A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today
On the rise
Aphria Inc. (APHA-T) jumped 2.7 per cent on Monday after a premarket announcement that it has been granted a license amendment from Health Canada to commence production in an additional 800,000 square feet of facilities at its Aphria One facility in Leamington, Ont.
“This is a major milestone for Aphria on its path to becoming a leading global cannabis producer, as well as a positive development greatly anticipated by the Canadian cannabis industry,” said Irwin D. Simon, Interim CEO of Aphria. “Aphria’s progress expanding production and automation is essential to our strategy of securing scale and long-term advantages that enable the evolution of the cannabis industry through product and brand innovation. With Aphria One, we now have the ability to expand our production capacity by over three times.”
Power Corporation of Canada (POW-T) was up 2.4 per cent after announcing its intention to conduct a substantial issuer bid to repurchase for cancellation up to $1.35-billion of its subordinate voting shares.
Subsidiary Great-West Lifeco Inc. (GWO-T) rose 1.7 per cent after announcing its intent to repurchase for cancellation up to $2 billion of its common shares.
Harvest One Cannabis Inc. (HVT-X) rose 12.1 per cent after announcing an agreement to buy Delivra Corp. (DVA-X), a Hamilton-based biotechnology company.
Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of Delivra will receive 0.595 common shares of Harvest One for each Delivra share.
“The acquisition of Delivra by Harvest One puts further emphasis on the Harvest One goal of being a leading house of brands in the global health, wellness, and self-care sector. The addition of LivRelief, which is already on retail shelves across Canada, will give Harvest One a head start for cannabis-infused products in Canada and beyond and is a great addition to our existing brands in this space with Satipharm CBD GelPell capsules already on sale in Europe, and our Dream Water all natural sleep aid available across North America" said Harvest One CEO Grant Froese.
Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX-T) rose 1.7 per cent after Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM-N) rejected its US$17.8-billion hostile takeover bid.
The Colorado-based company’s board unanimously opposed the proposal, saying its plan to buy Goldcorp Inc. (G-T) for US$10-billion “represents a superior value creation opportunity to generate long-term value through an unmatched portfolio of world class operations, projects, exploration opportunities, reserves and talent.”
“Our thorough review of Barrick’s unsolicited proposal and its associated risks has reaffirmed our conclusion that the combination of Newmont and Goldcorp represents the best opportunity to create value for Newmont’s shareholders and deliver industry-leading returns for decades to come,” said Newmont CEO Gary Goldberg in a statement.
Shares of Newmont was up 1.9 per cent in New York, while Goldcorp was up 3.4 per cent.
On the decline
Shares of Enbridge Inc. (ENB-T) dropped 5.8 per cent in the wake of an announcement late Friday that it expects its Line 3 to be delayed by almost a year due to permitting from the State of Minnesota.
“We now have a firm schedule from the State on the timing of the remaining permits for our Line 3 Replacement project,” said president and chief executive officer Al Monaco in a release. “We support a robust and transparent permitting process that includes opportunity for public input. We’ll continue to work closely with State officials during this process.”
A trio of equity analysts on the Street downgraded Enbridge shares in reaction to the news.
Despite a rise in oil prices on Monday, TSX-listed energy stocks dropped almost 2 per cent in reaction to the Enbridge news. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ-T) was down 4.5 per cent, while Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE-T) and Baytex Energy Corp. (BTE-T) lost 5.7 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively.
Tesla Inc. (TSLA-Q) fell 3.3 per cent after announcing it will unveil its Model Y on March 14.
Leagold Mining Corp. (LMC-T) was down 4.6 per cent after reporting a two fatalities at its Fazenda mine in Brazil late Thursday from an underground blast accident.
Slate Office REIT (SOT.UN-T) dropped 10.3 per cent after reporting fourth-quarter funds from operations per share of 18 cents, falling short of the 22-cent expectation on the Street.
It reduced its annual distribution to 40 cents per unit (from 75 cents) to “further strengthen the REIT’s ability to take advantage of future investment opportunities.”
“The team has a demonstrated ability to generate double-digit rates of return on our office portfolio transactions and by freeing up more capital to make accretive new investments to grow that portfolio, we are putting the REIT in the best possible position to fulfill its mission of delivering strong total returns for our unitholders," said Slate CEO Scott Antoniak. “We are confident the team can identify and execute on future investment opportunities that will continue to generate excellent returns.”
It also announced it has reached an agreement to sell a 25-per-cent interest in six office properties in the Greater Toronto Area to an investment fund advised by Wafra Inc., global private equity and alternative asset investor, at a valuation of $527.2-million for a 100-per-cent interest in the assets.
With files from staff and wires