In this file photo Nestlé's directors speak in front of the Nestlé's logo during the general meeting of Nestlé Group, in Lausanne, Switzerland.Laurent Gillieron/The Globe and Mail
Mark Skapinker built some of Canada's top software firms in the 1990s, then became one of Canada's leading venture capitalists in the 2000s. Now, he's drawing on both experiences with his latest plan: to turn traditional venture capital on its head. Story (Sean Silcoff)
With consumers embracing healthier lifestyles and conglomerates scrambling to keep pace with fast-changing food choices, global giant Nestlé SA is shelling out $2.3-billion (U.S.) to acquire Montreal's Atrium Innovations Inc., a privately owned company that specializes in natural and organic nutritional products. Story. (Tim Kiladze and Nicolas Van Praet)
It took a string of major hurricanes to dent Bank of Montreal's fourth-quarter earnings, capping an otherwise strong year that revealed few weaknesses in the Big Six banks' capacity to churn out greater profits. Story (James Bradshaw)
Laurentian Bank said an audit had found "documentation issues and client misrepresentations" on some mortgages it had sold to another company, triggering the worst one-day selloff in its shares since 2009. Story
DEAL WRAP
The Bank of Nova Scotia says its offer to buy a sizable stake in a Chilean bank for $2.9-billion has been accepted. Story
Walt Disney Co is in the lead to acquire much of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc's media empire, though rival suitor Comcast Corp remains in contention, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Story
Britain's Cineworld Group Plc has agreed to buy U.S. movie theatre operator Regal Entertainment Group for $3.6-billion (U.S.) in cash, the companies said on Tuesday. Story
Financial software giant Intuit has announced plans to acquire TSheets, the company behind the eponymous time-tracking and employee scheduling app, in an all-cash deal valued at around $340 million (U.S.). VentureBeat
Industrial drone platform provider Kespry has raised $33 million (U.S.) in a series C round of funding led by G2VP, with participation from Cisco Investments, Shell Technology Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, DCM Ventures, Spectrum 28, ABB Ventures, and H. Barton Asset Management. VentureBeat
ELSEWHERE IN FINANCIAL SERVICES
One recent case that consistently crops up among those interested in mergers and acquisitions is the Eco Oro decision, in which the Ontario Securities Commission exercised its public interest jurisdiction and ordered extraordinary relief in considering a proxy contest. Opinion
WHAT WE'RE READING
The country's six biggest lenders set aside $14.3 billion ($11.3 billion U.S.) for variable compensation -- up 11 per cent from 2016 -- as a record year in trading and investment banking swelled bonus pools. That's the biggest jump since 2014 and stands in contrast to last year, when a 3.4 per cent increase was the lowest since 2010. Bloomberg
A Morgan Stanley analyst said Tesla Inc. could struggle on its own and that Elon Musk's attention may wander more toward his other-worldly endeavors, potentially leading to a combination with SpaceX. Bloomberg
The European Union said banks and other traders in the bloc can use U.S. platforms to comply with MiFID II restrictions on derivatives, as policy makers moved to prevent a rupture in the $542 trillion (U.S.) global market less than a month before the EU law kicks in. Bloomberg
Six weeks ago, Assa Abloy announced it was buying San Francisco-based smart lock company August Home. Today, that deal has closed, and August is now officially owned by the Swedish lock giant. VentureBeat