+ Microsoft Inc. invested US$1.0 billion in an ‘exclusive computing partnership’ with OpenAI to develop ‘friendlier’ direction for artificial intelligence
QUOTES
+ Live in such a way that if anyone should speak badly of you, no one would believe it. – unknown
+ There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up. – John Holmes
+ Sept. 17-19; Canadian Association of Professional Landmen (CAPL), 2019 Conference, Calgary; info/register
+ Sept. 19; Uncorking Potential fundraiser (formerly known as the Peter Gzowski Invitational) for canLEARN Society, Fort Calgary, Calgary; info/tickets
+ July 23; WestJet Airlines Ltd., Special Meeting of Shareholders, Calgary
+ Aug. 6; Echelon Financial Holdings Inc., Annual General Meeting, Toronto
+ Aug 6; GMP Capital Inc., Meeting of Common Shareholders, Toronto
+ Aug. 16; Street Capital Group Inc., Special Meeting of Shareholders, Toronto
+ Aug. 21; NASCA (Northern Alberta Shopping Centre Assoc.) Charity Tournament in support of KidSport Edmonton, Belvedere Golf and Country Club, Sherwood Park; info/register
+ Aug. 23; theScore Inc., Shareholder Meeting, Toronto
+ Crown Realty Partners and Plaza Partners partnered (50/50 JV) to acquire 30 Eglinton Ave. in Mississauga, ON; substantial redevelopment potential on the 113,435 sq. ft. office building on 6.4 acres; terms not disclosed
+ in San Francisco, Google formed a US$15.0 billion partnership with Australia’s LendLease to develop a broad range of real estate (office, hotel, retail, residential) projects in the Bay Area
+ Prologis Inc. agreed to acquire Black Creek Group’s Industrial Property Trust Inc. portfolio (37.5 million sq. ft.) for US$4.0 billion
CLIMATE CHANGE + LEED + RENEWABLE ENERGY
+ Trudeau government dropped $22.0 million on Calgary to set up an urban climate centre (Alberta Ecotrust Foundation will operate); Edmonton got one too – there will be seven across the country
HEADLINES: AltaGas asset sale | Blackstone selling LNG interest | City of Calgary / Flames agree on new arena | Connacher restructuring approved | Plains Midstream ‘route to the Gulf’ for Alberta crude| SNC-Lavalin $1.9 billion write down/restructuring + Denise Baril interview + deals + rig counts + upcoming events, appointments, Golf Tournaments + REIT NEWS + financings
current week data
this site is refreshed with a new issue every Tuesday
updated July 23, 2019
Editor/Publisher: Mark Kolke
CONVERSATIONS
FACILITYCalgary Publisher Mark Kolke interviews interesting people. He seeks a glimpse of what drives them, how they see the world and what they see in Calgary's future:
This week's conversation with Denise Baril, Founder/Pres. @ Workplace Speaker Network
A recent conversation with Neil Camarta, Pres. & CEO @ Field Upgrading and former Sr. VP Oilsands @ Suncor and Royal Dutch Shell
+ Granite REIT acquired three (Ohio, Mississippi, Netherlands) properties (1.3 million sq. ft.) for US$120.0 million
+ Granite REIT spent US$33.9 million to acquire development land in Houston; it will develop in a JV with North Point Development – plans for 2.5 million sq. ft. business park
+ NexPoint Hospitality Trust and Condor Hospitality Trust Inc. agreed to merger; US$318.0 million transaction will have NexPoint acquire all of Condor
+ Pure Multi-Family REIT agreed to be acquired by Cortland Partners LLC who will take the business private for US$1.2 billion; transaction contains a 25-day ‘go shop’ period … tic toc
+ Alberta judge blocked B.C.’s efforts to block Alberta’s ‘turn off the taps’ legislation; referred the matter to Federal Court of Canada if BC wants to proceed … tic toc
+ AltaGas Ltd. agreed to sell a portfolio subsidiary and JV U.S. solar and fuel cell power generation assets for US$720.0 million
+ Blackstone Group Inc. is on the market to sell its US$1.5 billion stake in Cheniere Energy Inc.’s LNG limited partnership
+ Connacher Oil and Gas Limited got creditor and court approval of its restructuring plan; CCAA protection stayed
+ current energy prices; live link to current Bloomberg energy prices / OilPrice.com; crude markets steady but jittery over Strait of Hormuz conflicts and annual Mexican government hedging trades; natural gas prices rise on higher cooling heatwave/demand in U.S.
+ Great-West Life Assurance Company, London Life Insurance Company and Canada Life Assurance Company got board approval for their amalgamation; will operated as The Canada Life Assurance Company
+ Kinder Morgan got U.S. regulatory approval for its Mississippi Gulf LNG export facility; capacity will be to explored 10.85 million tonnes/year
+ NEB resumed regulatory permitting process for TransMountain expansion project, restored orders and decisions made prior to the court ruling that put the project on hold …
+ Plains Midstream Canada creating an interesting pipeline solution; three components: reversal of existing Rangeland pipeline to take crude to Montana from Alberta, JV with P66 to build a new pipeline from Alberta border to Cushing, and a JV with P66 to build a new pipeline from Cushing to the Gulf of Mexico
+ rig counts – U.S.: down 4 to 954 this week; Canada: up 1 to 118 this week; full breakdown
+ SNC-Lavalin announced a corporate restructuring and $1.9 billion write-down; they are exiting the lump-sum turnkey contracting business – restructuring/change of corporate direction will result in substantial costs to be announced soon; company is committed to completing work in progress and its sale of its interest in 407ETR Inc.. Stock in at its lowest level since 2005 and Canadian criminal charges involving overseas projects still pending. Meanwhile Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec’s CEO lashed out at them, demanding change – though analysts now speculate the stock is undervalued … tic toc
+ UK politics; Boris Johnson elected leader of the Conservative Party, will succeed Teresa May as Prime Minister. Johnson has been pro-Brexit so conflict with EU on terms and markets volatility is likely … tic toc
THIS WEEK IN FINANCINGS
- proposed & closed
+ Bank of Nova Scotia closed US$500.0 million green bond debt financing
+ CI Financial Corp. closed $350.0 million debt financing
+ Firm Capital American Realty Partners Corp. is on the market to raise $20.0 million in convertible debt
+ First Capital Realty Inc. closed $200.0 million sr. unsecured debt financing
+ Garda World Security Corporation secured US$194.5 million credit facility
+ Keith Podmoroff to Dir. Human Resources @ Viking Air Limited
+ Royal Bank of Canada is on the market to raise $1.5 billion in sub. debt
+ Vendasta Technologies Inc. closed $40.0 million in equity
~
*editor’s note: names companies involved in debt financing transactions we report in this section are ALWAYS the borrower; we report ‘fresh raises’ and do not report secondary offerings …
INFRASTRUCTURE / P3
+ Calgary Flames and Calgary City Council negotiations regarding a deal/funding structure for a new arena to replace the Saddledome; estimated to be $550-600.0 million in capital cost; ratification of the deal is expected to happen at July 29th council meeting … tic toc
+ high speed rail from Portland to Vancouver? … report released by Washington State Transportation Dept.; 400 page business case for the transportation link supported by BC, Oregon and Washington governments and Microsoft … don’t hold your breath; capital costs of US$42.0 billion in 2017 …
+ our ‘solution’ for flooding – news the Springbank flood prevention dam project hit another delay; Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency request for ‘more information’ beyond the 8,000 page submission seems, to this cynic, connected to the Tsuu T’ina Nation objections … it’s election season and we should be suspicious of project delays like this ... tic toc
CONSTRUCTION NEWS + INNOVATION
+ Cesar Pelli, architect of World Financial Center, Petronas Towers – died at 93; interview/photos
+ SNC-Lavalin announced a corporate restructuring and $1.9 billion write-down; they are exiting the lump-sum turnkey contracting business – restructuring/change of corporate direction will result in substantial costs to be announced soon; company is committed to completing work in progress and its sale of its interest in 407ETR Inc.. Stock in at its lowest level since 2005 and Canadian criminal charges involving overseas projects still pending. Meanwhile Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec’s CEO lashed out at them, demanding change – though analysts now speculate the stock is undervalued … tic toc
INTERESTING TRENDS IN RETAIL
+ L.L. Bean, the Maine catalogue retailer will open its first physical store in Canada, in Oakville, Aug. 23rd; venture is a JV with Jaytex Group
+ Onex Cor. sold its Jack’s Family Restaurants unit for a big gain to an undisclosed buyer; acquired for US$234.0 million in 2015, sold for US$835.0 million
INTERESTING TRENDS IN INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE
+ Compass Datacenters is investing US$3.0 billion in new datacenters in multi-state U.S. expansion (first two in Arizona and Virginia; deals will be financed in JV structures with RedBird Capital, and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Azrieli Group
INTERESTING TRENDS IN OFFICE REAL ESTATE
+ this is a ‘give your head a shake’ issue; everyone’s been awed by the rapid growth and success of WeWork – both the hype and reality of their growth. This week, in advance of its upcoming IPO, the co-founder and CEO Adam Neumann pulled out US$700.0 million … yeah, seems like ‘payday’ before the payoff. I wonder how investors will see this – sleight-of-hand, ego running wild, or reasonable compensation for the CEO? In the grand scheme, co-working and WeWork are in their infancy. Too soon to say, but this looks like shooting yourself in the foot before you walk or run … tic toc
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