People pass by Bank of Montreal headquarters in Toronto on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012. BMO has the second-lowest market cap of the Big Five after CIBC.Michelle Siu/The Canadian Press
Breaking the silence of a relatively quiet new issue market, four big bought deals sprang to life Tuesday, raising a collective $1.9-billion for four different companies.
In each of those deals, BMO Nesbitt Burns played a key role, serving as either the lead or co-lead underwriter.
BMO led both Great-West Lifeco's big $1.25-billion offering to finance its acquisition of Irish Life Group and Power Financial's $300-million preferred share offering, issued in part to help finance the company's participation in the Great-West deal.
But BMO was also a co-lead on Industrial Alliance's $225-million common share offering, led by National Bank Financial, and Element Financial's $150-million financing, led by GMP Securities.
Call it good luck or just coincidence, but no matter how you cut it, it's still a big day for the investment dealer. (And it comes on the heels of the $400-million bought deal that BMO also led for MEG Energy.)
So far in 2013, BMO's equity underwriting accounts for 42 per cent of the market, according to Bloomberg.
(Tim Kiladze is a Globe and Mail Capital Markets Reporter.)
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Tim Kiladze