Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last week:
| Family rejects rumours of possible Richardson GMP sale as firm refocuses on its wealth management roots: Richardson GMP Ltd., one of Canada’s largest independent wealth managers, is heading into 2020 with plans to double its client assets while debunking persistent rumours that the company is up for sale. On Dec. 6, investment dealer GMP Capital Inc. closed the sale of its investment banking arm, GMP Securities, to U.S. brokerage house Stifel Financial Corp. for approximately $65-million. Since then, GMP Capital has shifted gears into the second phase of its transformation – consolidating the ownership of its wealth manager, Richardson GMP, under a single umbrella. Story. (Clare O’Hara)
| Zurich Insurance sues to recover $200-million from former Bondfield CEO: A multinational insurance giant has filed a legal action against the former top executive of Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd., seeking to recover $200-million it says it paid out as a result of the company’s collapse. Story. (Greg McArthur and Karen Howlett)
| Desmarais clan rejects bid to collapse Power Corp. dual-class share structure: Power Financial Corp. directors urged Montreal’s Desmarais family to create a provision to allow for the eventual elimination of the dual-class share structure that gives the family control over parent company Power Corp. – but the Desmarais clan rejected the proposal. Story. (David Milstead)
| DEALS NEWS: MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS, IPOs and FINANCINGS
| Vancouver couple’s online travel venture hits $100-million valuation with private equity financing: A fast-growing Vancouver company that has built a prosperous niche in the global travel market has raised $33-million from a U.S. private equity firm. ToursByLocals Inc., an online marketplace that connects travellers with 4,100-plus guides in 1,000 locations globally for private tours, has received a minority investment from Austin, Tex.-based Tritium Partners, its first outside capital. Story. (Sean Silcoff)
| Companies have to address competition concerns even on smaller takeover deals: Businesses need to consider competition concerns even on small takeover deals that might not have attracted regulatory scrutiny in the past, says a senior competition lawyer. Story. (Christine Dobby)
| Buyback of minority stake from Caisse de dépot could be an option as Bombardier tries to tackle debt: As Bombardier Inc. weighs its strategic options to tackle a crippling $9-billion debt load, its first priority could be to buy back the minority stake in its train business owned by Canadian pension giant Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec. Story. (Nicolas Van Praet)
| | | | Story continues below advertisement | | | Australia’s big bet on coal is about to go from economic saviour to liability as the country burns: The Australian economy shares a few sorry traits with Canada’s. Both countries dig enormous amounts of dirty hydrocarbons out of the ground for export. Both made fortunes doing so, for decades. And both might now be questioning whether those wonder products were too much of a good thing as rising temperatures damage, and potentially devastate, natural systems. Story. (Eric Reguly)
| BlackRock’s eco-investing strategy is not a moral awakening: Larry Fink, arguably the world’s most powerful investor, has just delivered his annual letter to chief executives. This year, the chairman of giant money manager BlackRock Inc. used his institutional pulpit to thunder about the mounting dangers of climate change and preach the virtues of sustainable investing. It is all good, praiseworthy stuff from a company with nearly US$7-trillion in assets under management. Just don’t assume it means a major shift in policy. Story. (Ian McGugan)
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/arc-anglerfish-tgam-prod-tgam.s3.amazonaws.com/public/QFHBCKXYXRCTBJU4MMMDD5DEY4.JPG "Streetwise newsletter: Best reads of the week")
Streetwise newsletter: Best reads of the week
