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Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours,

AGF’s Blake Goldring hands reins to Kevin McCreadie: For the first time in its 61-year history, mutual fund company AGF Management Ltd. will not be run by someone named Goldring. Toronto-based AGF, which oversees $39-billion, announced on Wednesday that president and chief investment officer Kevin McCreadie will become chief executive on Dec. 1, succeeding Blake Goldring, who took the reins 18 years ago at the firm his father founded in 1957. Story (Andrew Willis, for subscribers)

Richard Nesbitt to step away from Global Risk Institute: Bay Street veteran Richard Nesbitt is retiring as chief executive officer of the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services, a Toronto-based non-profit focused on research and education in risk management. Story (James Bradshaw, for subscribers)

AltaGas debt worries remain despite IPO plans: AltaGas Ltd. has struggled to allay investor fears about its debt since it bought Washington’s gas-distribution franchise. Its plans for an initial public offering of some of its Canadian assets have not put worries to rest. It’s turning into a referendum on the ability of the management to get the Calgary-based company’s financial house back in shape after an acquisition that’s reshaped the operation. An IPO, rather than straight asset sales, adds a new element of risk. Opinion (Jeffrey Jones, for subscribers)

Climate resilience must be part of every government’s agenda: This year, the World Economic Forum ranked climate change and its effects as the biggest risk facing the world. This reality demands both our immediate action and a long-term plan. Collectively, we are too reactive to the effects of climate change. We must apply greater urgency to implement the most important steps to take now to protect us in the future. Opinion (Charles Brindamour, chief executive of Intact Financial Corp., and Dean Connor, president and CEO of Sun Life Financial Inc.)

MORE DEALS NEWS

Media sector: Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. agreed to sell its 39-per-cent stake in the British broadcaster Sky PLC to Comcast Corp. on Wednesday in a deal worth US$15-billion, ending Rupert Murdoch’s years-long ambition to take full ownership of the satellite service he helped found three decades ago. Story

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

If takeovers such as Barrick’s make so much sense, why are they so rare? It is the type of deal even merger skeptics can applaud. Without coughing up any cash, and without offering a takeover premium, Barrick Gold Corp. wants to merge with Randgold Resources Ltd. Miraculously, Randgold, a rare gem in the gold sector, has agreed to the terms. To hear John Thornton tell it, the tie-up is transformational – the first of its kind for such major players. “As far as I know … [it has] never been done before,” Barrick’s executive chairman said during a conference call Monday. “And we think this is the appropriate model for this industry.” Story (Tim Kiladze, for subscribers)

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