+ Bob Clark; former MLA for Olds-Didsbury, Minister of Youth and Minister of Education and Alberta’s first Ethics Commissioner; 83
+ Gary Levine; former Edmonton retailer (Levine’s Shoes), financial planner/life underwriter; 87
[editor’s note – it’s a small world: Bob Clark spoke at my Lord Beaverbrook High School graduation, and I ‘very nearly’ bought Levine’s Shoes from Gary in 1980 … ]
+ 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
+ solar farm to be built at Edmonton International Airport; agreement between the Edmonton Regional Airports Authority and Alpin Sun will bet 627-acre, 120MW operation on the west side of the airfield, will involve 340,000 solar panels – capital expenditures of $169.0 million
+ Aritzia Inc. announced plans to open new stores in New York and Los Angeles
+ Bed Bath & Beyond announced plans to close 200 stores over the next two years
+ Brooks Brothers filed for Chapter 11 creditor protection; 500 stores worldwide – restructuring plan underway
+ Couche-Tard growing again; Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is reportedly in discussions to acquire Speedway chain of gas stations from Marathon Petroleum Corp., expected to be a US$15.0 billion addition to the 7,300 locations Couche-Tard already owns in the U.S. … tic toc
+ David’s Tea secured CCAA protection; they are closing 124 stores (82 in Canada, and all 42 of its stores in the U.S.); negotiations on leases underway for the 100 stores they seek to keep operating in Canada … tic toc
+ Dilawri Group of Companies acquired Lexus Laval; terms not disclosed
+ Le Chateau’s 124 stores future is in doubt; company working with lenders to assess the ongoing viability
+ Starbucks announced, effective July 15th, customers at all of its 9,000 U.S. store location must wear masks [it seems this is an example whereby retailers could, if they all took this stance, could create a result that politicians are reluctant to try – which is, ordering mask-wearing by everyone in public places] …
+ Toys, Toys, Toys (5 stores in GTA) filed for bankruptcy; liquidating all assets and inventory
+ Alberta COVID-19 stats: 161 deaths, 8,826 cases to date: aggregate Alberta data – currently, 45 Albertans are in the hospital with COVID-19, and 10 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
+ Cabot Energy Inc. filed an NOI, looking to make a proposal; Grant Thornton is proposed trustee
+ Canada-U.S. border is likely to remain closed to non-essential travel until Aug. 21st notwithstanding lots of anxious travellers – which doesn’t explain all those U.S. licence plates in Canmore this past weekend … tic toc
+ current energy prices; live link to current Bloomberg energy prices / OilPrice.com; crude prices steady, upticking for WTI and Brent; still, concerns about forecast inventories through mid 2021 [ OECD inventories ] cannot be ignored; and yesterday prices slipped in anticipation OPEC+ group will ease their supply cuts
+ hailstorm in Calgary on June 13 damage tally is in; $1.2 billion in insured losses damage, deemed 4th costliest natural disaster in Canadian history according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada
+ Invest Alberta Corporation was established by the Government of Alberta to market the province in other countries; Bill 33 – the Alberta Investment Attraction Act establishes the corporation
+ Irving Oil cut 250 jobs, about 6% of its workforce due to the slumping COVID economy
+ Korite International entered CCAA protection; BDO appointed monitor
+ Lemay+Toker has rebranded as Lemay
+ Northern Silica Corporation entered CCAA creditor protection; Alvarez & Marsal was appointed monitor
+ rig counts (active/working) – U.S.: down 5 to 258 this week; Canada: up 8 to 26 this week; full breakdown
+ Shell Scotford refinery has resumed its turnaround; the first turnaround in five years had been stalled by COVID-19 shutdown issues
+ Tamarack Valley Energy agreed to acquire a portfolio of West Central Alberta assets for $4.25 million
+ TC Energy’s KeystoneXL pipeline project is moving ahead on the Canadian side, but construction on the U.S. side schedule for August is now postponed. I U.S. Supreme Court ruling leaves in place an order requiring a hold on construction over environmental permit issues. TC expects construction on the U.S. side to begin in 2021
+ Tricon Capital Group Inc. changes its name to Tricon Residential Inc.
SHAREHOLDER MEETINGS
+ July 15; Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund, postponed 2020 Annual General Meeting, Richmond, BC
+ July 30; Obsidian Energy Ltd., Annual General Meeting, Calgary
+ Aug. 7; Bridgemarq Real Estate Services Inc., Annual Meeting of Shareholders, (virtual only)
+ 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)
+ Sept.. 9; HMH China Investments Limited, Annual General Meeting, Niagara Falls, NY
+ Birks Group Inc. closed a $10.0 million secured sub. debt raise
+ Cineplex Inc. is on the market to raise $275.0 million in unsecured sub. debt
+ Concert Properties secured $71.5 million green-loan debt financing
+ Drone Delivery Canada Corp. is on the market to raise $5.0 million in equity
+ Great-West Lifeco Inc. closed $250.0 million debt financing
+ Great-West Lifeco Inc. is on the market to raise another $250.0 million debt financing
+ Royal Helium Ltd. closed $1.0 million equity financing by private placement
+ The Very Good Food Company Inc. is on the market to raise $7.41 million in equity
+ Valeo Pharma Inc. closed $1.7 million equity financing by private placement
~
*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 …
+ Kellogg Brown & Root Limited have announced and notified their customers they are no longer prepared to offer lump sum turnkey engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (“EPCC”). It appears this will impact contracts in place for such KBR work in progress. Pieridae Energy Limited, planning its Goldboro LNG Facility appear to be affected; lawyers will no doubt be getting busy on this … tic toc
+ thyssenkrupp Elevator Canada acquired Winnipeg Elevator Group
this week in REITS + TRUSTS
+ Alignvest Student Housing REIT agreed to acquire a 72-bed property adjacent to the University of Alberta campus; terms not disclosed
+ BTB REIT closed the disposition of 1001 Sherbrooke Street in Montreal for $21.6 million
+ Granite REIT closed its acquisition of eight income-producing properties/4.0 million sq. f.t (Memphis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis) and a 36-acre development site in Fort Worth for $332.0 million
INFRASTRUCTURE + P3
+ Cordelio Power acquired two wind projects under development in Illinois from Swift Current Energy; 350MW capacity
+ in Edmonton, the GOA committed $120.0 million to upgrade Terwillegar Driver; construction will begin in 2021
QUOTES
+ It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that counts. – Zig Ziglar
+ If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things. – Rene Descartes
