By Adriano Marchese
Stocks in Toronto were deep in red territory Thursday in midday trading, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index falling by 267.13 points. Markets are down worldwide, with concerns of global recession growing. In the U.K., Prime Minister Liz Truss defended her government's tax cuts and has vowed to stay the course despite market turmoil. Meanwhile in Canada, only the materials sector was showing some gains, while producer manufacturing, health services and process industries were the outsized laggards. Aegis Brands Inc. fell sharply after it said it would need to draw down its credit facility and issue new shares for its acquisition of Canadian sports bar chain St. Louis Bar & Grill for 50 million Canadian dollars (US$36.7 million) in cash.
At midday, Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 1.45% at 18378.87, while the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 was down 1.40% to 1114.78.
Aegis Brands Inc. shares fell 24% to C$0.38 after it said that to acquire St. Louis Bar & Grill it would draw C$30 million from its existing debt facilities, while the balance would be financed through a private placement to raise C$25 million. According to FactSet, Aegis has a market capitalization of C$8.8 million.
Other market movers:
Intermap Technologies Corp. rose 17% to C$0.45 after it said that it was chosen as a subcontractor to work on a U.S. Air Force Advanced Battle Management system contract.
Enbridge Inc. has acquired renewable project developer Tri Global Energy in the U.S. for $270 million as it looks to accelerate growth in North America. Shares were down 1.1% at C$51.86.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-29-22 1222ET
