North American equity markets are at stall speed, failing to build on some late week momentum from last Friday. Futures south of the border are essentially flat this morning ahead of one of the busiest weeks on the U.S. earnings calendar – some 40 per cent of the Dow 30 are set to report this week, and we'll be looking for cues on how those blue chip companies are dealing with inflation, concerns over a potential recession and higher interest rates courtesy of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

GLOBALIVE BIDS FOR MANITOBA SPECTRUM

It seems Anthony Lacavera isn't intent on standing idly by in his efforts to rebuild his telecom holdings. Lacavera's Globalive is bidding to acquire spectrum from Xplore Mobile in Manitoba in an effort to build an independent wireless carrier, and says it's in discussions with Telus to expand its existing conditional network sharing agreement. You may recall that Globalive had put forward a US$3.75 billion offer for Shaw's Freedom Mobile division but was rebuffed in favour of Quebecor's US$2.85 billion offer for the asset (of course, contingent on approval of Rogers' US$20 billion takeover of Shaw itself.)

MORE M&A IN THE ENERGY PATCH

We've got some more acquisition activity in Canada's energy patch, with Saturn Oil & Gas striking a deal to buy Ridgeback Resources for US$525 million. It's a cash and stock deal for the privately-held Ridgeback - US$475 million worth of cash, and an additional US$50 million worth of shares – with expectations the deal will close in the first quarter this year. The acquisition will be funded through a US$375 million increase of Saturn's senior secured loan and a US$125 million bought-deal offering.  

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

  • Ritchie Bros. is amending the terms of its deal to buy IAA, increasing the cash consideration to 29 per cent (from 22 per cent) and plans to issue a US$1.08 per share special dividend. Last week, Ritchie Bros. investor Luxor Capital (which holds 3.6 per cent of the float) came out against the acquisition, arguing it would result in a destruction of shareholder value.
  • Another day, another round of tech layoffs. This time it's Spotify, announcing plans to cut its workforce by about six per cent. The streaming service says it will book between €35-45 million in severance charges as a result of the move.
  • Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has taken a multi-billion dollar stake in Salesforce as the company's valuation has plummeted.

NOTABLE RELEASES/EVENTS

  • Notable data: New Housing Price Index, U.S. Leading Indicators
  • Notable earnings: Baker Hughes