People visit the Teck Resources booth at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada annual conference in Toronto on March 7, 2023.CHRIS HELGREN
Teck Resources Ltd. TECK-B-T said it has rejected an unsolicited takeover proposal from Swiss mining giant Glencore PLC.
Calling the offer opportunistic and not ESG friendly, considering Glencore’s considerable exposure to thermal coal and oil, Vancouver-based Teck said it had no interest in being acquired.
“The board is not contemplating a sale of the company at this time,” said Sheila Murray, Teck’s chair, in a statement.
Teck earlier this year said it plans to separate its metallurgical coal business from its copper business and collapse its dual share class structure. If the deal closes as planned, about 90 per cent of the cash flow from Teck’s coal business would be funneled back into the copper segment for the foreseeable future.
The split was necessary because investors have long given a much lower valuation to Teck’s legacy dirty coal business compared to its growing copper segment.
Teck said that Glencore’s offer amounted to a 20-per-cent premium to the market price on the day it was made, consisting of 7.78 Glencore shares for each class B share, and 12.73 Glencore shares for each Class A share.
Glencore also planned to split itself up as part of that process, creating a base metals unit, oil and commodity trading business, as well as a thermal coal and metallurgical coal business.
The proposal “would force Teck shareholders to hold massive thermal coal exposure, which would be value destructive, drive away current and future investors who cannot hold thermal coal assets, and result in Teck’s world-class steelmaking coal business trading at a discount,” Teck said.
Teck just last week said it has succeeded in putting its QB2 copper mine in Chile into production. The project will be instrumental in rebalancing Teck’s portfolio towards copper, a metal that investors have gravitated towards considering its uses in cleaner energy sources. Teck is also a major miner of zinc.
“The special committee and board remain confident that the proposed separation into Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources (EVR) is in the best interests of Teck and all its stakeholders, is a much more compelling transaction and does not limit our optionality going forward,” Teck said.
Shares in Teck have fallen about 17 per cent since the company announced plans in February to split the company.
However, insulating Teck from an unwanted takeover offer is the dual class shares, which give select investors, such as the Keevil family, far more votes than common shareholders in a takeover deal, and essentially a veto right.
Norman Keevil said in a statement on Monday that he “unequivocally” supports the board’s decision to reject Glencore’s offer.
Glencore already has a significant presence in Canada owing to its 2013 acquisition of Xstrata. In 2006, Xstrata acquired Falconbridge Ltd., one of Canada’s biggest base metals miners.
This isn’t the first time that Glencore has explored the idea of buying Teck. In a recent letter from Teck’s chair Sheila Murray to Glencore chair Kalidas Madhavpeddi, it was revealed that the two mining companies had engaged in talks in 2020, regarding a similarly-structured transaction, but Teck’s board rejected the idea.
Tyler Broda, an analyst with RBC Dominion Securities Inc. said in a note to clients that the takeover offer, which values Teck at US$23.1-billion, is “relatively modest,” and potentially leaves room for a higher bid from Glencore. But he also pointed out that the class A shares held by the Keevil family amount to a “blocking stake,” which appears to scupper any chance of a transaction.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
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