO on May 23. He will succeed Benoit Alain, who will be leaving the company effective May 23, following his resignation in December, the company stated.
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Irwin Naturals Inc. (IWIN-CN) announced a deal to buy KHC Capital Group, LLC, which owns a chain of five ketamine treatment clinics in Florida, with an additional partnership contract with two affiliate clinics in Mexico.
“The number of patients treated per month at Ketamine Health Centers makes this acquisition in our national roll-up particularly exciting,” stated CEO, Klee Irwin.
Irwin said it will issue subordinate voting shares and proportionate voting shares equivalent to 1,066,667 SVS “on an as-converted to SVS basis” as part of the deal, and assume or pay off approximately US$1.6-million of debt at closing. Members of Ketamine Health Center will also be entitled to receive an additional payment equal to the value of 10 times the contracting entities’ 2022 EBITDA, less the value of the closing consideration shares at the time of closing, based on certain conditions.
The pre-acquisition owners of Ketamine Health Centers will be eligible to receive additional consideration “based on certain conditions,” the company stated.
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NFI Group Inc. (NFI-T) announced new orders from the Toronto Transit Commission for 134 of its 40-foot hybrid-electric heavy-duty transit buses and 68 of its 60-foot hybrid-electric buses. The company stated that the two four-year contracts include options for up to an additional 263 of the 40-foot hybrid-electric buses and 100 of the 60-foot buses.
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Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (RHT-X) says a report issued on April 14 by a known short seller “contains defamatory, misleading and demonstrably false statements and conspiracy theories.” In a release, the company said it believes that statements “were intended to negatively impact its share price for the financial benefit of short-sellers.”
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Vancouver-based WonderFi Technologies Inc. (WNDR-NE) is planning to acquire Toronto-based crypto exchange Coinberry Ltd. for $38.5-million in shares – a move that would put two out of six registered cryptocurrency trading platforms in Canada under the same roof.
The definitive agreement was announced on Monday, less than a month after WonderFi closed its deal to buy Toronto-based crypto exchange Bitbuy Technologies Inc. for $206-million in cash and shares. Experts say this latest acquisition is another step toward nationwide consolidation for the digital asset and blockchain sector.
Kevin O’Leary, a strategic investor in WonderFi and often the public face of the company, said in an interview that there are “several more and even bigger” acquisitions to come. If approved by regulators and shareholders, the Coinberry deal would give WonderFi a total of roughly 160 staff and 750,000 customers.
“We’re definitely setting ourselves up to go toe to toe on the global stage,” the Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank star said, adding that the acquisition will put the company in a better position to compete with large foreign exchanges such as Coinbase, Crypto.com, FTX and Binance. “But remember, we’re doing it on a regulated basis unlike those other players. We are 100 per cent operating under the order and we’re not taking any risks on that.”
- Temur Durrani
Read the full story here
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Global Water Resources, Inc. (GWR-T) announced an agreement to acquire Farmers Water Co., a subsidiary of Farmers Investment Co. (FICO), located in Pima County, Arizona.
“The acquisition, if completed, would add approximately 3,300 active water service connections and an approximate 21.5 square miles of Certificate of Convenience and Necessity service area in Sahuarita and surrounding unincorporated Pima County,” the company stated.
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Nevada King Gold Corp. (NKG-X) announced an increase to its previously non-brokered private placement to $11.25-million, up from about $6.8-million, citing significant demand from existing shareholders.
The company said it plans to issue 25 million common shares at 45 cents each as part of the updated financing. CEO Collin Kettell has increased his subscription to $4.5-million. “As such, participation by management and insiders will make up roughly half of the financing,” the company stated.
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Algoma Steel Group Inc. (ASTL-T) announced the appointment of Michael Garcia as CEO effective June 1 upon the retirement of current CEO Michael McQuade.
Mr. McQuade will continue to serve on the company’s board and Mr. Garcia will also join the board, the company stated.
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PHX Energy Services Corp. (PHX-T) announced an increase to its 2022 capital expenditure program to $85-million, a $37.3-million jump from the previously announced program.
Of the $85-million, $76.4-million is expected to be allocated towards growth, while the remaining $8.6-million is anticipated to be spent on maintenance capital, the company stated.
“Strong commodity prices are driving industry growth, especially in the U.S. market where there were 60 per cent more rigs running in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same quarter of 2021,” the company stated.
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Trevali Mining Corp. (TV-T) announced on Saturday that eight workers are missing after heavy rainfall caused flooding at its Perkoa mine in Burkina Faso. The company said the mine was evacuated and rescue efforts “were immediately initiated and are ongoing.”
The company said the incident has been reported to the Burkinabe authorities and that mining and milling operations at Perkoa have been suspended. “The company is now working closely with the authorities to respond effectively,” it stated.
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Numinus Wellness Inc. (NUMI-T) reported second-quarter revenue of $786,104, up from $231,507 a year earlier. The company said the increase was due primarily to the acquisitions of Mindspace and the Neurology Centre of Toronto.
Its net loss for the second quarter ended Feb. 28 was $7.8-million or 4 cents per share versus a loss of $4.2-million or 3 cents per share.
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