+ Harry Chupik; former Chairman and Co-founder of Canyon Plumbing & Heating Ltd., 69
+ Roy Little Chief; former Siksika First Nation Chief and rights advocate, 81
HUMAN RESOURCES + WORKPLACE TRENDS
+ office re-occupancy is beginning in most Canadian markets; safety procedures are being adopted by both landlords and tenants – be sure to watch the floor for arrows and spots to manage flow and distancing; most of all, elevator rides will prove challenging as distancing requirements will mean long delays waiting for an empty car …
+ will people want to continue working from home? … this Angus Reid Survey suggests a large portion of ‘working from home workforce’ want to stay away from their offices permanently
SAVE THE DATE / upcoming events
+ Aug. 22; Fresh Start Recovery’s 12 Stop Ride For Recovery Motorcycle Road Rally; save the date
+ 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. 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
+ Cineworld have pulled out of their transaction to acquired Cineplex Inc.; lots of comments about why it was the other party’s fault – COVID-19 at the core of it notwithstanding a clause in the deal; it looks like the only money to be made on this deal will be by lawyers for the parties and all those Cineplex landlords …
+ Empire Company Limited (parent of Sobeys and Safeway) announced 6 new location for its FreshCo discount brand, now to be 28 locations across western Canada; 2 of the 6 are in Alberta (Heritage and Tamarack) – an ongoing rationalization of redundant/underperforming stores from the Sobeys/Safeway combination …
+ Simon Property Group terminated its pending US$3.6 billion acquisition of Taubman Centers Inc.; the justification is that Taubman’s properties are disproportionately COVID19 risky as they house high-end retailers in densely populated areas – and lawyers will be busy litigating this one
+ Starbucks announced it will shutter 400 U.S. locations; will close 200 locations in Canada – the focus will be toward eliminating low volume ‘non-drive through’ locations
+ Alberta COVID-19 stats: 151 deaths, 7,452 cases so far: aggregate Alberta data - currently there are 31 Albertans are in the hospital with COVID-19, seven 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 starting June 12th ; state of public health emergency status for Calgary, and for Alberta, now lifted
+ 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 with
+ big hailstorm that hit Calgary on Saturday night expected to result in more than $1.0 billion in damage claims …
+ Chesapeake Energy Corporation is on the cusp of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing; negotiating US$900.0 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing
+ current energy prices; live link to current Bloomberg energy prices / OilPrice.com ; crude prices retreated this week on concerns about the elimination of production cuts by Saudi Arabia and reduced demand; meanwhile, the OPEC+ group agreed to continue their production cuts until the end of July … tic toc
+ Q’Max Group in receivership – KPMG is the receiver
+ AltaGas Ltd. closed $500.0 million sr. unsecured debt financing
+ Arianne Phosphate Inc. closed $1.5 million equity financing
+ Bank of Montreal is on the market to raise $1.5 billion in subordinated debt
+ EarthRenew Inc. is on the market to raise $5.0 million in equity by private placement
+ FSD Pharma Inc. closed $10.125 million equity raise by private placement
+ H&R REIT raised $400.0 million in sr. unsecured debt
+ Hudson’s Bay Company is on the market to raise US$900.0 million in debt
+ Rogers Communications Inc. is on the market to raise US$750.0 million in sr. unsecured debt
+ Teranet Holdings LP closed $550.0 million secured debt financing
~
*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 …
+ office re-occupancy is beginning in most Canadian markets; safety procedures are being adopted by both landlords and tenants – be sure to watch the floor for arrows and spots to manage flow and distancing; most of all, elevator rides will prove challenging as distancing requirements will mean long delays waiting for an empty car …
+ Spear Street Capital announced a redevelopment project for its three-building project in the Beltline (the former IBM Campus), now renamed The District; an expansion of 25,500 will create new retail space and an enclosed laneway, The Market Shed …
this week in REITS
+ BSR REIT acquired 303 door property, Wolf Ranch Apartments in Austin, TX, for $51.6 million
+ Granite REIT agreed to acquire 8 fully-leased U.S. distribution centres (Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Memphis) for $332.0 million; 4.0 million sq. ft.
+ H&R REIT raised $400.0 million in sr. unsecured debt
INTERESTING TRENDS IN INDUSTRIAL + LOGISTICS REAL ESTATE ...
+ Lowe’s Canada struck a lease deal for a new 1.23 million sq. ft. distribution centre in Rocky View County / NW Calgary; the developer is Highfield Investment Group – expected completion by fall 2021, capital cost $120.0 million
QUOTES
+ Innovation is a life or death proposition – as never before. – Tom Peters
+ It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. - Aristotle
KUDOS
+ to those who’ve stretched to help others: BLG donating 2020 lbs. of food to the food bank during ‘Stampede Week’; KFC Canada for donating 200,000 meals to Food Banks Canada; The Rogers Family for contributing $60.0 million to agencies supporting COVID-19 issues
+ Canada Infrastructure Bank sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Alberta Transportation to study the feasibility of a downtown Calgary to Banff rail link; 130-km / 6 stops project would be constructed using CPR’s corridor to aid tourism and reduce highway congestion …
+ the Government of Canada made an announcement last week - $244.0 million fir 2020-2021 for infrastructure in Alberta – using funds from the federal Gas Tax Fund. Spread over 347 communities that is a trickle/token re-announcement that won’t go far or last long, recycling money we paid at the pump …
