Topic: How To Invest

Spinoffs, Takeovers and Special Situations Hotline – Friday, July 26, 2019

Article Excerpt

VELAN INC., $9.21, symbol VLN on Toronto, is a Montreal-based maker of industrial valves for use in most industries, including power generation, oil and gas, refining and petrochemicals, chemicals, LNG and cryogenics, pulp and paper, geothermal processes and shipbuilding. The company has 13 production facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. Its head office is located in Montreal. Adolph Karel Velan founded the firm in 1950, about a year after arriving in Canada from Soviet-controlled Czechoslovakia and after coming up with the idea for a new valve. While an outsider is now in charge, the Velan family still controls the company with about 92% of the voting rights. Earlier this year, Velan announced its “V20” transformation plan for the company. Its strategy includes the closing of its St-Laurent, Quebec, manufacturing facility, with production moving to its plants Granby, Quebec, and Vermont. The St-Laurent plant is expected to close by early 2021. However, at the company’s annual meeting on July 11, and held in Montreal,…