HIGH RIVER, Alberta, Sept. 22, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Western Investment Company of Canada Limited ("Western") (TSX Venture:WI) announces today that it has signed a letter of intent ("LOI") to acquire a 75% interest in an Alberta based specialty retailer with operations across North America (the “Retailer”). The LOI establishes the enterprise value for the Retailer at $9.5 million, with Western contributing $3.45 million in cash, and the current owner/managers retaining $1.15 million with the balance in term debt provided by a Canadian financial institution.
The LOI contains a number of conditions to closing, including approvals from the board of directors of Western, the completion of due diligence, entering into a mutually acceptable purchase and sale agreement, and regulatory approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. For competitive reasons, the parties have agreed to keep the identity of the Retailer confidential until all conditions have been removed. The parties have agreed to work toward removal of conditions and closing by November 30, 2017.
Western CEO Scott Tannas commented:
“Western was founded with a specific goal to partner with exceptional management teams at strong, successful Western Canadian companies, and to help them grow. The Retailer is a shining example of the kind of company we are seeking – established for many years, this company continues to achieve robust double-digit sales and profit growth, with significant opportunity for expansion. Similar to our 2016 investment in GlassMasters, the Retailer is squarely in the category of what we describe as “retail with a twist” – which combines innovative distribution with a strong product and service brand. We are very excited about this investment, and will be working hard to complete the necessary steps toward removal of conditions. We look forward to sharing further details, including the identity of the Retailer as soon as we can.”
About Western
Western is a unique publicly traded, private equity company founded by a group of successful Western Canadian businesspeople, and dedicated to building and maintaining ownership in successful Western Canadian companies, and helping them to grow. Western’s shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol WI. For more information on Western, please visit its website at www.winv.ca.
CONTACT INFORMATION
The Western Investment Company of Canada Limited
Scott Tannas
President and Chief Executive Officer
(403) 652‐2663
stannas@winv.ca
Advisory
This news release may contain certain forward‐looking information and statements, including without limitation, statements pertaining to board approvals, satisfactory completion of due diligence, entering into a purchase and sale agreement, and obtaining regulatory approvals. Statements containing the words: 'believes', 'intends', 'expects', 'plans', 'seeks' and 'anticipates' and any other words of similar meaning are forward‐looking. All statements included herein involve various risks and uncertainties because they relate to future events and circumstances beyond Western's control. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. A description of assumptions used to develop such forward‐looking information and a description of risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward‐looking information can be found in Western's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Any forward looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Western does not undertake to update any forward‐looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.