Now that the merger of Shaw and Rogers is complete, Cogeco Communications may be the next acquisition target in the telecom sector in the country. And Quebecor may well have the company in its sights.
Rogers is another potential acquirer of Cogeco Communications, but a takeover would depend on the willingness of the Audet family to sell its shares, underlines analyst Jérôme Dubreuil, at Desjardins.
Rogers and Quebecor seem the most suitable strategic candidates for the Canadian assets of Cogeco Communications, but these companies are currently heavily indebted and this reduces the chances of seeing a successful offer for some time, he points out in a report released last week.
Quebecor could also perhaps not extract as many synergies as Rogers, according to him. Note that Rogers still holds a 43% stake in Cogeco and 37% in its subsidiary Cogeco Communications.
The CEO of Couche-Tard just made a gross profit of 17 million by exercising stock options at the end of March. Brian Hannasch exercised some 343,000 options at a strike price of $17.25 and then sold them at prices ranging between $65 and $68.
RBC suggests jumping on the CN bandwagon. The opportunity is “too good to pass up,” said analyst Walter Spracklin, in a report sent Thursday to clients. He therefore now recommends buying shares in the Montreal rail carrier, saying he is particularly impressed by the growth in activities and the gains in operational efficiency. In the near term, he believes the stock will benefit from the April 24 year-end earnings release and what executives say at the May 3 investor day.
BRP lost a recommendation this week. The American firm D. A. Davidson
Can Quebecor become the T-Mobile of the North? That’s the question posed by TD analyst Vince Valentini. In a report published Tuesday in reaction to the acquisition of Freedom Mobile by the conglomerate led by Pierre Karl Péladeau, he is very optimistic for the action of Quebecor and believes that it can double in the next four to five years. While he thinks it may take several months for investors to gain confidence in Freedom’s acquisition and analyze potential retaliatory moves from the competition, he recalls that T-Mobile launched a series of disruptive tactics in 2013. in the United States which led to significant gains in market share thanks to improved quality and network coverage, while offering low prices.
Canadian banks remain strong, well capitalized and regulated, says strategist Sébastien McMahon of Industrial Alliance. In his monthly analysis presented on Friday, he nevertheless recommends a dose of caution before asserting that our banking system is completely sheltered from any turbulence.
Quebec stocks of Logistec, Quebecor, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Bombardier, SNC-Lavalin and CGI all reached a new 52 high on the Toronto Stock Exchange this week. In contrast, shares of Dorel, Lion and Fiera Capital hit 52-week lows this week.
