Toronto Stocks Fall; Zymeworks Rises After Rejecting Buyout

By Will Feuer

Toronto stocks fell in midday trading Friday after rising earlier in the morning. The energy, telecom and utility sectors traded higher while the rest of the market traded in the red, dragged down by the health-care sector. Shares of biopharmaceutical company Zymeworks Inc. rose after it rejected an unsolicited buyout offer from an activist investor.

At midday, Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 0.29% at 20122.58 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 fell by 0.27% to 1217.07.

Shares of Vancouver-based Zymeworks Inc. rose more than 2% to $5.95 a share after the company's board rejected an unsolicited, nonbinding $773 million buyout proposal from an affiliate of investment firm activist investor All Blue Capital. The company said it rejected the bid after a comprehensive review that included independent analyses completed by external financial advisers. Chief Executive Kenneth Galbraith said the bid "was timed opportunistically during a period of substantial market dislocation."

Other market movers:

Shares of Calgary-based cannabis retailer High Tide Inc. that are listed in Toronto rose 4% higher to C$3.12 after it said membership in its Cabana Club loyalty program has more than doubled over the past seven months to over 515,000 members.

Shares of Maple Leaf Foods Inc. rose less than 1% to C$26.95 after the Canadian consumer food company said the Toronto Stock Exchange has accepted the company's plans to buy back up to 10% of its public float of shares.

Write to Will Feuer at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-20-22 1218ET