A customer browses a Liquor Depot store location in Calgary, Wednesday, August 25, 2004.Jeff McIntosh/The Globe and Mail
Bay Street is toasting a successful pre-Christmas bought deal this week from Liquor Stores N.A. Ltd., an Edmonton-based operator of 246 alcohol retailers in Alberta, British Columbia, Alaska and Kentucky.
Scotiabank and CIBC led the offering announced Monday, committing to buy 3.4 million common shares for $14.65 a piece, for gross proceeds of $50-million. That will rise another $7.5-million if the underwriters buy an extra 512,250 shares as part of their over-allotment option.
The stock sale is notable for its popularity with investors. The deal was three times oversubscribed, and the bankers were able to price the stock at a discount of just 1.7 per cent to its last trade, sources familiar with the deal told Streetwise. That's on the low end, as discounts typically range between 1 per cent and 4 per cent. Assuming the underwriters earn their standard four per cent commission on the offering, that should translate into $2.3-million in fees.
Liquor Stores is a relatively solid performer that has seen its stock rebound after sinking below $11 this past summer. Revenue in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 rose 5.2 per cent over the same period a year earlier, to $181.9-million. The company has been targeting organic growth in the low-single digits, percentage-wise, and is on track to open seven new stores this year and another 11 in 2015, mostly in Canada. The company also pays a $1.08 annualized dividend, offering a yield of more than 7 per cent. That's enough to give any portfolio a good buzz.
Sean Silcoff