Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
MTY Food Group Inc. (MTY-T) announced an agreement to acquire a 70-per-cent interest in Turtle’s Jack’s Muskoka Grill, COOP Wicked Chicken, and Frat’s Cucina, three casual dining concepts operating in Ontario.
"It is a rare occasion to have the opportunity to join forces with an established brand and two up and coming brands all at the same time," stated Eric Lefebvre, CEO of MTY. "We are delighted with the potential of our alliance with the brands, the franchise community and the current owners of the three concepts, who will both stay on board as partners in the venture."
The 22 combined restaurants of the network have generated over $61-million in sales during the last 12 months, the company stated. The transaction will be financed using MTY's cash on hand and existing credit facilities, the company said.
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TerrAscend Corp. (TER-C) announced the company intends to complete non-brokered private placement offerings to raise approximately US$25-million by issuing units of each of TerrAscend and TerrAscend Canada Inc.
The first tranche of the Canadian offering, a US$10-million lead order from Canopy Rivers Inc., (RIV-T) has been completed, the company said.
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Badger Daylighting Ltd. (BAD-T) said its subsidiaries, Badger Daylighting Limited Partnership and Badger Daylighting Corp., have increased their senior secured credit facility with a group of five lenders from $145-million to $300-million, with Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The term of the credit facility has been extended from four years to five years, with a maturity date of Sept. 30, 2024.
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Tilt Holdings Inc. (TILT-C) announced it has negotiated an agreement with six of its remaining founders regarding the immediate forfeiture of all 60,217,088 stock options granted at the time of the merger, as well as the final separation of most of these founders from the company.
"During the second quarter of fiscal 2019, the company reported stock-based compensation expense of greater than $47-million associated with these now forfeited stock options," the company said. "Adjusting for the subsequent forfeiture, Tilt’s [second quarter] net loss of $48.9-million would have been almost entirely reduced, bringing the company close to break-even."
CEO Mark Scatterday said the reduction of "this excessive financial overhang" on the company's consolidated results from the founders’ incentives "should not only improve profitability but reduce potential future dilution on our valued shareholders.
The company also announced that, in connection with the separation of several founders, it will be issuing 9,045,690 common share purchase warrants to those founders. Each warrant is exercisable into one common share of the company at a price of $1.05 for a period of five years.
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TC Transcontinental (TCL.A-T; TCL.B-T) announced the acquisition of Mississauga-based Holland & Crosby Ltd., a manufacturing company specialized in in-store marketing product printing, including advertising display and signage, for North American retailers. Terms weren’t disclosed in the release.
"This transaction is aligned with TC Transcontinental’s strategy of enhancing its offering in the promising vertical of in-store marketing product printing which has been continuously growing for several years now," the company stated.
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Altus Group Ltd. (AIF-T) announced it has partnered with The Canadian Real Estate Association and its member real estate boards to expand CREA’s Multiple Listing Service Home Price Index nationally.
“We’re excited to announce that for the first time there is an agreement in place for all Canadian real estate boards and associations to join the MLS Home Price Index and create a truly national housing price index that encompasses all of the housing market activity. Providing all of our members with this level of analysis and visibility into the market trends is invaluable,” said Michael Bourque, CEO of CREA.
This new agreement will help expand the MLS Home Price Index from the current 18 real estate boards to all of CREA’s 90 real estate boards and associations across Canada, the release states.