Buyback at a discount

Article Excerpt

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $59.11 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: TSINetwork Rating: Average) (1-800-361-2612; couchetard.com; Shs. o/s: 567.4 million; Market cap: $33.7 billion; Divd. yield: 0.6%) will repurchase 4.3 million of its Class B voting shares from Metro Inc. It will pay $57.17 each, for a total of $245.8 million. In separate transactions, 11.4 million Class A multiple-voting shares held by Metro will be acquired by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Finally, under a previous agreement with Couche-Tard, Metro will convert another 11.4 million of its Class A shares into Class B shares before selling them to the public. Metro will be left holding just under 1% of Couche- Tard’s total outstanding shares. For Couche-Tard, it’s a chance to buy back shares at below market value. Couche-Tard is a top pick for 2017. 2017…