Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours,
DEALS NEWS: MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS, IPOs and FINANCINGS
U.K. movie-theatre giant to buy Cineplex in $2.2-billion deal: Britain’s Cineworld Group PLC struck a $2.2-billion deal for Cineplex Inc., a move that creates North America’s largest movie-theatre chain at a time when the industry faces increasing competition from online services. Story (Susan Krashinsky Robertson)
Spoiler alert: Despite ‘go shop’ clause, no better bid is on the way for Cineplex: Trust a theatre owner to deliver a dramatic ending. Cineplex Inc. chief executive Ellis Jacob gave his shareholders a thrill with a $2.2-billion takeover bid from British-based rival Cineworld Group PLC that still leaves open the delicious possibility of a bidding war for Canada’s dominant movie chain. The deal is pitched at a 42-per-cent premium to the recent price of Cineplex shares, and contains what investment bankers call a “go shop” provision, which allows Cineplex to spend the next seven weeks trying to find a richer offer. Opinion (Andrew Willis)
B.C.’s General Fusion aims to build safe, clean power plant of the future with US$65-million funding: General Fusion Inc., a B.C. company backed by Jeff Bezos, has raised US$65-million to build a prototype plant in its quest to prove that nuclear fusion energy can be a commercially viable, carbon-free source of power. Story (Sean Silcoff and Josh O’Kane)
FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS
Canada joins the new lending craze: sustainable loans with floating interest rates: A new wave of “green lending” has hit Canada, with Bank of Montreal issuing the country’s first sustainability-linked loan to Maple Leaf Foods. Story (Tim Kiladze)
HBC delays shareholder vote on take-private bid after Friday’s OSC ruling: Hudson’s Bay Co. will postpone a shareholder vote on a takeover offer after an Ontario Securities Commission ruling and as a dissident shareholder threatens to “take additional steps” if the retailer fails to reconsider its higher-priced offer. Story (The Canadian Press)
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