A Bay Street sign is seen in Toronto in this file photo.© Mark Blinch / Reuters
Constellation Software Inc. is ramping up its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) team, and giving more freedom to those lower down the food chain to execute on deals. Analysts expect the changes to drive even more M&A at the already very acquisitive company. Story (subscribers)
Mundo Inc., which lists Amaya Inc. founder David Baazov among its investors, has yanked its initial public offering, citing "market conditions." Story (subscribers)
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. announced on Tuesday that it is investing $190-million via an interest-bearing security (essentially preferred shares) into AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. While Regina-based AGT (formerly Alliance Grain Traders Inc.) might not be a household name, it's a major global processor of pulses such as lentils, peas, beans and chickpeas. Last year, it pulled in revenue of $1.9-billion. Story (subscribers)
Securities regulators in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Alberta have released a set of guidelines to make fairness opinions commissioned by boards more transparent for investors in deals that involve conflicts of interest. Story (subscribers)
Canadian technology acquisition machine Open Text Corp. announced its latest deal Wednesday, one day after dodging a bullet on its most recent purchase. The enterprise software giant from Waterloo, Ont. said Wednesday it would pay $7.10 (U.S.) per share, or $240-million, for Nasdaq-listed forensic security firm Guidance Software Inc. of Pasadena, Calif. Story (subscribers)
Underwriters had little trouble selling Hydro One Ltd.'s $1.4-billion bought deal, which was announced last week with the utility's $4.4-billion acquisition of U.S.-based Avista Corp. Story (subscribers)
Canada's Finance Minister plans to take a closer look at a decision by the country's banking regulator to crack down on the use of terms such as "banking" and "banker" among non-bank financial institutions. Story (subscribers)
The value of Canadian oil patch deals dwindled in the second quarter, but one trend remained dominant: foreign players bailing out the sector. Story (subscribers)
Canada's pool of major pension fund investors is getting a little deeper with the launch of an organization that will gather up fund assets in Ontario. Toronto-based Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) begins managing the $60-billion on behalf of its first two clients, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and the Ontario Pension Board (OPB), on Monday after a lengthy integration process. Story (subscribers)
Other notable deals this week
U.S. ETF provider WisdomTree Investments Inc. is boosting its Canadian presence after announcing it will be acquiring a portfolio of Questrade Financial Group's exchange-traded funds business. Story
Cott Corp., the Canadian beverage company that at one time went head to head with industry behemoths PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co., is giving up on the soda business. On Tuesday, shares in the Mississauga, Ont.-based firm rose the most in more than a year, after it announced the sale of its beverage-manufacturing division to Dutch soft drinks firm Refresco Group NV for $1.25-billion (U.S.). Story
Mitel Networks Corp. has struck what could be its biggest deal in more than two years as it recovers from a failed move into the wireless business. The Ottawa enterprise telecommunications firm said Thursday it had signed a definitive agreement to buy Sunnyvale, Calif.-based ShoreTel Inc. for $530-million (U.S.) in an all-cash deal, paying $7.50 a share for the Nasdaq-listed firm, a 28-per-cent premium over Wednesday's close. Story (subscribers)
Shareholders in Quebec forestry firm Tembec Inc. overwhelmingly endorsed a friendly takeover offer by Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc., a chemical-products company based in Florida. Story
Canadian forestry company West Fraser Timber Co. says it has agreed to buy a U.S. lumber business for about $430-million (U.S.). Story
German sportswear group Adidas has agreed to sell its CCM ice hockey brand to private equity firm Birch Hill Equity Partners for $110-million, it said on Thursday, as it focuses more strongly on its core Adidas and Reebok brands. Story
Weekend reading
Canada's stock market has been ablaze with reefer madness, but the country's largest exchange is grappling with how to deal with pot companies that have investments in the U.S., where marijuana is still banned by federal law. Story
Bombardier Inc. says it continues to explore "multiple options" for its train business as the unit's strong profit and sales helped the company break even on an adjusted basis in its latest quarter. Story
What we're reading
Toast, a point-of-sale (POS) platform aimed at restaurants, raised a chunky $101 (U.S.) million this week in a series C round of funding led by Al Gore's Generation Investment Management and Lead Edge Capital. Some of the company's existing investors, which include GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Bessemer Venture Partners, also participated in the round. Venturebeat
Redfin has priced its public offering at $15 (U.S.) per share, above its estimated price range of $12 to $14, and will raise nearly $138.5-million in the process. The offering values the online real estate brokerage at nearly $1.2-billion, up from the $813-million valuation it reached in 2014. Pitchbook
Two of Wall Street's fastest-growing takeover advisers are perched in towers almost directly across Manhattan's Park Avenue – and they're glowering at each other. Bloomberg
Almost 700 U.S. companies have reported quarterly results so far this earnings season, and the e-commerce titan's name has popped up on roughly one of every 10 earnings conference calls so far. Reuters