Latest news with #financialguarantee
Globe and Mail
07-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Ambac Financial Group and Oaktree announce an extension to the stock purchase agreement for the Financial Guarantee business
Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: AMBC) ('Ambac') today announced the extension from July 3, 2025, to December 31, 2025 of the term of the stock purchase agreement relating to the sale of its legacy financial guarantee businesses—Ambac Assurance Corporation ('AAC') and Ambac UK ('AUK')—to funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. ('Oaktree') for $420 million in cash. Both Ambac and Oaktree remain fully committed to closing the transaction. Oaktree continues to work with the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (the 'OCI') to satisfy its remaining closing conditions and obtain final regulatory approval. 'We continue to await final regulatory approval for this strategic transaction and remain aligned with Oaktree and confident in completing the sale,' said Claude LeBlanc, President and CEO of Ambac. 'This transaction remains the capstone to our transformation into a pure-play specialty P&C insurance platform, and we look forward to closing it as soon as practicable.' 'Oaktree has been actively working towards, and is committed to, obtaining the final regulatory approval from the OCI to close on the acquisition of AAC and AUK,' said Oaktree Managing Director Greg Share. 'We look forward to closing this transaction once such approval is received.' In addition to the extension, Ambac and Oaktree have agreed to a conversion right for the warrant to purchase Ambac common stock that Oaktree is receiving at the closing of the transaction. Ambac and Oaktree have also agreed to arrangements with respect to Ambac's existing lease obligations and on the treatment of certain expenses allocated to AAC prior to the closing of the transaction. Full details of the amendment will be disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by Ambac with the SEC today. About Ambac Ambac Financial Group, Inc. ('Ambac') is an insurance holding company headquartered in New York City. Ambac's core business is a growing specialty P&C distribution and underwriting platform. Ambac's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'AMBC'. Ambac is committed to providing timely and accurate information to the investing public, consistent with our legal and regulatory obligations. To that end, we use our website to convey information about our businesses, including the anticipated release of quarterly financial results, quarterly financial, statistical, and business-related information. For more information, please go to The Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Ambac contains substantial restrictions on the ability to transfer Ambac's common stock. Subject to limited exceptions, any attempted transfer of common stock shall be prohibited and void to the extent that, as a result of such transfer (or any series of transfers of which such transfer is a part), any person or group of persons shall become a holder of 5% or more of Ambac's common stock or a holder of 5% or more of Ambac's common stock increases its ownership interest. About Oaktree Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $203 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2025. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented, and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, equity, and real estate. The firm has more than 1,200 employees and offices in 25 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree's website at Forward-Looking Statements In this press release, statements that may constitute 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 'estimate,' 'project,' 'plan,' 'believe,' 'anticipate,' 'intend,' 'planned,' 'potential' and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as 'will,' 'should,' 'would,' 'could,' and 'may,' or the negative of those expressions or verbs, identify forward-looking statements. We caution readers that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent only our beliefs regarding future events, which may by their nature be inherently uncertain and some of which may be outside our control. These statements may relate to plans and objectives with respect to the future, among other things which may change. We are alerting you to the possibility that our actual results may differ, possibly materially, from the expected objectives or anticipated results that may be suggested, expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our results to differ, possibly materially, from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, those discussed under 'Risk Factors' in our most recent SEC filed quarterly or annual report.
CBC
13-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
Canada's 'worst boss' defies nuclear regulator, threatens to sue
A licensed nuclear facility in Kanata is ignoring orders from the federal regulator, with the owner claiming in all-caps rants that he will sue the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). A deadline passed this week for Best Theratronics Ltd. (BTL) to provide the CNSC with a written update on its progress toward restoring a lapsed financial guarantee. After receiving no response from the company, the CNSC told CBC in an email that it will now "determine the next steps." BTL owner Krishnan Suthanthiran did not respond by publication time when asked about the deadline elapsing, but has previously accused CNSC of wrongdoing. "We are not in violation of CNSC RULES , it is CNSC THAT IS IN VIOLATION OF THEIR OWN RULES," Suthanthiran wrote to CBC in an email last month, claiming he was filing a lawsuit against the CNSC. "THIS AND MY BUSINESS EXPERIENCE IN CANADA WILL BE A GLOBAL MOVIE - DOCU DRAMA - under the generic title , " NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED ", the septuagenarian continued, using idiosyncratic capitalization and punctuation. With Suthanthiran's conflict with the CNSC stretching back to last November, critics say the case highlights issues with the regulator's cosy relationship with the industry it oversees and raises questions about whether taxpayer money could be at stake if the dispute is not revolved. 'Canada's worst boss' BTL is a manufacturer of cancer treatment machines with a Class 1B nuclear substance processing facility operating licence. Formerly part of Crown corporation Atomic Energy Canada Ltd., it was privatized in the 1990s and then sold to the Indian-born Suthanthiran in 2007. The licence permits it to handle nuclear isotopes involved in the production of cobalt-60 external beam radiation therapy units and cesium-137 self-contained blood irradiators. As part of its licence, BTL is required to maintain a $1.8-million financial guarantee, to cover any costs associated with cleanup or decommissioning, should the company default on its obligations. Last year, as BTL was involved in a protracted labour dispute in which striking workers labelled Suthanthiran "Canada's worst boss," the CNSC was made aware this guarantee had lapsed. At the same time, the regulator was growing concerned about security at the then empty facility. In November, the CNSC issued two orders against BTL, one relating to restoring the financial guarantee and another related to security at the facility while the workers were on strike. In February, the CNSC amended the financial guarantee order, giving BTL until June 9 to provide a written update. "Providing extensions and long timelines for compliance is a hallmark of a regulator that is being too deferential and accommodating of industry," said Theresa McClenaghan, executive director of the Canadian Environmental Law Association. This accommodative approach toward a recalcitrant licensee was also seen in communications CNSC sent to BTL advising the company that it may be in breach of the financial guarantee order. "Some of the activities that Best Theratronics Ltd. has indicated have occurred ... may not be allowed under section 1 of the amended order," it wrote in a May 15 email seen by CBC. "As such, we request that you cease these activities." In a response seen by CBC, Suthanthiran replied to the regulator: "I HAVE BEEN BUSY IN RAISING LOAN FUNDS TO KEEP BTL OPERATIONAL , ( but not other companies ) . BUT WHY ARE YOU CHARGING LINCE FEES QUARTERLY WHEN YOU ARE DENYING THE CANCER PATIENTS GLOBALLY FROM GETTING THEIR TREATMENT . "CNSC TREAMENT OF BTL IS NOT A REGULATORY PRUDENCE BUT CRIMINAL . "BEST WISHES , HAVE A GRSAT FRIDAY ." 'The captive regulator problem' Part of CNSC's difficulty in dealing Suthanthiran is that its regulatory framework does not envisage dealing with bad faith actors, according to McClenaghan. Instead, its light-touch regulatory philosophy relies on licensed operators to uphold standards. "Licensees are directly responsible for managing regulated activities in a manner that protects health, safety, security and the environment," the CNSC writes on its website. "I can't think of a time in Canada where you just had somebody completely not complying" with orders, said McClenaghan. "In my view, the CNSC is not sufficiently independent." Among the next steps the CNSC may consider, it has the power to revoke Suthanthiran's licence. "The CNSC uses a graduated approach to enforcement to encourage and compel compliance and deter future non-compliances," a CNSC spokesperson told CBC in an email. "Enforcement actions can range from simply informing the licensee, to issuing an order or an administrative monetary penalty, to revocation of a licence and prosecution in the most extreme of cases." Green Party Leader Elizabeth May believes Suthanthiran's licence should be revoked. "Why is he still operating in Canada when he's out of compliance with many orders that the company has been issued?" she asked. Under investigation in Belgium In 2012, another company owned by Suthanthiran, Best Medical Belgium, was placed into administration after Belgian authorities accused Suthanthiran of illegally draining funds from the company and walking away. The Walloon regional government said the total cost of that cleanup operation eventually reached €128 million, now worth about $200 million Cdn. A criminal investigation into Suthanthiran in Belgium is ongoing, the Belgian prosecutor has told CBC. Given Suthanthiran's history, it is problematic that the CNSC has not moved more swiftly, according to May. "It's basically the captive regulator problem," she said, suggesting the CNSC may be too close to the industry it oversees. BTL is in the riding of Liberal MP Jenna Sudds, who said she takes matters of regulatory compliance seriously. "Ignoring directives from our national regulatory body raises serious concerns about the commitment to safety standards that protect both employees and our community," Sudds wrote in an emailed statement, adding that she will "monitor this situation closely."
