DEALMAKERS

The top 10 deals involving CEO 100 players since November 2018

The top deals made by CEO 100 players in the past year.

US$12.2 billion

CEO 100 PLAYER James Smith, Thomson Reuters Corp. THE DEAL Thomson Reuters and The Blackstone Group Inc. in August agreed to sell London-based financial data analytics provider Refinitiv Ltd. to the London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSEG) for a total enterprise value of US$27 billion, 45% of which will go to Thomson Reuters. Upon completion of the deal, Thomson Reuters will also hold a 15% interest in LSEG. WHAT WAS SAID “The global exchanges are focusing more and more on data and technology as revenue drivers, and less on the actual matching of buys and sells,” Kevin McPartland, head of market structure and technology research at Greenwich Associates, told Reuters. STATUS: The transaction should be completed in the second half of 2020.

US$11.4 billion

CEO 100 PLAYER Bruce Flatt, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. THE DEAL Brookfield Asset Management in December acquired Forest City Realty Trust Inc. for US$23.35 per share. Forest City’s portfolio includes 18,500 multi-family units, 6.3 million square feet of office space, and five large-scale development projects in the New York Metro area, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. WHAT WAS SAID “It’s a positive for Brookfield as they’re buying Forest City at an attractive price,” Sheila McGrath, an analyst at Evercore ISI who covers Forest City and Brookfield

Property Partners LP, told

Bloomberg. She added that Forest City’s development assets may provide an

“embedded upside” for Brookfield.

STATUS The transaction, announced in July

2018, was completed in December. US$10 billion

CEO 100 PLAYER Gary Goldberg, Newmont Mining Corp. THE DEAL Newmont Mining Corp. in January agreed to acquire Goldcorp in a stock-and-cash deal, subject to regulatory approvals in a number of jurisdictions including the European Union, Canada, South Korea and Mexico, during which Barrick proposed a surprise $18-billion merger with Newmont. WHAT WAS SAID “Companies are struggling to compete for lower costs whilst trying to replenish their reserve base, so acquiring assets has become the easier alternative,” Adrian Hammond, an analyst at SBG Securities Pty Ltd., told Bloomberg. STATUS The transaction was completed and Goldcorp’s common shares were delisted from the TSX after market close on Apr. 22, 2019

US$6.6 billion

CEO 100 PLAYER Cyrus Madon, Brookfield Business Partners LP THE DEAL Brookfield Business Partners, institutional partners and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in November 2018 agreed to acquire Johnson Controls International Inc.’s Power Solutions automotive battery business for US$13.2 billion in stock and debt financing. Brookfield Business Partners expected to fund 30% of the equity. WHAT WAS SAID “The battery is a decent asset in the right hands, but for JCI was a big use of cash and exposed them to long-term negative trends in auto,” Melius Research analyst Scott Davis noted. STATUS The transaction was completed in April and Johnson Controls Power Solutions was renamed Clarios Power Solutions.

US$5.5 billion

CEO 100 PLAYER Doug Suttles, Encana Corp. THE DEAL Encana in November agreed to acquire Newfield Exploration Co. for US$5.5 billion, including US$2.2 billion of debt, in an all-stock deal. The combined company produces about 577,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, including liquids production of 300,000 bbls per day. Newfield’s focus areas are the Anadarko and Arkoma Basins of Oklahoma, the Williston Basin of North Dakota and the Uinta Basin of Utah, as well as oil-producing assets in offshore China. WHAT WAS SAID “This oil-weighted, stacked-pay asset contains multiple commercial and prospective zones that are well suited to Encana’s cube development model,” DBRS said at the time of the deal’s announcement. The debt-rating agency also noted that “the addition of Newfield’s assets is positive for Encana’s business risk profile.” STATUS The transaction was completed in February.

US$5.4 billion

CEO 100 PLAYER Mark Bristow, Barrick Gold Corp. THE DEAL Barrick Gold in September 2018 agreed to acquire Africa-focused miner Randgold Resources Ltd. in an all-stock deal that would give Randgold shareholders a third of the combined US$24-billion company, the world’s largest gold miner. Randgold shareholders were also to receive a US$2 per-share dividend when the transaction closed, but that was increased to US$2.69. WHAT WAS SAID “Our opinion is that the proposed merger, instead of being based on merit, strength and strategic integration, is more akin to the proverbial ‘two drunks supporting each other at closing time,’” Kieron Hodgson, equity analyst at Panmure Research, said in a note at the time the deal was announced. STATUS The transaction was completed in January and Bristow, formerly Randgold’s CEO, became head of the combined company.

US$4.7 billion

CEO 100 PLAYER Bruce Flatt, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. THE DEAL Brookfield Asset Management in March agreed to acquire 62% of alternative asset manager Oaktree Capital Group LLC for either US$49 or 1.077 Class A shares of Brookfield per Oaktree unit. At the time, Brookfield and Oaktree combined had US$475 billion of AUM and US$2.5 billion of annual fee-related revenues. WHAT WAS SAID DBRS said the acquisition was “expected to have a modestly positive impact on BAM’s business risk profile” due to the increase in Brookfield’s AUM, cash flow from low-risk, growing fees on fee-bearing-capital, and product and client diversification as well as Oaktree Capital’s strong credit rating. STATUS The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019.

US$4.1 billion

CEO 100 PLAYER Charles Magro, Nutrien Ltd. THE DEAL Nutrien in May 2018 agreed to sell a 24% stake in Chilean lithium producer Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (SQM) for US$65 per share to China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp. The deal left Nutrien with an 8% stake in SQM, which it planned to sell by April 2019 to further satisfy antitrust regulators in India and China concerned about Nutrien’s dominance in the potash market. WHAT WAS SAID “The price seemed good,” said John Chu, an analyst with Laurentian Bank Securities. “Because Nutrien had given advanced notice that they had to sell it, and because it was such a large block of shares, it was thought that they would have to sell it at a discount, and they actually sold it at a premium.” STATUS The transaction was completed in December 2018. $5 billion

CEO 100 PLAYER Gerry Schwartz, Onex Corp.

THE DEAL Onex through its private-equity unit Onex Partners in May agreed to acquire WestJet Airlines Ltd. for $31 per share and take the Calgary-based company private. WHAT WAS SAID “Onex has very deep pockets,” Robert Kokonis, president of Toronto-based consulting firm AirTrav Inc., told CP. “If that means WestJet growing faster internationally, acquiring more long-haul fleets to fly abroad, those are good things and that will create a positive pricing environment for consumers.” STATUS The Minister of Transport, Competition Bureau and Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta have approved the deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019.

US$3.4 billion

CEO 100 PLAYER Mark Zekulin, Canopy Growth Corp. THE DEAL Canopy Growth, under then-CEO Bruce Linton, in April agreed to acquire Acreage Holdings Inc. once the United States legalizes the production and sale of cannabis. The deal was to give Acreage shareholders an upfront payment of US$300 million, or US$2.55 per subordinate voting share. The companies would also execute a licensing agreement granting Acreage access to Canopy’s brands such as Tweed and Tokyo Smoke and other intellectual property. WHAT WAS SAID “I do think you’ll see more deals like this,” Eric Foster, a partner at law firm Dentons, told the Financial Post. “With maybe not identical, but certainly similar structures put in place, because it does allow the Canadian companies to get kind of a potential position in the U.S., even if it’s still somewhat optional.” STATUS Acreage shareholders received approximately US$2.63 per subordinate voting share in July, but the U.S. has not yet legalized the federal sale of cannabis so the rest of the deal is pending.