A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today
On the rise
Dream Global Real Estate Investment Trust (DRG-UN-T) jumped 16.9 per cent on Monday on the news it is being acquired private equity giant Blackstone Group Inc.
Blackstone is to pay $16.79 in cash per share of Dream Global, for a total purchase price of $3.3-billion – an 18.5-per-cent premium to Friday’s closing value. After accounting for Dream Global’s debt, the deal is worth $6.2-billion.
Kinross Gold Corp. (K-T) rose 3.8 per cent after saying Sunday it is moving to expand its Tasiast mine in West Africa in a bid to reduce its costs of production and boost output in the region.
The Toronto-based miner Kinross announced it will invest US$150-million into the mine in Mauritania, predicting that production will rise to an average of 445,000 ounces of gold a year starting in 2020. Last year, the mine produced about 250,000 ounces.
B2Gold Corp. (BTO-T) increased 1.4 per cent after announcing it has entered into an agreement with AngloGold Ashanti Ltd at its Gramalote project in Colombia that will see it raise its stake and assume management of the project.
As part of the agreement, B2Gold will fund investment and exploration to the value of $13.9-million at the project next year in return for taking its stake up to 50 per cent and will assume management of the project in January 2020.
B2Gold currently owns a 48.3 per cent stake with AngloGold Ashanti, which also has operations in South Africa, holding the remaining 51.7 per cent.
Eldorado GoldCorp. (ELD-T) sat 1.9 per cent higher after Reuters reported Greece is in talks with the Vancouver-based miner to secure higher royalties from its mining development projects and new jobs.
Eldorado responded Monday by saying it is open to discussions on potentially paying higher royalties in Greece as it seeks permits needed to restart work at its stalled Skouries development.
The Canadian miner will also seek a strategic partner to help fund the $680 million remaining development cost for the project, CEO George Burns said on the sidelines of the Denver Gold Forum.
Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (OR-T) increased 2.6 per cent after it announced that it’s selling its interest in the Brucejack gold offtake contract for US$41.3-million in cash to Pretium Resources Inc. (PVG-T)
“The sale of Osisko’s offtake contract on the Brucejack mine will result in the elimination of a low margin offtake contract and allow better utilization of our working capital," stated Osisko CEO Sean Roosen. "Since acquiring the Orion portfolio in 2017, we now have received approximately US$164.3-million from Pretium, including proceeds from the buyback of the stream and sale of the offtake as well as cash margins to date from the offtake, compared to a book value of approximately US$147.3-million for our investment in Pretium.”
Shares of Pretium were up 1.2 per cent.
TransAlta Corp. (TA-T) increased 1.4 per cent after it announced its Clean Energy Investment Plan, which includes converting its existing Alberta coal assets to natural gas and “advancing its leadership position in renewable energy.”
The company said the total cost of the plan is expected to be approximately $2-billion, which includes approximately $800 million of renewable energy projects already under construction, the company stated.
On the decline
While energy stocks jumped higher on Monday, the impact of rising oil prices was felt by airlines.
Shares of Air Canada (AC-T) fell 3.1 per cent, while WestJet Airlines Ltd. (WJA-T) was flat.
In New York, American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL-Q) and Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL-N) fell 7 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.
Shares of Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB-T) dipped 7.6 per cent after an equity analyst at Stifel downgraded its stock in the wake of last week’s disappointing quarterly results.
See also: Aurora Cannabis shares fall as it misses its own revenue guidance
General Motors Co. (GM-N) fell over 4 per cent after the United Auto Workers (UAW) went on strike just after midnight Sunday and about 48,000 hourly workers at its facilities are headed for the picket lines in the morning.
Auto parts suppliers on both sides of the border fell with the GM news.
In Toronto, Magna International Inc. (MG-T) slipped 0.3 per cent, while Martinrea International Inc. (MRE-T) reversed course and rose 0.7 per cent.
According to Bloomberg, the companies get 15 per cent and 29 per cent of their revenue from GM, respectively.
With files from staff and wires
David Leeder