Here are five things you need to know this morning
Laurentian Bank splits up: Laurentian Bank of Canada has reached agreements to break up and sell itself to Fairstone Bank for $1.9 billion. National Bank of Canada will acquire all Laurentians’ retail and small-business assets and liabilities. Fairstone will operate Laurentians’ commercial lending business. Fairstone is an alternative mortgage lender that also offers a variety of other financial products. It’s privately held, but in January it was announced that Smith Financial, the vehicle of Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith, had taken a majority voting interest. Laurentian put itself up for sale in 2023 but failed to find a buyer. Analyst John Aiken at Jefferies says National not only benefits by increasing its scale in its home province but does not have to deal with the legacy issues associated with Laurentian’s branch system. “Getting the assets, deposits and mutual funds at book value is simply icing on the cake,” he says.
Scotia tops estimates: Bank of Nova Scotia topped adjusted profit estimates in its latest quarter, on better-than-expected results in its capital markets and wealth management divisions. Scotia also booked a restructuring charge primarily related to workforce reductions. Scotiabank is two years into a strategic overhaul with its international division tracking ahead of plans while earnings growth at home has been slower.
Goeasy CEO resigns: Goeasy CEO Dan Rees will step down from the consumer lender effective Dec. 31, due to a blood disorder that requires him to resign from his position. Patrick Ens, who is currently president of the company’s easy financial unit will become CEO on Jan. 1. Rees will serve as special advisor to the CEO through June 30.
Vale & Glencore team up: Vale Base Metals has signed an agreement with Glencore Canada to jointly evaluate a potential copper development project at their adjacent properties near Sudbury Ont. If it all works out Vale and Glencore intend to transition to a joint venture as equal partners in the project. The agreement involves working out of existing infrastructure at Glencore’s mine in the area.
Netflix leads bid for Warner Bros.: Bloomberg News is reporting Warner Bros. Discovery has received a second round of takeover bids, including a mostly cash offer from Netflix. The report says Netflix’s bid could be worth more than US$70 billion. Other bidders include Paramount and Comcast.
