Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
AGF Management Ltd. (AGF.B-T) issued a statement on Sunday in response to what it stated were media reports in the U.K. regarding a potential change to its investment in Smith & Williamson, a private client business based in the U.K.
“AGF confirms that Smith & Williamson, a company which AGF currently owns a stake in, is in exclusive discussions with Tilney regarding a possible merger of the two companies,” it stated. “While these discussions are ongoing, there can be no certainty these will lead to a transaction. As such, AGF does not intend to make any further press release or announcement regarding these matters unless and until a binding, definitive transaction agreement is reached.”
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Russel Metals Inc. (RUS-T) announced an agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of City Pipe & Supply Corp. for approximately $160 million. City Pipe & Supply’s revenues were approximately $275-million during its last fiscal year, the company stated.
"City Pipe & Supply is both a strategic and cultural fit that affords us the opportunity to further expand our high-margin oilfield services business in the Permian basin," stated John Reid, CEO of Russel Metals.
The company said the transaction will be financed by the cash held within the U.S. of approximately $100-million and the remainder from its bank facility.
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CannTrust Holdings Inc. (TRST-T) announced that it has received a notice from the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), the Crown corporation in charge of wholesale distribution of cannabis products to licensed cannabis retailers in Ontario and the operator of Ontario’s online recreational cannabis store, that certain of the company’s products sold to the OCS are “non-conforming products” under the terms of the supply agreement. Cann Trust said OCS has elected to return these products to the company, at the company’s expense, according to the agreement.
“The products listed in the OCS return notice constitute all or substantially all of the company’s products currently held at the OCS and are valued at approximately $2.9-million,” CannTrust stated.
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The asset-management arm of Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is taking a minority stake in Toronto-based real-estate investment firm Slate Asset Management, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The investment – which is expected to be announced Monday morning – is being made through Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Petershill program. The transaction will see Goldman obtain a non-voting minority equity investment in Slate Asset Management, a real-estate focused investment platform with more than $6-billion in assets under management.
The deal will not affect any day-to-day operations, investment decisions or executive roles at Slate Asset Management, according to sources who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The financial details of the transaction will not be publicly disclosed.
Slate Asset declined to comment on the transaction, while Goldman Sachs did not return requests for comment.
Slate Asset Management specializes in the real-estate sector. Founded in 2005 by brothers Blair and Brady Welch, the privately owned company has completed over $11-billion of transactions globally in both private equity funds and publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs).
The company trades two REITs on the Toronto Stock Exchange: the Slate Office REIT (SOT.UN) and the Slate Retail REIT (SRT.UN)
- Clare O’Hara
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The Catalyst Capital Group Inc. announced that it received and accepted 18,491,502 shares of Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC-T) at a purchase price of $10.11 per share in cash, for an aggregate cost of approximately $187-million, representing about 10.05 per cent of HBC’s total shares outstanding.
"We are pleased with the result of our offer to HBC shareholders, which gave participating shareholders an immediate premium to both the market price of HBC shares and to the Baker Group's proposal," stated Gabriel de Alba, managing director and partner of Catalyst said in a release.
Mr. de Alba said the shares, "adds to our existing holdings and we look forward to working with HBC, the special committee of the board and the company's stakeholders to ensure that this iconic company and its substantial assets are positioned to unlock value and that any transaction or strategic alternative maximizes value for the benefit of all shareholders."
Catalyst also stated that it "continues to support the special committee's process and maintains that the special committee reject any effort by the controlling shareholders of the company and certain other insiders," who made the buyout proposal on June 10. "Catalyst is committed to working with the special committee and the HBC board to seek out every alternative that can maximize value for all shareholders," it stated.
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North American Palladium (PDL-T) announced it has vested a 51-per-cent interest in the Sunday Lake Project. “The decision to elect to continue investing in this platinum group metal (PGM) property was supported by encouraging drilling results from the PGM Zone, including the best intersection reported to date,” it stated.
“We are very pleased to partner with Implats and Transition on the Sunday Lake Project, which is NAP’s best blue-sky opportunity and a key element of our long-term strategy to build an inventory of high-quality platinum group metal assets in the Thunder Bay region," stated CEO Jim Gallagher. "We have demonstrated that the PGM Zone has significant lateral continuity and are now able to focus on areas of enhanced thickness and grade.”