Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
Waterton Global Resource Management, Inc., which owns approximately 11.9 per cent of Hudbay Minerals Inc. (HBM-T; HBM-N) issued a letter Wednesday announcing its majority slate of eight “highly-qualified and experienced independent director candidates” for election to the Hudbay board.
“Under the current board and management team, Hudbay has repeatedly failed to realize its potential,” the letter states. “We believe this underperformance derives from the following four factors and it is specifically because of these factors that eight of the 10 current Hudbay directors need to be replaced.”
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Holloway Lodging Corp. (HLC-T) announced it has sold the Travelodge hotel in Dartmouth, N.S. for $6.9 million. Holloway estimates that it will record a gain on sale of approximately $3.5-million in the first quarter of 2019 and does not anticipate paying any tax on the sale of the property.
It expects to use the net sale proceeds to fund part of the cost of its substantial issuer bid announced on Dec. 18 and/or for general corporate purposes.
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National Access Cannabis Corp. (META-X) said its subsidiary, NAC Prairies Ltd., has entered into an agreement to acquire New Leaf Emporium for $1.6-million comprised of $1.2-million in cash and the issuance of 649,880 common shares of NAC valued at $400,000.
"Additionally, NAC Prairies will reimburse New Leaf Emporium for certain expenses associated with the build out of the Moose Jaw premises on standard commercial terms," the company stated.
“We’re growing our footprint into Saskatchewan,” said Mark Goliger, CEO of NAC.
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Pulse Seismic Inc. (PSD-T) announced that it completed the acquisition of Seitel Canada Ltd. for $53.6-million in cash paid at closing, plus potential additional payments of up to $5-million within two years.
“We are extremely pleased at having negotiated and closed this important acquisition for Pulse,” stated Neal Coleman, Pulse’s CEO.
The acquisition will more than double the size of the company’s seismic data library, "making it Canada’s largest provider of licensable seismic data to the oil and natural gas industry in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin," the company stated.
Pulse said the deal was financed by a combination of $20.6-million of cash on hand and $33-million of debt.
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Invictus MD Strategies Corp. (GENE-T) confirmed the previously announced decision to not go ahead with a merger with GTEC Holdings Ltd. (GTEC-X) “with a preference for increased strategic collaboration in building out the route to adult consumer retail side.”
"Invictus is continually aiming to realize its vision of building a global cannabis company anchored on its Western Canadian roots, with a focus on satisfying patients' and consumer's needs in the medical and recreational markets, respectively," said George Kveton, CEO of Invictus, in a release. "We look forward to maintaining and further increasing our strong, strategic partnerships with companies like GTEC ... ."
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Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. (MPVD-T; MPVD-Q) reported fourth-quarter results from its 40-per-cent owned Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories, including that 751,448 tonnes were treated, which was 8 per cent higher than the same quarter last year.
It said 1,545,786 carats were recovered at an average grade of 2.06 carats per tonne in the quarter, compared to 1,627,000 carats at an average grade of 2.35 carats per tonne a year earlier. The company said it sold 822,548 carats at an average value of US$65 per carat in the fourth quarter for total proceeds of $53.6-million.
“Diamond sales were in line with our expectations and reflect current market conditions,” the company stated. “Prices for the better quality larger goods, where the majority of our value lies, remained strong throughout the year, however, during the latter part of [the second half of] 2018, lower qualities and smaller sizes experienced price pressure, driven predominantly by a weakened Indian Rupee against the U.S. dollar. Demand at retail in both the U.S. and China for luxury goods were reported to be strong overall in 2018, initial reports from the Chinese and U.S. holiday retail season are generally positive.”