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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.

Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR-B-T) is unloading its 38.6-per-cent stake in Corus Entertainment Inc. (CJR-T) in a $548-million share sale, after struggling to sell the position to a single buyer last year.

The offering, announced after the market closed on Tuesday, is priced at $6.80 per Class B share, representing a 15.6-per-cent discount to Corus’s closing price. Corus is the owner of the Global television network and a slate of specialty TV channels, such as Food Network Canada and HGTV Canada.

Typically, share sales are sold at a discount of between 2 per cent and 4 per cent to market prices, yet the circumstances of this deal are unique. Chiefly, the offering comes after Shaw hired a financial adviser in 2018 to try to sell the position to a strategic buyer, such as Rogers Communications, or to a private equity firm. After an exhaustive search, the effort proved fruitless – partly because foreign-ownership restrictions prevented any non-Canadian buyers from acquiring the stake on a path to full control of Corus.

Months later, Calgary-based Shaw is now selling its stake to public investors by way of a bought deal. Under this model, investment banks led by TD Securities will buy the entire position and then resell the shares to institutional and retail investors.

-Tim Kiladze and Andrew Willis

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Fiera Capital Corp. (FSZ-T) announced it will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Foresters Asset Management Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Foresters Financial.

Foresters Asset Management is an Ontario-based investment management firm focused on institutional and insurance liability-driven investment with approximately $10.5-billion in assets under management as of April 30, the company stated. Following closing of the transaction, Fiera Capital said its total liability-driven investment AUM will exceed $25-billion.

"The combination of Foresters Asset Management with Fiera Capital will enhance our leading Canadian institutional fixed income and LDI capabilities," said Jean-Philippe Lemay, president and chief operating officer of Fiera Capital's Canadian Division.

The terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

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Automotive Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (APR.UN-T) reported property rental revenue was $15.7-million in the first quarter, an increase of 38.7 per cent from the first quarter of 2018 and in line with expectations. Net operating income (NOI) was $13.6-million, an increase of 41.4 per cent from last year, the company stated.

Its net loss was $17.9-million compared to net income of $14.5-million a year ago, which the company said was "primarily attributable to the fair value adjustments for Class B LP Units, in addition to interest rate swaps, and higher interest expense and other financing charges netted with the growth in NOI."

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Park Lawn Corp. (PLC-T) announced its first-quarter revenue increased 84.3 per cent year-over-year to $50.2-million as compared to $27.2-million in the first quarter of 2018. Net earnings attributable to shareholders increased to $3.3-million or 14 cents per share from $1.7-million or 11 cents a year ago. Analysts were expecting earnings of 15 cents and revenue or $51-million in the latest quarter.

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HLS Therapeutics Inc. (HLS-T) announced a $43.5-million a bought deal agreement with GMP Securities L.P. and Bloom Burton Securities Inc. as lead underwriters. The underwriters are buying 2.7 million common shares at a price of $16 each. The stock closed at $16.80 on Tuesday. HLS said the net proceeds will be used “for business development activities to support the launch of HLS’s growing pipeline of products and for working capital and general corporate purposes.”

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Leon’s Furniture Ltd. (LNF-T) reported revenue in the first quarter was $499.7-million, which was roughly in line with revenue of $500.7-million a year ago and expectations. Net income came in at $9.3-million or 14 cents per share versus net income of $14.5-million or 12 cents a year ago. Adjusted EPS was 17 cents versus 14 cents a year earlier and ahead of expectations of 14 cents.

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Yellow Pages Limited (Y-T) reported revenues for the first quarter decreased to $104.8-million as compared to $159.3-million for the same period last year. Net earnings of $12.7-million or 45 cents per share compared to a net loss of $900,000 or 3 cents a year earlier. Analysts were expecting revenue of $109.1-million and earnings of 19 cents per share in the latest quarter.

The company also announced it will make a $90-million senior secured debt repayment.

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StorageVault Canada Inc. (SVI-X) increased its quarterly dividend by half of a per cent and reported revenue for the first quarter increased to $26.2-million compared to $20.9-million for the same quarter last year. Analysts were expecting revenue to come in at $27.1-million. Its net loss of $8.8-million compared to a net loss of $7.8-million a year earlier.

The company also announced two separate agreements to acquire two stores in Ontario and one store in B.C. from two vendor groups for an aggregate purchase price of $55-million.

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Extendicare Inc. (EXE-T) reported first-quarter revenue of $274.3-million, up from $271.4-million a year ago and below expectations of $277.4-million. Net earnings of $3-million or 3 cents per share compared to net earnings of $4.8-million or 5 cents a year ago.

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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 27/03/24 1:58pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
PLC-T
Park Lawn Corp
+1.5%16.94
APR-UN-T
Automotive Properties REIT
+0.89%10.2
LNF-T
Leons Furniture
+0.62%22.89
HLS-T
Hls Therapeutics Inc
+0.28%3.62
FSZ-T
Fiera Capital Corp
+1.81%8.42
Y-T
Yellow Pages Ltd
+0.2%9.89
EXE-T
Extendicare Inc
+1.18%7.7

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