Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours,
Hong Kong tycoon, two equity firms bid on Anbang Insurance’s Vancouver office complex, sources say: Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s company and two private equity firms have made preliminary bids for Anbang Insurance Group’s office complex in Vancouver, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Li’s CK Asset Holdings Ltd., U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group and Canadian real estate firm KingSett Capital have expressed interest in four office towers called Bentall Centre, said the sources, who were granted anonymity by The Globe and Mail because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Story (Rachelle Younglai, for subscribers)
TD, CIBC boost dividends but profits hurt by weaker capital markets: Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, two of Canada’s biggest lenders, reported first-quarter earnings on Thursday that fell short of analysts’ forecasts, hurt by weakness in their capital markets businesses. Profit at TD, Canada’s second-biggest lender, was hurt by losses at its wholesale banking division while CIBC, the country’s fifth-biggest lender, saw earnings decline in personal and small-business banking as well as capital markets. Story
Ontario regulator pays whistle-blowers $7.5-million, a first for Canada: The Ontario Securities Commission has paid three whistle-blowers a total of $7.5-million, marking the first payments of their kind in Canada. The payments, made in three separate cases, were given to people who, the OSC said, “voluntarily provided high quality, timely, specific and credible information” that helped the regulators with enforcement actions. Story (Tim Kiladze and David Milstead, for subscribers)
National Bank’s financial markets unit hinders first-quarter results: Volatile financial markets sapped the strength from an otherwise solid first quarter at National Bank of Canada. Profit and revenue for the country’s sixth-largest bank were effectively flat compared with a year ago, as a 17-per-cent decline in profit from the financial-markets arm offset gains in all other key divisions. Story (James Bradshaw, for subscribers)
Cogeco Communications selling cloud services provider for $720-million: Barely six years after it gambled half a billion dollars on cloud services, Cogeco Communications Inc. has signed a deal to hand over struggling Cogeco Peer 1 Inc. to an investment firm. Digital Colony, based in Los Angeles, will buy the cloud services provider for $720-million, Cogeco Communications said Wednesday. Story (for subscribers)
MORE FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS
Layoffs: Laurentian Bank announced it will cut roughly 10 per cent of its work force over the next 12 months as the Montreal-based lender reported a steep drop in financial first quarter profits. Story
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