MONTREAL- SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. shares shot up Tuesday after the Liberal election win left open the possibility of a plea deal on fraud and corruption charges against the engineering firm.<\/p>\n
The beleaguered company’s shares were up than 14 per cent or $2.50 at $20.18 in mid-afternoon trading, buoyed by investor hopes that the Liberal refusal to close the door on a deferred prosecution agreement will play out to SNC-Lavalin’s advantage ahead of a criminal trial.<\/p>\n
“It’s good for SNC,” said Prof. Karl Moore of McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management said of the return of a Liberal federal government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.<\/p>\n
“I think the market sees it, not unreasonably, that they are in better shape than if the Conservatives had come in.”<\/p>\n
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has lambasted Trudeau for allegedly pressuring former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to halt the criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.<\/p>\n
Canada’s ethics commissioner concluded in August that Trudeau breached a section of the ethics code by improperly pressuring former attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould to end criminal proceedings against SNC-Lavalin.<\/p>\n
Trudeau has said he disagrees with the commissioner’s findings but accepts them.<\/p>\n
Analyst Chris Murray of Altacorp Capital said that a resurgent Bloc Quebecois, which more than tripled its seat count to 32 on Monday, could fan hopes that the new Parliament might work to help the Montreal-based multinational.<\/p>\n
“With the performance of the BQ and the fact of a minority government, maybe some folks are optimistic that there could be a solution presented,” Murray said.<\/p>\n
“I’d also caution that there is a lot history here…While it is up, I would be caution against getting too optimistic,” he added.<\/p>\n
SNC-Lavalin declined to discuss the government’s intentions or comment on the ongoing court case.<\/p>\n
Attorney General David Lametti has refused to shut down the possibility of a remediation agreement with SNC.<\/p>\n
The company has seen its market value fall by roughly 60 per cent since January amid the SNC political scandal in Ottawa.<\/p>\n
SNC faces an upcoming trial on charges of fraud under the Criminal Code and bribery under anti-corruption legislation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MONTREAL- SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. shares shot up Tuesday after the Liberal election win left open the possibility of a plea deal on fraud and corruption charges against the engineering firm. The beleaguered company’s shares were up than 14 per cent or $2.50 at $20.18 in mid-afternoon trading, buoyed by investor hopes that the Liberal refusal …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":""},"categories":[32,7,39],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n