Petroleum storage tanks at the Suncor operations near Fort McMurray, Alberta, in this September 17, 2014, file photo.TODD KOROL/Reuters
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
COS shares trade closer to Suncor offer
The gap between the price of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. shares and Suncor Energy Inc.'s hostile offer for the company has narrowed, suggesting some investors may be betting a friendly deal could yet be hammered out.
COS surged 5 per cent on Thursday, putting the stock less than 6 per cent below the implied value of Suncor's as-yet unsuccessful $4.3-billion all-stock bid. That compares with more than 11 per cent on Friday, when the suitor extended its offer to Jan. 27 after failing to secure enough shares to its bid.
Suncor has not disclosed the percentage of Canadian Oil Sands shares that were tendered. To be successful, it required two-thirds of those outstanding.
Suncor is offering one-quarter of one of its shares for each COS share, a fraction the target's chief executive officer has said undervalues his company's business and prospects.
Adding to speculation on Thursday, Alister Cowan, Suncor's chief financial officer, backed out of a presentation he had been scheduled to make to investors in Toronto. Story
VENTURE CAPITAL
Fintech venture capital firm IVP raises first fund since being spun out
A former Royal Bank of Canada venture capital firm specializing in fintech has raised its first fund since being spun out in late 2014 and rebranded as Information Venture Partners (IVP).
IVP has completed the initial close of what it calls Fund II (the first fund was started under RBC's ownership) with commitments of $72.5-million and a target of eventually reaching $100-million. Investors include Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund, Teralys Capital Innovation Fund, Permal Capital Management and DH Corp. Some of that money originates from the federal government's $400-million Venture Capital Action Plan program, launched by the previous Conservative government.
A lot of hot money has poured into the fintech space, but general partners Robert Antoniades and David Unsworth are playing off their long track record as investors in the space going back 15 years.
"We're here because we've always been here," Mr. Antoniades said. Story
INSIGHT
Shaw Media sale has uncanny parallels to old CanWest deal
To justify his $2.6-billion purchase of Shaw Media, Corus Entertainment Inc. chief executive officer Doug Murphy is stressing two things: the power of women and the importance of content.
Should the deal get shareholder approval, Corus will own all six of the top six specialty channels watched by women – HGTV and W Network among them. Advertisers love this segment of the population because the vast majority of women are the CEOs of their households, meaning they're the ones who make most spending decisions.
As for content, Canada is littered with channels and streaming options, so it's easy to distribute shows. Making such shows is another story. Because it requires such unique skills, and because there is an abundance of buyers, anyone who produces good content can make impressive money.
This rationale might sound familiar, because it is. Eerily similar arguments were made when Shaw first built its media arm by acquiring CanWest Global Communications Corp. for $2-billion in 2010. Story
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