Tausi Insider

A woman walks past a COP27 sign at the UN climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Nov. 16. Peter Dejong/The Associated Press UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged world governments to “stand and deliver” a strong climate deal at the COP27 summit in Egypt on Thursday as negotiators remained far apart on key issues a day before the agreement’s deadline. The two-week conference at the seaside resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh is a test of global resolve to combat global warming as governments around the world are buffeted by crises ranging from a land war in Europe to sky-high consumer costs. “Global emissions are at their highest level in history – and rising. Climate impacts are decimating economies and societies – and growing. We know what we need to do – and we have the tools and resources to get it done,” Guterres told the conference. “I am here to appeal to all parties to rise to this moment and to the greatest challenge facing humanity. The world is watching and has a si...

Rio Tinto PLC has been unable to reach an agreement with Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. about how to balance the preferential treatment it is extending to one set of minority shareholders over the rest in a multibillion-dollar takeover, and it has decided to revert back to its original takeover deal terms. Last week, Turquoise Hill said it was indefinitely postponing the shareholder vote on the proposed $4.2-billion takeover of the company by Rio Tinto as Quebec’s top securities regulator, the Autorité des marchés financier (AMF), studies whether a backdoor deal Rio cut with dissident shareholders is legal. Rio earlier reached an agreement with Pentwater Capital Management LP and SailingStone Capital Partners LLC, under which the two U.S. investors would be paid out 80 per cent of the $43-a-share takeover amount being offered to all Turquoise Hill shareholders and, after a ruling from an arbitrator, the remaining 20 per cent, plus interest, and potentially much more. The arrangement c...

The two largest U.S. rail unions representing conductors and engineers split in ratification votes on a tentative contract deal reached in September raising the possibility of a strike or lockout that could cause significant damage to the U.S. economy. Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) voted to ratify the agreement while train and engine service members the transportation division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) voted to reject the deal. SMART-TD yardmasters voted to ratify their national agreement, the unions said Monday. The vote could put pressure on Congress to intervene to prevent a strike or lockout ahead of the holiday season. “The ball is now in the railroads’ court. Let’s see what they do. They can settle this at the bargaining table,” said SMART-TD President Jeremy Ferguson said in a statement. “This can all be settled through negotiations and without a strike.” If there i...

Spin Master Corp. TOY-T says it has signed a deal to buy Canadian puzzle company 4D Brands International Inc. Financial terms of the agreement for the maker of three dimensional model construction kits were not immediately available. Spin Master co-founder Anton Rabie says 4D’s puzzles offers innovation for a classic pastime. The company’s kits include cityscapes, well-known landmarks as well as collectibles from franchises including Star Wars, Disney, Harry Potter, Marvel Universe and DC Comics. Shaun Sakdinan, founder of 4D Puzzles, will join Spin Master as senior director of design based in Toronto. The deal is expected to close in January. https://www.tausiinsider.com/spin-master-signs-deal-to-buy-canadian-puzzle-company-4d-brands-international/?feed_id=333259&_unique_id=64771146e789b

Gantry cranes, shipping containers and freight railway trains at the Union Pacific Los Angeles Intermodal Facility rail yard, on Sept. 15. BING GUAN/Reuters Congress is moving swiftly to prevent a looming U.S. rail workers strike, reluctantly intervening in a labour dispute to stop what would surely be a devastating blow to the nation’s economy if the transportation of fuel, food and other critical goods were disrupted. The House was expected to act first on Wednesday after President Joe Biden asked Congress to step in. The bill lawmakers are considering would impose a compromise labour agreement brokered by his administration that was ultimately voted down by four of the 12 unions representing more than 100,000 employees at large freight rail carriers. The unions have threatened to strike if an agreement can’t be reached before a Dec. 9 deadline. Lawmakers from both parties expressed reservations, but the intervention was particularly difficult for some Democratic lawmakers who have...

Commodities company Glencore said Monday that it has reached an agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo to pay $180-million over bribery allegations spanning from 2007 to 2018. It comes months after the Anglo-Swiss company announced deals with authorities in the U.S., Britain and Brazil to pay a total of $1.5-billion to resolve all accusations of corruption and market manipulation. The U.S. Justice Department said in May that Glencore paid more more than $100-million to intermediaries over 10 years, “intending that a significant portion of these payments would be used to pay bribes to officials” in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Brazil, Venezuela and Congo. In Congo, Glencore acknowledged that it paid $27.5-million to third parties with the goal that a portion be used to bribe Congolese officials to secure improper business advantages, according to the Justice Department. “Glencore is a long-standing investor in the DRC and is pleased to have reached this ...

Crescent Point Energy Corp. CPG-T says it has signed an agreement with Paramount Resources Ltd. POU-T to acquire additional Kaybob Duvernay assets for $375 million. The Calgary oil and gas company says those assets include 130 net drilling locations across almost 65,000 net acres of Crown land. They produce more than 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day and include a gas plant, pipelines, water infrastructure and seismic data. Crescent Point says they are located adjacent to one of its land bases and will generate high-return drilling inventory and development opportunities. Crescent Point intends to fund the acquisition through existing credit facilities and says the deal is expected to close in January. It simultaneously announced a 25 per cent increase to its quarterly base dividend, bringing the figure to 10 cents per share. https://www.tausiinsider.com/crescent-point-to-acquire-kaybob-duvernay-drilling-assets-from-paramount-resources/?feed_id=329566&_unique_id=643007e7...

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. FM-T has failed to reach an agreement with the Panamanian government over a new royalty payment structure, and now there are fears its massive copper mine in the country could be nationalized. Vancouver-based First Quantum faced a deadline of midnight yesterday to get a new royalty agreement in place with Panama regarding the Cobre Panama mine. If an agreement wasn’t reached by that time, the Panama government said it would take “alternative measures” to ensure the operation of the mine. In a statement, the Ministry of Commerce and Industries of Panama, said that First Quantum had made “unreasonable demands” that often moved the two sides further apart instead of closer together. The Ministry said it negotiated in good faith past the deadline last night, but early this morning First Quantum sent it a new proposal that “fundamentally changed” certain aspects of the agreement. First Quantum said in a release that its proposal achieved the government’s revenu...

Heavy equipment prepares a road at Inmet’s massive Cobre Panama project. Panama has ordered First Quantum Minerals Ltd.’s FM-T Cobre Panama mine to cease commercial operations, after the Central American country clashed with the big Canadian copper miner over a profit-sharing agreement. Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo made the announcement late Thursday in a dramatic televised address to the nation. Cobre Panama is First Quantum’s biggest mine, and accounts for more than half of its net asset value. Vancouver-based First Quantum is Canada’s biggest copper producer. First Quantum and Panama had been in talks for more than a year to try to hammer out a new profit-sharing agreement to replace the existing pact that sees the company pay a royalty based on a percentage of its revenue. First Quantum faced a deadline of midnight Wednesday to strike a new pact, but on Thursday morning the two sides announced they were at an impasse. Panama had wanted First Quantum to pay a minimum of U...

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. FM-T says it will use “all available legal means” to preserve the value of its Cobre Panama mine, after the Panamanian government ordered it to cease operations, and as fears persist that the asset could be either nationalized or sold to another mining company. A source familiar with the negotiations said that Panama has been working with an investment bank to shop the mine to third parties. Tausi Insider is not identifying the source as the person was not authorized to speak publicly. The government of Panama did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a dramatic televised address to the nation on Thursday night, President Laurentino Cortizo said that production would be halted at the mine after the Central American country clashed with the big Canadian copper miner over a profit-sharing agreement. First Quantum and Panama had been in talks for more than a year to try to hammer out a new profit-sharing agreement to replace the existing pact t...

(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 30, 2015 a logo is seen outside the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. - The International Monetary Fund board on February 4, 2019 approved a $2 billion loan payment to Egypt, the latest in the country's three-year aid program. The latest installment brings the total paid to Cairo to about $10 billion since the loan deal was signed in November 2016. The previous loan tranche was approved in July of last year but this fourth review of Egypt's program had been awaiting board approval since October, when IMF staff and government officials had finalized it. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images The International Monetary Fund has approved a deal that will provide a $3 billion support package to cash-strapped Egypt over a period of almost four years, with the agreement expected to draw in an additional $14 billion in financing for the Middle...

European Union governments and lawmakers reached a deal Sunday on key elements of the 27-nation bloc’s green deal, reforming the EU’s trading system for greenhouse gas emissions and creating a new hardship fund for those hardest-hit by measures to curb climate change. The two sides agreed to push European industries and energy companies to cut their emissions by speeding up the phase-out of free pollution vouchers. Doing so makes each ton of carbon dioxide that’s released into the atmosphere more expensive for polluters. The EU’s executive Commission said the measure would require European industries to reduce their emissions by 62% by 2030 from 2005 levels, compared to a target of 43% under the previous rules. To ensure a level playing field, the EU will also introduce a tax on foreign companies that want to import products which don’t meet climate-protection standards European companies have to comply with. The so-called Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism was agreed to last week. G...

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. ATD-T has signed a deal to buy all of the membership interests of U.S. company True Blue Car Wash LLC. Financial terms of the agreement for the operator of car wash sites under the Clean Freak and Rainstorm banners were not immediately available. Couche-Tard CEO Brian Hannasch says True Blue is an opportunity to extend the company’s brands into a very attractive industry subcategory. Founded in 2016, True Blue has 65 car washes in Arizona, Texas, Illinois and Indiana. True Blue’s management, office and operations teams are expected to join Couche-Tard once the deal is complete, while True Blue CEO Stuart Crum will continue to lead its operations. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions. https://www.tausiinsider.com/alimentation-couche-tard-to-buy-membership-interests-of-u-s-company-true-blue-car-wash/?feed_id=327144&_unique_id=6411bdb8b1861

TMX Group Ltd. X-T has signed a deal to buy a 21 per cent stake in VettaFi Holdings LLC for $234-million. U.S.-based VettaFi is a privately owned data, analytics, indexing and digital distribution company. TMX chief operating officer Jay Rajarathinam says the investment includes an agreement that will accelerate TMX’s global index strategy and increase the depth and value of data-driven insights the company provides to clients. The transaction closed Monday. TMX Group chief executive John McKenzie and Rajarathinam will join the VettaFi board, effective immediately. TMX Group is the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange and other businesses that provide a trading, clearing, depository and other services. https://www.tausiinsider.com/tmx-group-buys-21-stake-in-vettafi-holdings-for-234-million/?feed_id=325580&_unique_id=63f855ff742e5

A box containing issues of Now Magazine, in Toronto, on March 31, 2011. Fernando Morales/Tausi Insider Online media company Gonez Media (GMI) says it has acquired Now Magazine. Financial terms of the agreement were not immediately available. Now Magazine published its last print edition last year, but has maintained its website. GMI says it plans to relaunch the publication it under the Now banner in a digital-only format on Jan. 17. It says the publication will have a major reporting focus on arts, music and entertainment, harking back to the publication’s roots as an alt newspaper. Now will also create content on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube. Gonez Media is the producer of the Brandon Gonez Show and News You Can Use which air on YouTube. https://www.tausiinsider.com/gonez-media-acquires-torontos-now-magazine-plans-relaunch-under-now-banner/?feed_id=325554&_unique_id=63f816d801052

Alberta Investment Management Corp. has struck an agreement to jointly fund private loans to companies with Public Sector Pension Investment Board after hiring away one of PSP’s top executives. Alberta’s government-owned asset manager has hired David Scudellari to a new role as head of international investment. He joins AIMCo immediately as a senior executive managing director, reporting to chief executive officer Evan Siddall, from PSP Investments – the federal public sector pension manager. Under AIMCo and PSP’s new loan sourcing agreement, PSP will originate private credit investments that will be funded by both pension managers, with money earmarked by each. With Mr. Scudellari’s departure, the arrangement gives PSP additional funding to take advantage of the large pipeline of deals it sources, while AIMCo gets a chance to expand its credit business more rapidly than it otherwise could. Though large Canadian pension managers often work side by side on individual deals, AIMCo and ...

The Cobre Panama copper mine in Donoso, Panama. Abraham Teran/The Associated Press Panama says it has no intention of seizing the Cobre Panama mine from First Quantum Minerals Ltd., FM-T despite excoriating the Canadian copper company for allegedly misrepresenting the tenor of their talks. Vancouver-based First Quantum and Panama have toiled for more than a year to try to come up with a new tax and royalties contract for the mine. Talks broke down last month, at which point Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo ordered the mine to cease operations. Other Canadian miners have seen their assets expropriated after clashing with foreign governments, including Centerra Gold Inc. in 2021. Its flagship Kumtor mine was nationalized by the Kyrgyz Republic. But there appears to be almost no chance of that happening in this case. “At no point has the government considered, or will it consider, expropriating any mine,” Federico Alfaro, Panama’s Minister of Commerce and Industries, said in an i...

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. CP-T and Unifor have reached a tentative collective agreement for 1,200 workers who are responsible for maintaining rail cars and locomotives. The company and the union say details of the tentative contract will not be released publicly until the agreement has been ratified. Unifor says it will provide members with information in the coming days on ratification meetings, which will be held at multiple locations across the country. The contract covers workers at 18 locations from British Columbia to Quebec. The union says negotiations with the railway had been ongoing since September. The previous collective agreement expired on Dec. 31. https://www.tausiinsider.com/canadian-pacific-railway-and-unifor-reach-tentative-deal-for-1200-workers/?feed_id=324560&_unique_id=63eea8dcb8c39

Singapore's trade minister Chan Chun Sing, speaks next to his Canadian counterpart, James Carr, during a meeting of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, in Santiago, Chile, Thursday, May 16, 2019. Esteban Felix/The Associated Press Carlo Dade is the director of the Trade and Investment Centre at the Canada West Foundation. There are more questions than answers in the federal government’s developing Indo-Pacific strategy, which is designed to help Canada navigate a world where China is a dominant economic force. For Canadian businesses, the most puzzling question is probably why Ottawa is not aggressively pursuing the country’s only real competitive advantage in the region: the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The CPTTP is one of the very few areas where Canadian businesses are on par with its competitors in the Pacific Rim and ahead of U.S. companies that want but cannot have a real trade agreement in th...

Natural gas producers applauded a landmark settlement between the British Columbia government and the Blueberry River First Nations that will give the Indigenous group significantly more sway over projects in the province’s resource-rich Montney region, as other First Nations made ready to unveil similar deals. On Wednesday, B.C. Premier David Eby and Blueberry River Chief Judy Desjarlais announced what both called a “historic” agreement that, in addition to giving the band a formal role in natural gas projects on its territory, includes $287.5-million in funding. The deal also includes potential revenue sharing from natural gas projects in northeastern B.C., but the First Nation has not released details of those arrangements. The agreement resolves a lengthy legal dispute that came to a head when the B.C. Supreme Court ruled in June, 2021 that the province had infringed on Blueberry River’s Treaty 8 rights, which reflect agreements struck in 1899. The ruling prompted the province’...