Ontar io Teachers’ Pension Plan will sell its entire 25 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Foods at a sharp discount, ending the fund’s longtime role in one of Canada’s top food processors.
Teachers’ said Nov. 23 it will sell its 34.5 million shares at $10.50 each to underwriters BMO Capital Markets and TD Securities to complete a secondary offering worth more than $362 million. The price is a discount of 17 per cent to Maple Leaf’s finish at $12.69 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Nov. 23.
Read Also
Gene editing digs deeper space in Canadian plant breeding
More Canadian research into crop variety development is incorporating gene editing, and one researcher notes that Canada’s regulatory approach to gene editing will help drive innovation
The pension fund has moved to whittle down its stake in Maple Leaf – once its largest single holding of a listed company in Canada – since this summer, as it looks to divest some Canadian holdings.
Within the last four months, Teachers’ has cut its stake in Maple Leaf twice, from more than one-third to zero, following a sale in August to hedge fund West Face Capital and then Tuesday’s secondary offering.
Maple Leaf unveiled a $1.29 billion capital plan last month to upgrade some plants and close others as it tries to narrow the gap with lower-cost U.S. rivals.
The company’s shares, which were halted before the news, have not recovered since a deadly tainted meat scandal in 2008, however they have appreciated about 40 per cent since early August on expectations that activist investor West Face would effect positive change.
