+ Sept. 22-24; BOMEX 2020, 20th Annual Building Excellence Summit, JW Marriott Parq, Vancouver; save the date
+ Sept. 29-30; Business Transitions Forum, Westin Edmonton; info/registration
+ Sept. 30; Vancouver Real Estate Forum, Vancouver Convention Centre West, Vancouver; info/register
+ Oct. 21; Alberta Real Estate Forum, Edmonton; info/register
+ Oct. 27-28; Supply Change EXPO, Stampede Park, Calgary; register
+ Oct. 28; BOMEX 2020 Virtual
+ Oct. 29-30; Business Transitions Forum, Westin Calgary; info/registration
+ Nov. 6; 6th Annual Barney Bentall and Cariboo Express/Peter Burgener Memorial Charity Concert benefit for Classroom Champions; save the date/information
+ Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. agreed to re-develop renewable power projects; initial projects will be co-gen facilities at existing Chevron projects in Texas, New Mexico, Argentina, Kazakhstan, and Western Australia
RETAINED EXECUTIVE SEARCH - For more information, click here.
INTERESTING RETAIL TRENDS ...
+ California Pizza Kitchen filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; they have 200 restaurants in eight countries, will restructure to close unprofitable locations, reduce debt – using US$46.8 DIP (debtor in possession) financing to complete the restructuring in 3 months
+ DavidsTea restructuring progress; plans to reopen 18 Canadian stores under new, more favourable lease terms; meanwhile, they’ve notified landlords of termination of 82 Canadian stores
+ Dunkin’ Brands Group expects to close 800 of its Dunkin’ locations in the U.S. this year and a further 350 internationally
+ Instacart and Costco joined forces to initiate a same-delivery from 76 Costco location in Canada;
+ Landmark Cinemas re-opened its theatres across Ontario on July 31st;
+ Laura’s Shoppe (P.V.) Inc. (140 stores, Laura and Melanie Lyne) started restructuring process; secured CCAA protection; KPMG is monitor
+ The Brick expanded to New Brunswick and PEI; stores now in Saint John, Charlottetown, and most recently in Fredericton
+ 7-Eleven owner Seven & i Holdings Co., a Japanese firm, is taking a big gulp – outbidding Canadian rival Alimentation Couche-Tarde Inc. – to acquire Marathon Petroleum’s 3,900 Speedway gas station unit for US$21.0 billion
+ Alberta COVID-19 stats: 196 deaths, 1,396 active cases of 10,843 cases to date: aggregate Alberta data – currently, 86 Albertans are in the hospital with COVID-19, and 17 of those are in intensive care units
+ Alberta did a Stage 2 relaunch, allowing many more businesses to re-open and allowing a wider range of public gathering activities started June 12th; state of public health emergency status for Calgary, and for Alberta, now lifted. The maximum size of outdoor gatherings has been raised to 200
+ ABTraceTogether – get the APP; GOA has launched an app which, if loaded on your phone, enables contact tracing in the event you or someone you’ve been near contracts COVID-19; this is something we should all consider getting on-board
+ Alpine Park, a Dream Unlimited project was launched with a ground-breaking event; the $2.5 billion, 646-acred greenfield development will unfold as a 476-acre highly-walkable community modeled after the Distillery District in Toronto; 15-yr. build out will be home to 10,000 residents. The SW section/leg of the Calgary Ring Road (under development) will provide access to this development.
+ a NEW publication coming soon; I will start publishing PROPERTY LINES, a monthly newsletter focused on investment real estate, property management, foreclosures and insolvency in Alberta, and including trend indicators from national and international sources
+ Bird Construction Inc. entered into an agreement with Stuart Olson Inc; Bird to acquire Stuart Olson for $96.5 million; deal to close in 4th qtr, 2020
+ Bonavista Energy Corporation got senior noteholder and shareholder approval for its recapitalization transaction
+ SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. announced it will close or sell its resource operation in 21 of the 30 countries it operates in; staff reductions from 15,000 to 6,000 planned by end of 2020
+ Southcentre mall’s owner Oxford Properties announced plans to re-tenant the former Sears store; Dollarama, PetSmart, and Winners will occupy 100,000 sq. ft. of main floor space between fall 2020 and spring 2021; the remaining 135,000 sq. ft. will be developed with five tenants, expected to open in 2022
+ TC Energy Corp. got an expansion permit for Keystone Pipeline; from 590,000 bpd increased to 760,000 bpd
+ Total took a $9.3 billion write-down of its oilsands assets, $7.3 billion of that related to its investment in the Fort Hills mine operated by its partner Suncor
SHAREHOLDER MEETINGS
+ Aug. 7; Bridgemarq Real Estate Services Inc., Annual Meeting of Shareholders, (virtual only)
+ Aug. 12; Sylogist Ltd., Special and Annual General Meeting, Calgary
+ Aug. 13; VIA Rail Canada, Annual Public Meeting, (virtual only)
+ Aug. 18; Optiva Inc., Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders, Toronto
+ Aug. 24; Artis REIT, Annual Meeting of Unitholders, (virtual only)
+ Aug. 25; Just Energy Group Inc., Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders, Toronto
+ Aug. 31; Alaris Royalty Corp., Special Meeting of Shareholders, Calgary
+ Sept.. 9; HMH China Investments Limited, Annual General Meeting, Niagara Falls, NY
+ Sept. 10; Covington Venture Fund Inc., Special Meeting of Shareholders, Toronto
+ Dec. 15; Karnalyte Resources Inc., Special Meeting of Shareholders, Saskatoon
+ Last Mile Holdings Ltd. is on the market to raise $7.0 million in equity by private placement
+ Pieridae Energy Limited secured $6.0 million guarantee facility
+ Siyata Mobile Inc. closed $1.4 million equity financing by private placement
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*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 or non-arm’s-length transactions …
+ Bird Construction Inc. entered into an agreement with Stuart Olson Inc; Bird to acquire Stuart Olson for $96.5 million; deal to close in 4th qtr, 2020
+ Choice Properties REIT acquired two properties from Wittington Properties Limited; $206.0 million by the issuance of 16.5 million units in the REIT – sites are retail and mixed-use elements of a Loblaws anchored property and the Weston Centre, a mixed-use site housing a Loblaws
+ ERES REIT agreed to acquire the Doorwerth Property, 120-door residential property in Renkum, Netherlands for $31.9 million
+ Link REIT (from Hong Kong) acquired 25 Cabot Square (481,605 sq. ft.) in London, UK for US$475.0 million from Himes Global REIT
INFRASTRUCTURE + P3
+ Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. agreed to re-develop renewable power projects; initial projects will be co-gen facilities at existing Chevron projects in Texas, New Mexico, Argentina, Kazakhstan, and Western Australia
+ Hydro One Limited completed its acquisition of Peterborough Distribution Inc.
QUOTES
+ Every positive value has its price in negative terms … the genius of Einstein leads to Hiroshima. – Pablo Picasso
+ If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes. – John Wooden
SAVE THE DATE - CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENTS
+ Sept. 11; Alberta Treasury Management Charity Classic – in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area, Canmore Golf & Curling Club; info/registration