logo
iA Financial buying RF Capital Group for $370 million

iA Financial buying RF Capital Group for $370 million

Yahoo28-07-2025
QUÉBEC — iA Financial Corp. Inc. says it has reached a deal to buy RF Capital Group Inc., which operates under the Richardson Wealth brand, for $370 million.
Quebec City-based iA Financial says it's paying $20 per common share in cash for the independent wealth management firm, while financial obligations including debt and preferred shares bring the total consideration to $597 million.
iA Financial says the deal will expand its national footprint and adds more than $40 billion in assets under administration to the firm.
It says the purchase price represents a 102 per cent premium to RF's 30-day volume weighted average share price on the TSX.
iA Financial says the deal brings the total assets under administration in its wealth division to about $175 billion and creates scale advantages.
Founded in 1892, iA Financial Group says it is one of the largest insurance and wealth management groups in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:RCG; TSX:IAG)
The Canadian Press
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The Sydney Sweeney Ad Did The Impossible — It Got People Talking About Advertising Again.
The Sydney Sweeney Ad Did The Impossible — It Got People Talking About Advertising Again.

Forbes

timean hour ago

  • Forbes

The Sydney Sweeney Ad Did The Impossible — It Got People Talking About Advertising Again.

Outside of what has become an annual American tradition of reviewing Super Bowl commercials, it has been years since I've heard or been sent so many reviews, opinions, and hot takes on a :15 or :30 second commercial spot. Until now. Last week, American Eagle came in hot with a series of ads featuring one of America's most popular rising stars. Actress Sydney Sweeney, 27, launched her new collaboration with the retailer, titled 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans'. And it did not disappoint (or perhaps it did, depending on who you ask) From the South China Morning Post to the Daily Mail, and Vanity Fair to NPR - outlets across time zones, age brackets and industry verticles are chiming in on their thoughts and perspectives and symbolism of the ad. On social media, the ad is the talk of TikTok, X, and Instagram with influencers and everyday people eager to record videos to share their opinion, all while replaying the ad for their users to see, of course. Even the President commented! What's all the talk about? The pun/double entendre of language between genes and jeans, the intersection of visual identity and sex appeal, and the pretty privilege of "traditional" beauty. Quite simply, this ad has unlocked America's culture war about looks, influence, and eugenics? American Eagle Is An Unlikley Catalyst American Eagle Outfitters, while a longstanding international retail brand and manufacturer, is an unlikely catalyst for this moment. But what their story tells you is that GREAT ADVERTISING is effective when done correctly. In recent years, advertising has been an industry under siege by both clients, who hire out the creative agencies that make the work, and by consumers who have multiple ways they can avoid watching ads. Recent trends are continuing to accelerate this. Last month's Omnicom's much anticipated $13.5 billion acquisition of rival Interpublic was approved by the FTC, creating the world's largest advertising agency. In the U.S., the firm would become the largest media buying ad agency as well. The new Omnicom will have over 100,000 expert practitioners with the combined entity forecast to yield $750 million in annual cost savings, highlighting the ongoing drive toward consolidation on Madison Ave. Some argue that this consolidation hurts creativity due to the red tape and corporate-leaning culture. It's not to imply advertisements aren't all around us. The average person sees hundreds of ads every day, but the reality is that due to the squeeze from both sides, the creative product is not as memorable as it could be. When asking people if they can recall the ads that they see, the response is only between 1%-10%. From AI, to ad-free streaming to 'skip now', advertising has seemed to become "in the way" of what we are trying to consume vs enhancing the experience of the time we are forced to commit. And as algorithms become more powerful in serving custom ads, it's become more complex and harder for brands and audiences to be able to recall advertising as they once were immediately. Gone are the days of 'Yo Quiero Taco Bell', 'The Geico Caveman', 'Mac vs PC', or 'Spuds McKenzie' Opposing Voices Don't Hold as Much Weight As the dust settles, American Eagle has stood by their ad campaign despite the criticism and controversy. Saying in a recent Instagram post, they shared their ad campaign "is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone." The 'Sydney' jeans which the commercial was advertising, have completely sold out, and the stock price is at its highest point in nearly 6 months ($13.39 at the time of writing), showing that a great ad holds value for companies. Beyond that, the brand is now in minds and lips of millions across the world. Could this American Eagle campaign be the tipping point to inspire a new era of creativity? And could the formula of painting the line on social issues surrounding privilege and race be the new formula? I believe the answer is yes, and I for one am looking forward to actually watching them - regardless of what side of the debate I'm on.

NFL and NFLPA agreed to keep collusion findings secret, per report
NFL and NFLPA agreed to keep collusion findings secret, per report

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

NFL and NFLPA agreed to keep collusion findings secret, per report

The NFL and NFL Players' Association agreed to keep the arbitration decision from earlier this year regarding potential collusion by the league and owners confidential, according to ESPN. The two sides stuck a confidentiality agreement after arbiter Christopher Droney ruled in January that the league had not colluded despite evidence commissioner Roger Goodell and former general counsel Jeff Pash instructed teams at the March 2022 league meeting to limit guaranteed money in players' contracts. Because of the confidentiality agreement, the collusion grievance's findings did not become public until "Pablo Torre Finds Out" reported on the 61-page ruling by Droney in June. The NFLPA is appealing the decision, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person was granted anonymity because of the ongoing legal process. The person also said the arbitration ruling had been discussed with player leadership (such as the executive committee, which includes NFLPA president Jalen Reeves-Maybin and 10 vice presidents) since January, although ESPN reported Howell simply relayed the NFLPA had lost and didn't reveal any findings or details. A three-person panel will hear the appeal. The union hired law firm Wilmer Hale, according to ESPN and confirmed by USA TODAY Sports, to review the activities of executive director Lloyd Howell, who was elected to the position in June 2023. The NFLPA already had legal teams look into Howell's involvement with a licensing group started jointly by the NFLPA and Major League Baseball Players' Association called OneTeam Partners that became the focus of an FBI investigation last month for misuse of funds. ESPN also reported Howell has been a paid, part-time consultant for The Carlyle Group since March 2023, three months prior to his election as head of the union. The Carlyle Group is one of the few private-equity firms currently approved by the league that could seek to invest in NFL franchises. A union lawyer apparently questioned Howell about his involvement and advised him to resign his position at Carlyle, per ESPN. A spokeswoman for the company said in a statement to ESPN "(Howell) had no access to information about the NFL and Carlyle process beyond public news reports due to strict Carlyle information barriers in place" and was not aware of the request from union lawyers for Lloyd to resign from Carlyle. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFLPA head Lloyd Howell facing controversies on multiple fronts

Lloyd Howell resigns as NFLPA executive director
Lloyd Howell resigns as NFLPA executive director

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Lloyd Howell resigns as NFLPA executive director

The NFL Players Association is going to need a new leader. NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. announced his resignation Thursday evening. "It's clear that my leadership has become a distraction to the important work the NFLPA advances every day. For this reason, I have informed the NFLPA Executive Committee that I am stepping down as Executive Director of the NFLPA and Chairman of the Board of NFL Players effective immediately," Howell said in a statement. "I hope this will allow the NFLPA to maintain its focus on its player members ahead of the upcoming season." A message was also sent to the NFLPA membership from the executive committee and was obtained by USA TODAY Sports. It read: "This evening, Lloyd Howell informed us that he is stepping down as Executive Director of the union. We accepted his resignation and are grateful for his service. The Board will convene as soon as possible for a meeting on next steps and will be in touch with our membership soon." Howell had come under intense scrutiny in recent days and weeks following the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast's release of a 61-page arbitration report. In January, Christopher Droney, an independent arbitrator, dismissed a grievance raised by the NFLPA, ruling there wasn't sufficient evidence of collusion by NFL owners. However, the contents of his report included a finding that the NFL encouraged owners "to reduce guarantees in future contracts with players at the March 2022 annual meeting." ESPN had reported that the NFL and NFLPA made an "unusual confidentiality agreement" to keep the findings of the arbitration report secret. "By agreeing to a confidentiality agreement, the union purposefully blocked the players from receiving crucial information about the operations of the NFL," attorney Peter Ginsberg said via ESPN. "The NFL and the union should not be conspiring together to keep important information from the players." NFL CONTROVERSY: In stunning ruling, arbitrator finds league encouraged collusion ESPN reports Lloyd Howell has side job with conflict of interest Further controversy surrounding Howell emerged on July 10. ESPN reported that Howell, in addition to his job as head of the players' union, was working as a "paid, part-time consultant for The Carlyle Group," a private equity firm that the NFL approved to seek minority ownership stakes in its teams. Howell had started the consulting gig months before starting his role as the NFLPA's executive director. He refused to step down from his role with The Carlyle Group after taking the NFLPA job, ESPN reported. "It would be an outrageous conflict for the head of a labor union to have an interest in a third party that is aligned with the NFL," NFLPA's former lead outside counsel Jim Quinn said, via ESPN. "The relationship between a labor organization and the employer organization is adversarial by definition, and as a result, as a leader, you have to be absolutely clear and clean as to having no even appearance of conflict." A representative for The Carlyle Group told ESPN in a statement that Howell "had no access to information about the NFL and Carlyle process" and that she was unaware of the union's request he leave his consulting position. USA TODAY Sports had also confirmed an ESPN report that the NFLPA hired law firm Wilmer Hale last month to look into Howell's actions as the union's executive director. NFLPA: NFL and players union agreed to keep collusion findings secret, per report Lloyd Howell involved in previous legal controversies Prior to Howell's election as the union's new executive director, he served as the chief financial officer for technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton between 2016 and 2022. In July 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Booz Allen paid out a $377 million settlement resulting from a whistleblower lawsuit that alleged the firm had been overcharging the federal government. The Washington Post reported that the whistleblower had notified top executives, including Howell, of the overcharging issue for months. The NFLPA had hired Howell as its executive director just one month before the announcement of Booz Allen's settlement. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lloyd Howell resigns as NFLPA executive director

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store