Gouvernance - Veille quotidienne

Emmanuel Macron entend nommer rapidement un nouveau premier ministre, après avoir reçu mardi la démission de François Bayrou, renversé la veille par les députés lors d’un vote qui a replongé la France dans une crise politique et budgétaire. Le chef du gouvernement a franchi peu avant 13 h 30 (7 h 30 heure de l’Est) la grille du palais présidentiel à bord de sa voiture de fonction pour un dernier entretien avec le président. Le chef de l’État avait « pris acte » dès lundi du refus des députés d’apporter leur confiance à M. Bayrou et promis de nommer dans les « tout prochains jours » son successeur. Emmanuel Macron est de nouveau confronté au casse-tête qui se pose à lui depuis plus d’un an : trouver un premier ministre susceptible de survivre dans un paysage parlementaire sans majorité, divisé en trois blocs (alliance de gauche, centre droit, extrême droite) depuis la dissolution de juin 2024.

Rupert Murdoch has resolved a bitter succession battle and ensured that his media empire will retain its conservative political slant under eldest son Lachlan after buying out three of his children for $3.3bn. Each of those three Murdoch siblings — James, Elisabeth and Prudence — would receive $1.1bn apiece through a partial share sale by the family trust, according to people familiar with the matter. In exchange, they would give up their ownership interests in News Corp and Fox. Murdoch’s children with Wendi Deng, Chloe and Grace, will join the trust with Lachlan Murdoch.  The settlement means that when Rupert Murdoch dies, Lachlan will inherit control of his sprawling media conglomerate, which includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and The Sun in London. The multibillion-dollar payout resolves a decades-long family feud that has mesmerised media and political circles and helped inspire storylines in HBO’s Succession.

Billionaire Daniel Loeb's Third Point Investors Limited on Monday named Gary Dombowsky as its chief executive officer. The appointment comes after the London-listed fund received shareholder approval for its acquisition of Malibu Life Reinsurance SPC in August. The deal, which will see TPIL transform into an insurance holding company that will also buy asset-backed credit and corporate debt, is designed to address valuation concerns in comparison to Loeb's New York-based hedge fund Third Point. Dombowsky, along with two other directors, will be appointed to TPIL's board after the deal is completed and is admitted in the official list of the Financial Conduct Authority, which is expected on September 12.

Democratic lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee have demanded that Stephen Miran pledge to resign from his job as chief White House economic adviser before the Republican-controlled panel takes any more steps to advance his nomination for a seat on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. Miran said at his confirmation hearing last week he had been legally advised that he need only take an unpaid leave from the White House's Council of Economic Advisors because the Fed job he is seeking only runs through the end of January, and "that is what I would be taking." The Democratic senators on the panel noted that his term could last longer, depending on the time it took to confirm a successor, and said the dual role created a potential conflict between his duty as both a central banker and an adviser to President Donald Trump.

London-listed miner Anglo American and Canada's Teck Resources plan to merge, the two companies said on Tuesday, marking the sector's second-biggest M&A deal ever and forging a new global copper-focused heavyweight. Under the proposed deal, which still needs regulatory approval, Anglo American shareholders would own 62.4% of the newly combined company, Anglo Teck, while shareholders in Teck will hold 37.6%. Anglo Teck will be headquartered in Canada but have a primary stock listing in London, said the two companies, whose combined market capitalisation exceeds $53 billion. The deal, which makes the new entity the world's fifth-largest copper company, also is a big bet by Anglo on copper. Glencore's $90 billion merger with Xstrata in 2013 remains the largest mining deal in history. Copper, used in the power and construction sectors, is poised to benefit from burgeoning demand from the electric vehicle sector and other new applications such as data centres for artificial intelligence. A race by miners to dominate the copper space has fuelled a rush to develop new projects as well as a flurry of takeover bids, though no major acquisition has so far succeeded.

The Murdoch family has reached a deal to end its yearslong battle over control of its media empire. Lachlan Murdoch is set to take control of his father’s media assets as part of an agreement announced Monday between the patriarch and his children. Lachlan will control all the votes in a new trust that will hold sizable stakes in Fox Corp. and News Corp once the deal is completed. The transaction is valued at approximately $3.3 billion, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Murdoch trust, which currently holds roughly 40% voting stakes in Fox and Wall Street Journal parent News Corp, was initially designed to give each of his four oldest children an equal voting share. As part of the settlement announced Monday, Rupert Murdoch’s children James, Elisabeth and Prudence will give up their claims to the existing trust. They will instead receive new trusts with cash funded in part by sales of some of the existing trust’s Fox and News Corp stock. 

U.S. refiner Phillips 66 said on Tuesday it will acquire the remaining 50-per-cent stake in WRB Refining from Cenovus Energy Inc. for US$1.4-billion, giving it full ownership of two major U.S. refineries. WRB includes the Wood River refinery in Illinois and the Borger refinery in Texas, which have a combined crude throughput capacity of 495,000 barrels per day. “With full ownership of the Wood River and Borger refineries, we are strengthening our integrated business and expanding our position in a region where we lead the industry,” Phillips 66 CEO Mark Lashier said.The transaction is expected to close around the end of the third quarter. Cenovus said it would use the proceeds to reduce net debt and accelerate shareholder returns by boosting share repurchases.

Global logistics giant DP World Ltd. has been tapped to build and run the Port of Montreal’s new Contrecoeur container terminal, expanding its Canadian operations as the federal government seeks to counter U.S. trade protectionism with new infrastructure investments. DP World’s Canadian unit, a joint venture with pension-fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, struck a development agreement with the Montreal Port Authority that will see the company build Contrecoeur’s land-based operations and run the cargo facility for the next 40 years, according to a news release published Monday. “This project is designed not only to meet the growing need for business diversification but also to create long-term value by supporting Canadian economic sovereignty as global trade evolves,” Port Authority chief executive officer Julie Gascon said in the release, calling the agreement with DP World a “decisive step.”

Les alumineries québécoises pourront bénéficier du Fonds de réponse stratégique de 5 milliards du gouvernement du Canada pour faire face aux droits de douane américains. Le secteur de l’aluminium, qui avait été oublié jusqu’à maintenant par les mesures fédérales d’aide aux entreprises qui souffrent des droits de douane américains, pourra compter sur une série de mesures qui ciblent les grandes entreprises, mais aussi les PME. La ministre de l’Industrie, Mélanie Joly, en a fait l’annonce dans la Maison Alcan, le siège social de la multinationale dont son nouveau propriétaire Rio Tinto s’est départi peu après l’acquisition de l’entreprise. « Le monde tel qu’on l’a connu est derrière nous », a déclaré la ministre pour justifier l’aide fédérale. Il ne s’agit pas d’une transition, mais d’une « réelle rupture », a-t-elle dit. L’accès des grandes entreprises comme les alumineries au Fonds de réponse stratégique doté de 5 milliards les aidera à s’adapter au nouveau contexte économique, selon la ministre.

Un entrepreneur de Laval vient de convaincre la Banque Nationale d’appuyer ses efforts visant à lancer une cryptomonnaie stable arrimée au dollar canadien. La Banque Nationale investit ainsi dans Tetra Digital Group dans le cadre d’une ronde de financement d’une dizaine de millions de dollars à laquelle participent également notamment le géant d’Ottawa des logiciels de commerce électronique Shopify et la plateforme financière Wealthsimple. Le montant exact injecté par la Banque Nationale n’est pas révélé, mais le fondateur et grand patron de Tetra Digital Group, Didier Lavallée, souligne que l’investissement confère à la plus importante institution financière québécoise une participation minoritaire dans l’entreprise qu’il dirige. L’entrepreneur de 42 ans espère maintenant que le lancement du jeton se concrétisera avant la fin de l’année. Il entend faire de Tetra le pionnier de l’émission de « stablecoins réglementés » au Canada.

Securities class action, derivative litigation and activist campaigns this past year against Disney, Southwest Airlines, Target, Meta and Wells Fargo all seemed to go out of their way to humiliate directors. Strategic, retributory or simply gratuitous character assassination is surging and it is threatening directors’ financial well-being. It targets those who advise, endorse and support board nominations and it works because the traditional protections on which directors have relied on for decades are less effective or absent. Figuratively gunning for directors is a feature of what The New York Times calls “our awful era of intimidation and political violence.” Purported motivations include equity underperformance, culpability for alleged poor oversight or succession mishandling, political lawfare or hashtag issues such as “male, pale & stale” or DEI. Nihilism is likely an extenuating factor. Recent examples include.

Spanish bank BBVA formally launched on Monday its 14.8 billion euro ($17.34 billion) hostile takeover bid for Sabadell with some analysts expecting it will have to raise its offer as shares in its smaller rival have surged past the original price. The formal launch of the bid comes 16 months after BBVA first went hostile with its offer for Sabadell because that move sparked a lengthy competition review. Some analysts still expect BBVA to raise its offer as its current bid was almost the same as the one initially announced. Combining the two lenders would create the second largest Spanish bank in terms of domestic assets worth around 1 trillion euros, behind Caixaban. However, the Spanish government, which opposes the deal, has taken the unusual step of blocking a full merger for at least three years. Sabadell shareholders now have until October 7 to tender their shares, according to the expected calendar, with the results of the offer expected by October 14. Shares in Sabadell have outperformed BBVA's since April 2024 and risen above the bigger rival's original offer. BBVA on Friday said that the bank was not planning to change the offer.

ASML a crucial supplier of advanced chipmaking equipment, is set to become the top shareholder of French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI in a move to strengthen European tech sovereignty, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Dutch ASML is committing 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) for Mistral’s 1.7 billion euro (~$2 billion) fundraise and is expected to get a board seat at Mistral, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private negotiations. The round will make Mistral the most valuable AI company in Europe with a 10-billion-euro ($11.7 billion) pre-money valuation in its latest Series C funding round, the people said. ASML declined to comment. Mistral did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. Often presented as France's and Europe's AI champion, Mistral competes with U.S. giants such as OpenAI and Alphabet's Google.

Moins d’un an après sa nomination comme premier ministre, François Bayrou a été forcé de démissionner, lundi, incapable de rallier une majorité de députés derrière lui. À cela s’ajoute une crise sociale avec des manifestations prévues mercredi sous le mot d’ordre « Bloquons tout ». Difficile dans ce contexte de savoir quelle alliance politique organisera la suite. François Bayrou a marqué une pause pour avaler une gorgée d’eau avant de s’élancer sur le terrain glissant de l’Assemblée nationale, lundi après-midi. Combatif, le centriste a déroulé pendant 40 minutes un discours pour convaincre les députés de lui accorder leur confiance. Il a alerté sur les risques d’un pays en « surendettement », dont le « pronostic vital » est « engagé ». Une énième tentative pour défendre son plan d’économie de 44 milliards d’euros pour le budget 2026. Et un échec prévisible : 364 députés ont voté contre la confiance, et seulement 194 pour.

Altai Capital Management is preparing to launch a board fight at OraSure Technologies after the hedge fund, already one of the biggest owners of the medical device maker, increased its holdings, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The hedge fund built up its stake from 3% at the end of June to 5% in recent weeks in OraSure, known for its COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, said the people who are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The larger stake allows Altai, founded in 2009 by Rishi Bajaj, to press its case for board representation more forcefully, the people said. Investors have grown increasingly frustrated with OraSure in recent months and several have told Reuters that pushing for board representation would be one way to shift strategy, which could boost its stock price. Altai is ratcheting up the pressure after Reuters reported that the company rebuffed a buyout offer from prominent healthcare entrepreneur Ron Zwanziger. 

Starboard Value has nominated four directors, including one of its partners, to the board of BILL Holdings said two people familiar with the matter, as the activist investor pushes the financial automation software company to improve shareholder returns. Starboard, with an 8.5% stake in BILL Holdings, said in a regulatory filing last week that it would like to see the company unlock value for shareholders and is prepared to shake up the board to achieve that goal. Four of the company's 12 directors will stand for election at this year's annual meeting. Starboard may nominate as many as four director candidates before the Saturday deadline, Reuters reported last week. BILL Holdings stock surged nearly 10% after Reuters reported Starboard's stake last week. Starboard nominated four executives who will bring expertise in financial technology, payments, operations and corporate governance, said the people, who asked not to be identified to discuss private matters.

Novartis agreed to buy Tourmaline Bio in a roughly $1.4 billion-dollar deal that boosts its cardiovascular drug pipeline with access to the targeted therapy drug pacibekitug. The Swiss pharmaceutical company said Tuesday that it would offer Tourmaline Bio shareholders $48 a share, valuing the company at approximately $1.4 billion on a fully diluted basis. Tourmaline’s board has approved the deal. Tourmaline Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing pacibekitug which is a treatment option for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The drug is in advanced phase 2 trials and has the potential to combat residual inflammatory risk more effectively than current therapies, Novartis said. The drug will complement Novartis’ existing portfolio of cardiovascular disease drugs, the company said. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola says there is a market in Europe for Canadian oil and gas, and signalled European Union (EU) nations may be willing to pay a higher price for Canadian conventional energy, as member states work to divest further from Russian energy. In an interview on CTV Question Period that aired Sunday, when asked directly by host Vassy Kapelos whether there is, in her view, a customer in Europe for Canada’s conventional energy exports, Metsola said: “yes.” “If you see how we have pivoted over the last years, we found ourselves when Russia invaded Ukraine, that we were completely, to a certain extent, reliant on a very unreliable partner for gas and oil, and that meant that we have had to divest, uncouple ourselves, and we’re almost completely done,” she told Kapelos. “To do that, we need to find alternative sources.”

OpenAI executives are growing concerned that mounting political scrutiny in California could stymie their efforts to become a for-profit company and have discussed a last-ditch option of moving out of the state. Some of California’s biggest philanthropies, nonprofits and labor groups are joining forces to push back on the startup’s high-stakes restructuring plan. Because OpenAI is controlled by a nonprofit, they are asking the state’s attorney general to ensure the new company it creates doesn’t violate the state’s charitable trust law. Attorneys general in California and Delaware are investigating OpenAI’s proposed plan. The regulators have a legal responsibility to protect their states’ charities. They have the power to sue OpenAI for potentially breaking nonprofit law or require the company to pay a settlement as a condition for the restructure.

A new coalition of financial institutions, telecoms, technology companies and other organizations is aiming to tackle the increasingly pervasive problem of scams. The Canadian Anti-Scam Coalition, which also includes government and law-enforcement agencies, is preparing to launch a national scam awareness campaign next month and has several other initiatives under way, including a pilot project exploring how companies across sectors can better share information to stop scammers in their tracks. The cross-sector group was brought together by Anthony Ostler, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Bankers Association, who started approaching Canadian organizations in the spring of 2024 because he was concerned about the increasing prevalence of scams.

London’s Anglo American PLC has agreed to buy Vancouver’s Teck Resources Ltd., two mining giants that each recently fended off hostile takeover offers, in a deal that will create a US$50-billion company and the world’s fifth-largest copper producer. The all-share, no-premium takeover proposal was mostly driven by the companies’ desire to expand their critical metals operations and ensure the viability of Teck’s massive copper mine, Quebrada Blanca (QB), in the Chilean Andes, which has suffered enormous cost overruns and operational difficulties. Anglo, which owns 44 per cent of the nearby Collahuasi mine, will attempt to combine the two mines’ operations. “When you have cost overruns, scale helps,” Norman B. Keevil, Teck’s chairman emeritus and controlling shareholder through his super-voting A shares, told The Globe and Mail. If the takeover goes ahead, Anglo shareholders will own 62.4 per cent of the new company, to be called Anglo Teck; Teck shareholders will own 37.6 per cent.

Le plus important actionnaire institutionnel de BRP vend pour 136 millions de dollars d’actions du fabricant de véhicules récréatifs de Valcourt. L’opération a été annoncée après la fermeture des marchés lundi et après que le titre de BRP eut atteint son plus haut niveau des 52 dernières semaines à la Bourse durant la journée. L’action de BRP a clôturé la première séance de la semaine en hausse de 4 % à 94,25 $ à la Bourse de Toronto. Bain Capital a décidé de vendre un bloc de 1,5 million d’actions au prix unitaire de 90,71 $. La transaction s’effectue à escompte par rapport au cours boursier enregistré à la fermeture parce qu’elle est réalisée de façon privée entre Bain et BMO Marchés des capitaux qui s’occupera de redistribuer les titres vers d’autres investisseurs. Ce genre de transaction à escompte impliquant un important actionnaire souhaitant se départir d’un gros bloc d’actions n’est pas inhabituel. Et ce n’est pas la première fois que Bain Capital vend un lot d’actions de BRP. Cet actionnaire de longue date continuera d’être un des principaux actionnaires de BRP aux côtés de la famille Beaudoin-Bombardier et de La Caisse.

Stephen Jarislowsky célébre son 100e anniversaire de naissance ce mardi, le 9 septembre. L’occasion de prendre la mesure d’une vie unique, forgée par les grands évènements du siècle dernier, et dont les succès et la patience ont fait de lui l’une des personnalités d’affaires les plus connues au pays. Accumulés tout au long de sa vie, ses actifs financiers lui servent depuis plusieurs années pour grossir sa collection d’œuvres d’art de peintres du Québec et d’ailleurs, ainsi que pour ses dons philanthropiques. À 100 ans, il continue de s’occuper de ses finances lui-même, comme il l’a toujours fait. « Je ne veux pas flasher, dit M. Jarislowsky. Je n’ai jamais fait ça de ma vie. Je compte chaque dollar. Ce qui m’appartient, je le compte. »

Mediobanca chief executive Alberto Nagel is preparing to step down as early as next week, as Monte dei Paschi di Siena closes in on majority control of the Milanese financial institution. Three people familiar with the discussions said Mediobanca’s entire board of directors planned to resign at a meeting on September 18, although they would delay their departure until new management is appointed. The expected exit of Nagel, after years of efforts by prominent investors to unseat him, comes after Mediobanca failed to fend off MPS’s hostile bid by completing its own rival acquisition. Mediobanca last month fell short of the backing needed from investors for its proposed takeover of insurer Generali’s wealth management arm, Banca Generali, and shareholders opted to accept MPS’s increased offer. Nagel said last week that MPS’s improved offer remained “inadequate” and continued to “lack industrial rationale”. 

Netskope is seeking a valuation of up to $6.5 billion in its initial public offering in the United States, the cloud-based cybersecurity firm said on Monday, signaling investors' appetite for new listings. U.S. listings rebounded after an April slump sparked by tariff-driven market volatility, as signs of progress in trade negotiations and demand for fresh listings restored confidence in the market. Ticketing platform StubHub also launched a roadshow for its U.S. initial public offering on Monday, aiming a raise of up to $851 million. Santa Clara, California-based Netskope said it would sell 47.8 million shares, priced between $15 and $17 apiece, to raise as much as $813 million. Netskope, founded in 2012, develops cloud security software that helps businesses safeguard apps, websites and data from cyber threats. A rise in sophisticated cyberattacks and the rapid shift to cloud platforms have heightened fears of breaches and operational disruptions, spurring investor interest in AI-powered cybersecurity firms that promise stronger defenses in an increasingly digital economy.