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Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.

Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. (CF-T) announced preliminary results for its first quarter ending June 30, saying they are "consistent with management's expectations for the quarter." The company said the earnings are being disclosed now because of the short time period between the scheduled quarterly earnings release date of Aug. 6 and the expiry of the company's substantial issuer bid, which started on July 9 and is scheduled to expire on Aug. 9.

The company said it expects to record adjusted net income attributable to common shareholders of approximately $28-million or 23 cents per share. Analysts were expecting earnings of 21 cents. Including all expense items, net income will be about $22-million or 18 cents per share, the company stated.

Revenue is expected to be approximately $322-million for the fiscal quarter, an increase of approximately 17 per cent when compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The expectation was for revenue to come in at $306-million.

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RNC Minerals (RNX-T) announced that its president and CEO Mark Selby has resigned for personal reasons from the company effective immediately. Paul Andre Huet, executive chair of the board, has been appointed interim CEO.

"Mark Selby has been instrumental in the growth of RNC Minerals to establish the company to where we are today. On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank Mark for his efforts and many accomplishments," stated Mr. Huet.

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Pure Multi-Family REIT LP (RUF.UN-T) says it has an agreement to be purchased by Cortland Partners LLC for US$7.61 per unit in an all-cash transaction valued at US$1.2-billion including net debt. The REIT said the offer is a premium of 15 per cent to the closing price per unit on June 26, the last trading day prior to the public announcement of an unsolicited conditional proposal. The REIT said the transaction is fully financed, not subject to due diligence, and is backstopped by Cortland with a US$50-million reverse termination fee.

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Quarterhill Inc.(QTRH-T) subsidiary Wi-lan Inc. says its subsidiary Adaptive Streaming Inc. has acquired a portfolio of patents from Vidiator Enterprises Inc., an audio and video data company. "The patents are related to Adaptive Bitrate Streaming, which is the primary way in which video is delivered over the Internet today," the company stated, adding that terms of the agreement are confidential.

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Namaste Technologies Inc. (N-X) announced interim financial results for the second quarter ended May 31, including consolidated revenue of $4-million compared with $4.1 million for the same period last year. Its net loss for the quarter was $8.6-million or 3 cents per share compared to $8.1-million or 3 cents in the comparable quarter last year.

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Pulse Seismic Inc. (PSD-T) reported data library sales revenue were $10.6-million for the three months ended June 30, compared to $1.9-million for the three months last year. Net earnings were $2.9-million or 5 cents per share compared to a net loss of $1-million or 2 cents per share a year ago.

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The board of CannTrust Holdings Inc. (TRST-T) has hired Bay Street law firm McCarthy Tétrault LLP and appointed U.S. sporting goods executive Robert Marcovitch to lead a special committee that is investigating how the company illegally grew 12,700 kilograms of cannabis in unlicensed facilities, and who knew about it, The Globe and Mail reports.

Federal inspectors from Health Canada are auditing Toronto-based CannTrust after discovering the company grew cannabis in five unlicensed rooms over a five-month period in its greenhouse in Pelham, Ont. Sanctions could range from penalties for management to the cancellation of the company’s cannabis production licences, which would effectively shut down the business. CannTrust’s stock price has dropped about 40 per cent since it disclosed the regulatory issues on July 8.

The special committee is also expected to hire an investment bank to advise it on how to proceed. The shares closed up more than 2.6 per cent on Thursday after a speculative media report about early efforts to find a buyer for the company or its assets.

However, a source close to the company, to whom The Globe and Mail has granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said there is little chance it would sell major assets until it is clearer what penalties Health Canada will impose.

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Well Health Technologies Corp. (WELL-X) announced the acquisition of 51-per-cent of SleepWorks Medical Inc., a private Canadian corporation for $1.13-million. The remaining 49 per cent will be retained by the former principal shareholders of SleepWorks who will continue to operate the company on a post-closing basis.

SleepWorks provides services in connection with the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders and the sale of equipment related to sleep disorders.

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Canfor Corp. (CFP-T) announced further capacity reductions at two of its British Columbia sawmills "with an indefinite curtailment at its Mackenzie sawmill and the permanent elimination of one shift at its Isle Pierre sawmill."

The indefinite curtailment at Mackenzie is effective immediately, "due to the high cost of fibre, continued poor lumber markets and challenging operating conditions that have combined to make the mill uneconomic under these conditions."

The Isle Pierre sawmill will be permanently reduced from two shifts to one shift effective Sept. 20. "The capacity reduction, which is due to insufficient timber supply as a result of the mountain pine beetle epidemic and associated decline in the annual allowable cut, will enable the mill to better align its production capacity with the sustainable fibre supply in the region," the company stated.

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Barrick Gold Corp (ABX-T) has struck a deal to buy out fellow shareholders in Acacia Mining plc (ACA-L) after raising its offer to end a two-month standoff between the world’s second-biggest gold miner and its African unit.

Acacia shares jumped about 20 per cent in early Friday trading towards the offer price. The deal was announced hours before a regulatory deadline for Barrick to make a firm bid or walk away.

Barrick spun off Acacia in 2010, but still owns a 64 per cent stake and said earlier this year it wanted to take back full control as it sought to resolve a protracted dispute between Acacia and Tanzania over valuable mining assets.

Barrick is now offering 0.168 of its own shares for every Acacia share, worth about 232 pence per share and valuing the whole of Acacia at 951 million pounds ($1.2 billion).

In addition, minority Acacia shareholders could get special dividends on Acacia exploration properties, which would add another 9 pence per share, making a total of 241 pence.

Barrick first made an offer to buy out other Acacia shareholders in May, worth 193 pence per share.

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The Flowr Corp. (FLWR-X) announced that it has decided “at this time” to withdraw its previously announced public offering. “The company is not proceeding with the offering due to prevailing market conditions, which were not conducive to the completion of the offering on terms that would be in the best interest of Flowr’s current shareholders,” the company stated. Flowr also said it “will continue to monitor market conditions as it evaluates options to drive long-term growth.”

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 3:33pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
CF-T
Canaccord Genuity Group Inc
+1.71%8.9
QTRH-T
Quarterhill Inc
+4.47%1.87
PSD-T
Pulse Seismic Inc
+0.45%2.24

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