Canada’s bone-dry IPO market has lost its most lucrative debut in years. Waste-management firm GFL Environmental scrapped its initial public offering late yesterday after the company’s existing investors balked at a subpar pricing. That’s no surprise for anyone who was paying attention to Andrew McCreath’s Morning Call yesterday on The Open, when he made it clear that demand was tepid and pricing was likely to fall below the target range. And so after originally aiming to raise as much as $2.75 billion, GFL yanked the offering while keeping the door open to taking another shot down the line.
IN CONVERSATION WITH CPPIB'S CEO
Amber Kanwar has an interview today with Mark Machin, who leads the $400-billion Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Watch for his perspective on Canada’s “wonderful brand”, CPPIB’s appetite for energy investing, and much more this morning on The Open.
TALKING NAFTA IN OTTAWA
Influential U.S. lawmaker Richard Neal, who chairs the House Ways & Means Committee, is in Ottawa this morning for meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. We know Canada’s government wants to move in lockstep with the U.S. in ratifying the new North American Free Trade Agreement; today we should get a better idea of how soon that might happen.
KEYSTONE LATEST
The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has ordered TC Energy to follow nine corrective actions as a result of the Keystone spill in North Dakota last week, including a requirement to keep a segment of the line shut until a detailed restart plan is approved by the regulator. According to the latest update on TC Energy’s site, 200 people are working “round-the-clock” on cleanup at the site, which thus far has recovered the equivalent of 4,300 barrels of oil.
OTHER NOTABLE STORIES
-Badger Daylighting was one of the worst-performing stocks on the TSX in early trading after the excavation company cut its full-year adjusted EBITDA forecast late Tuesday. In a release Badger’s CEO specifically flagged weakness in the company’s oil and gas unit.
-Dividend news for gold investors this morning, with Barrick nudging up its quarterly payout to $0.05/share after beating third-quarter profit estimates and indicating production and costs are heading in favourable directions this year. B2Gold, meanwhile, is introducing a one-cent per share quarterly dividend.
-Quebec-based AI firm Coveo has raised $227 million in a funding round led by OMERS that values the company at almost $1.5 billion.
-The Wall Street Journal is reporting Xerox is contemplating an “audacious” takeover bid for HP as the two fallen stars potentially see a combination as an opportunity to drive down costs.
-Spin Master could be a stock to watch today after falling way short of third-quarter profit and revenue estimates late yesterday, with the toy maker’s CFO pinning the blame on tariff fallout and supply chain “congestion”.
NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS
-Notable earnings: Barrick Gold, Kinross Gold, Iamgold, Manulife Financial, Sun Life Financial, Canaccord Genuity, RioCan REIT, Linamar, CGI, Just Energy, DHX Media, Element Fleet Management, Stantec, CVS Health, Fitbit, Square
-9:30 a.m. ET: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with U.S. Congressman Richard Neal in Ottawa alongside Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland
-11:00 a.m. ET: Freeland holds photo op with Neal in Ottawa
-~3:30 p.m. ET: Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips delivers fall update
Every morning BNN Bloomberg's Managing Editor Noah Zivitz writes a ‘chase note’ to BNN Bloomberg's editorial staff listing the stories and events that will be in the spotlight that day. Have it delivered to your inbox before the trading day begins by heading to www.bnnbloomberg.ca/subscribe.
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