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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.

Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET-T, VET-N) says it’s buying Spartan Energy Corp. (SPE-T) in a deal valued at $1.4-billion, which includes $1.23-billion in Vermilion shares plus the assumption of approximately $175-million in debt.

Spartan shareholders will receive 0.1476 of a Vermilion share for each Spartan common share. Based on Vermilion’s closing price of $44.04 on April 13, the exchange ratio translates to $6.50 per Spartan common share, the company stated.

“All of the officers and directors of Spartan have entered into voting support agreements and agreed to vote their Spartan shares in favour of the Arrangement,” the company stated. The arrangement includes a reciprocal break fee of $40-million.

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Aphria Inc. (APH-T) reported revenue for third quarter ended Feb. 28 of $10.3-million up from $5.1-million a year earlier. Analysts were expecting revenue of $10.9-million for the most recent quarter.

“The increase in revenue from the same period in the prior year is related to (i) continued growth of both wholesale shipments and sales to existing patients (ii) Broken Coast’s sales from February 1st to 28th, as well as continued acceleration of patient onboarding and an increased average selling price,” the company stated.

Net income was $12.9-million versus $4.95-million a year earlier. “The increase in net income relates to the continued strength of Aphria’s investment portfolio, including its realized gain on sale of its non-escrowed shares in Liberty Health Sciences, Ltd. in the quarter,” it stated.

Adjusted EBITDA was $2.9-million versus $871,000 a year earlier.

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TransGlobe Energy Corp. (TGA-Q), a Calgary-based oil and gas exploration and development company with activities in the Arab Republic of Egypt and Canada, says it plans to list its common stock on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market.

The company said it did “an extensive review of its existing stock market listings and its current and potential common share investors” and determined that its traditional North American investor base and liquidity has “diminished significantly over the past six years, beginning with the Egyptian revolution in January of 2011 .... Although oil prices have shown tangible and structural improvement over the past six to nine months the company’s share price and liquidity have not responded to that improvement despite significant increases in profitability and funds flow,” it stated in a release.

The company said it concluded that a listing on the AIM market will “provide access to a significant pool of specialist investors who currently do not have adequate access to TransGlobe’s common shares due to time-zone challenges and European market investment requirements.” It also believes that a listing on the AIM market “may eventually improve its profile by placing TransGlobe alongside many of its international E&P [exploration and production] peers.”

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DIRTT Environmental Solutions Ltd. (DRT-T) says it has agreed with recommendations provided by Iron Compass, LLC to add two board members, John Elliott and Ronald Kaplan, effective immediately.

The new directors will be participating in the recruitment of DIRTT’s new CEO, the company stated in a release.

“We are pleased with the addition of Mr. Elliott and Mr. Kaplan in order to enhance the board and executive search process,” said Matt Kupersmith, a partner at Iron Compass. “Like the board, we believe that DIRTT is a special company with an ability to create significant long-term shareholder value.”

To immediately accommodate these appointments, long-serving director Lawrence Fairholm has retired from the board and interim CEO Mr. Goldstein will step down as a director.

Iron Compass has withdrawn a previous meeting requisition.

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Maricann Group Inc. (MARI-CN) says its Maricann Inc. subsidiary received an export permit from Health Canada for a shipment of dried cannabis flower to Germany. The company said it’s the first export permit that Maricann has received.

“This export permit marks another milestone in the company’s history and an important first, as we continue to build our company, globally,” stated CEO Ben Ward in a release.

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Cannabix Technologies Inc. (BLO-CN), which is developing a marijuana breathalyzer for law enforcement and the workplace, says it has filed a patent co-operation treaty application to cover intellectual property related to earlier versions of its product.

It also announced a second license agreement with the University of Florida that provides Cannabix exclusive worldwide rights in the area of breath analysis of controlled substances.

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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 2:07pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
VET-N
Vermilion Energy Inc
+1.63%12.44
VET-T
Vermilion Energy Inc
+1.45%16.84
DRT-T
Dirtt Environmental Solutions Ltd
-4.29%0.67
BLO-CN
Cannabix Technologies Inc
+2.33%0.22

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