+ Rogers Communications is the first to market with 5G smartphone service in Canada; Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, downtown Vancouver so far – 20 more cities rolling out later this year
SAVE THE DATE / upcoming events
+ Mar. 26-27; DARE TO LEAD by Incito, Vancouver; info/register
+ July 15-16; Willow Park Golf and County Club Charity Classic in support of Calgary Reads, Calgary; info/registration/waiting list
+ Aug. 10; 2020 Legends for Learners Tournament in support of The Education Partnership Foundation, Valley Ridge Golf Course, Calgary; sponsorship - info/register
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO NEGOTIATE AN OFFICE LEASE IN CALGARY in the last 20 years, and I doubt we'll see better terms in the next 10 years than we can negotiate now; let's discuss your needs now; please call me at your convenience - Mark Kolke, 403-444-6939 - or send me an email: kolke@markkolke.comto discuss how we can deliver a solid impact on your bottom line. Saving money by reducing costs is sound thinking in any market climate - sometimes a move is in order, sometimes a renegotiation is best. Mark Kolke, Agent, MaxWell South Star Realty
+ Amazon announced it will hire 100,000 more warehouse and delivery workers in the U.S. in response to surge in online shopping triggered by the COVID-10 virus
+ Apple temporarily closing all stores outside China (stores in China already closed) for two weeks due to the COVID-19 virus
+ Cineplex announced closure of its theatres March 16 – April 2nd; re-openings to be assessed then
+ Cineworld’s $2.8 billion takeover of Cineplex closing delayed due to COVID-19 concerns
+ ICSC postponed this year’s Recon convention event in Las Vegas scheduled for May 17-19; no new dates announced yet
+ Lululemon closing all stores until further notice
+ Neiman Marcus closing its outlet stores to focus on core business
+ Nordstrom is closing its stores in Canada and the U.S. for two weeks; 116 full-line stores, 248 Nordstrom Rack stores
+ Nike Inc. closed all their stores Mar. 16-27 to limit spread COVID-19 virus
+ North West Company selling 34 of its 46 Giant Tiger stores in Western Canada to the Giant Tiger Stores Ltd., the parent company; 6 stores will be closed (Red Deer, Fort Saskatchewan, Wetaskiwin, North Battleford, and Weyburn)
+ Nygard Group going into creditor protection; Farber is the proposed trustee
+ Orangetheory Fitness closing all locations across Canada until further notice
+ Alberta COVID-19 cases are, so far, all related to travel; the underpinning policy of GOA is to ‘don’t go out when sick’ and to self-isolate; schools are staying open, for now. An online self-assessment tool has been widely used by Albertans who are concerned their ill-health might by COVID-19; the tool is being modified to allow those who self-assess as potentially infected to book appointments – so stay tuned for news on that issue
+ Alberta’s sky is not falling – Premier Kenny is handling the politics, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer, is handling the science and medical issues most ably; all K-12 classes canceled until further notice; health department budget boosted by $500.0 million …
+ Alberta-wide ban on gatherings/meetings of more than 250 people; many churches, colleges, and business organization postponing or canceling events …
+ ARC Resources Ltd. announced it reduces its 2016CapEx Budget to $300.0 million
+ Bank of Canada; dropped overnight rate by 50 basis points to now be at 3/4 of 1%; chartered banks and other lenders have reduced their prime rates in tandem
+ Birchcliff Energy Ltd. reduced its 2020CapEx Budget to $275.0 million
+ Calgarians are self-isolating, working from home, and understandably frightened – vacationers are vacillating on taking trips, people who are away are wrestling with getting home, and worrying if they will have to self-isolate for two weeks when they get back; answer, yes. Meanwhile, store shelves are being stripped daily and merchants are doing yeoman service to re-stock as people stalk up on food, cleaning supplies, and paper products. The City of Calgary has declared a state of local emergency; libraries, YMCA, pools, recreation centres, and arenas are all closed
+ Canada locked down: borders and air travel closed to all non-Canadian entrants; Canadians who are out of the country are allowed to return subject to screening, isolation, and/or quarantining if required; exemption for U.S. citizens, for now … tic toc
+ Canada in crisis mode: Trudeau government promising economic aid package to help businesses, and assistance to individuals who can’t pay rent, buy groceries, etc.; stimulus package of $10.0 billion coming … thin on details; click here for Canadian government news and announcements on COVID-19
+ Canadians returning to Canada must come through one of only four airports: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary; Edmonton no longer accepting international flights – however, these tighter restrictions have exemptions, for now at least, for flights from the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, Saint Pierre, and Miquelon …
+ Chesapeake Energy Corp. engaged restructuring advisors
+ City of Calgary invoked its Municipal Emergency Plan to deal with COVID-19 issues; Fired Chief Tom Sampson is in charge of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA); Health Link 811 is Alberta Health Services
+ Cordy Oilfield Services Inc. agreed to acquire Platinum North Resources and Heart River Holdings (2011) Ltd. for $4.25 million
+ countries on full or partial border closures and lockdowns: Canada, China, France, Italy, Spain,
+ rig counts (active/working) – U.S.: down 1 to 792 this week; Canada: down 28 to 175 this week; full breakdown
+ Seven Generations Energy reduced its 2020CapEx Budget by 18% to $900.0 million
+ stock markets all over the planet have been routed; no end in sight as government stimulus package promises and reduced interest rates failed to stabilize market confidence
+ TransAlta Corporation and Tidewater Midstream & Infrastructure Ltd. agreed to sell their Pioneer Pipeline to TC Energy sub. NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. for $255.0 million
+ TransGlobe Energy Corporation revised its 2020CapEx Budget to $7.1 million
+ U.S. Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate to 0.0% (zero percent) ~ the rate it charges banks, an effort to stimulate lending and to support the economy due to COVID-19 pandemic; also instituting a US$700.0 billion quantitative-easing bond buying initiative
+ USMCA (the NEW NAFTA treaty) agreement ratified by the Canadian government – pending Royal Assent
+ Vermilion Energy Inc. reduced its 2020CapEx Budget to $350.0 million
+ Wesbell Technologies Inc. acquired Vista Telecom Networks Inc.; terms not disclosed
THIS WEEK IN FINANCINGS
- proposed & closed
+ Demand Power Group Inc. closed US$71.0 million equity financing
+ Firm Capital American Realty Partners Trust closed US$4.147 million equity financing
+ Helix BioPharma Corp. closed $6.0 million equity financing by private placement
+ Kneat.com Inc. closed $12.651 million equity financing by private placement
+ NanoXplore Inc. is on the market to raise $25.0 million in equity by private placement
+ OncoQuest Inc. closed US$50.0 million equity financing by private placement
+ Ridgewood Canadian Investment Grade Bond Fund is on the market to raise $11.9 million in equity
+ RioCan REIT closed $350.0 million ‘green bond’ debt financing
+ Torque Esports Corp., is on the market to raise $4.0 million in equity by private placement
+ WELL Health Technologies Corp. closed 2nd tranche, $10.0 million in convertible debt 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 …
INFRASTRUCTURE + P3
+ Boralex Inc. four projects (180MW) were successful in a New York state RFP process
+ Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec agreed to acquire Plenary Americas (36 projects); terms not disclosed
+ CPPIB completed its transaction to acquire 100% of the shares of Pattern Energy Group Inc. (28 projects, 4.4GW)
+ Amazon is growing its presence in New York City; they are buying the landmark Lord & Taylor building for US$1.15 billion; WeWork had bought the property from HBC, parent of Lord & Taylor. Amazon will use the 11-story/660,000 sq. ft. building as its New York HQ, and house several thousand employees there
+ Russia is finally releasing information on their circumstances, but the numbers of infected (their disclosed country total of COVID-19 infected persons upped from 34 to 50 yesterday) and announced plans for a 500-bed temporary hospital don’t square with logic; they are building a 430,000 sq. m. (that’s 4.6 million sq. ft.) on the outskirts of Moscow … tic toc
+ ViveRE Communities Inc. closed their $13.5 million acquisition of 124 door project in Moncton, New Brunswick
INTERESTING TRENDS IN INDUSTRIAL + LOGISTICS REAL ESTATE
+ METRO Inc. is starting a $420.0 million construction investment in its Terrebone, QC automated distribution centre; 600,000 sq. ft. to open in 2023
INTERESTING TRENDS IN OFFICE
+ Amazon is growing its presence in New York City; they are buying the landmark Lord & Taylor building for US$1.15 billion; WeWork had bought the property from HBC, parent of Lord & Taylor. Amazon will use the 11-story/660,000 sq. ft. building as its New York HQ, and house several thousand employees there
FACILITYCalgarynewsletters may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without prior written permission. Mark Kolke, Editor/Publisher. All rights reserved. MaxComm Communications, a unit of PLANDflex Corporation - http://plandflex.com
- this site is maintained and updated weekly - last updated January 14th, 2023
