Empire (EMP-A) announced the acquisition of Mayrand, a small Quebec-based discount grocer that’s immaterial in dollar terms - but could represent a change in strategy…

… given it had no prior category exposure in the province. With Empire’s footprint sitting well below Metro (MRU) and Loblaw (L) on a relative basis, there’s runway to grow…

… as discount stores continue to take share from conventional grocery, which has driven a wedge between the company’s valuation versus peers…

… alongside strength in pharmacy, another category EMP is less exposed to.

Blackline Safety (BLN) is going private in a deal valuing the company between $800-850M based on certain milestones, representing a ~30% premium - but still a discount to its historical valuation…

… which was never revisited after some pandemic-induced margin pressure. The company’s unit economics have since recovered and then some, driven by outsized growth in services…

… which is more profitable than the initial product sale. Like the $280M Gamehost takeout a couple weeks ago, private capital is betting that growth will continue - with upside from international markets.

A fourth Conservative MP has crossed the floor, taking Carney’s party to 171 seats - one shy of a majority with three by-elections to come next week.

With two of those three districts being Liberal strongholds, the outcome feels inevitable at this point - removing friction from executing Carney’s agenda.

G2 Goldfields (GTWO) was up ~80% on G Mining’s $3B offer for the company, which was expected given the two have neighbouring assets. Together, the Oko project has over $1B of direct synergies…

… including $850M of capital costs (mill, tailings facility, etc.) and $275M of operating efficiencies. Importantly, GMIN provides funding certainty for the acquired asset…

… thanks to its stronger liquidity position and FCF generation from the Tocantinzinho mine in Brazil.

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