Every week, we provide an overview of insider trading, investments in local businesses and news from publicly traded companies.
French giant Saint-Gobain recently announced the acquisition of Quebec exterior siding manufacturer Kaycan for $1.2 billion. Founded in 1974 by the Dubrofsky family, Kaycan employs 1,300 people and has 12 factories, including nine in Canada. In Quebec, Saint-Gobain already owns a gypsum plant that recently received a $40 million grant from Quebec. In addition, Uniboard, another company belonging to the Dubrofsky family, announced this week an investment of $250 million in its Val-d'Or plant, a project for which it will receive public aid totaling $80.5 million.
Montreal asset manager Fiera Capital announced last Thursday a loan of $100 million, in the form of a debenture, from the Fonds de solidarité FTQ. The debenture carries an interest rate of 6%. The money will notably enable Fiera to redeem, next week, $86.3 million in debentures that mature next year.
The young Montreal startup Potloc has just concluded a round of financing which enabled it to raise $35 million from Investissement Québec, the Toronto firm First Ascent Ventures, the Ecofuel Fund, Desjardins, BrightSpark Ventures and BDC Capital. . Founded in 2014, Potloc has developed sampling technology for conducting social media market research. The company has grown from 60 to 230 employees in the last 12 months. She counts Lowe's, L'Oréal and KPMG among her clients.
Bombardier Chairman Pierre Beaudoin bought nearly $1 million worth of Power Corporation stock last week. Mr. Beaudoin has been a director of Power since 2005. For his part, the CEO of Power, Jeffrey Orr, acquired more than $840,000 in shares of the Montreal conglomerate. Power's stock has fallen more than 18% since the start of the year.
The Beauceron company Maxi-Métal recently accepted an offer to purchase from the American company Oshkosh Corporation, the value of which has not been disclosed. Founded in 1983, Maxi-Métal builds fire trucks and utility vehicles. It belonged to Danny Dufour, who is also CEO of the company. Oshkosh had already been a business partner of Maxi-Métal for several years.
Executive Vice President of GDI Building Services, Jocelyn Trottier bought more than $160,000 worth of shares in the Montreal company about ten days ago. He now owns more than $840,000. The stock of GDI, which specializes in building maintenance, has fallen more than 20% since the start of the year.
