Toronto-based First National, one of Canada’s biggest non-bank mortgage providers, agreed to be sold for $48 a share, 13 per cent more than its share price when markets closed Friday. (The Logic)

Talking point: First National’s main business is providing mortgages for single-family home-purchasers with funding from institutional investors. The firm is controlled by co-founders Stephen Smith and Moray Tawse, who together own 71 per cent of the company. Smith and Tawse will each keep about 19 per cent ownership following the transaction, with Brookfield and Birch Hill holding the rest. Founded in 1988, First National has grown substantially in recent years, generating a total return of more than 415 per cent in the past decade. The firm considered several potential buyers, it said in a press release, before accepting the bid from Brookfield and Birch Hill, which “offered the highest value to shareholders.” Shareholders will vote on the sale in September, with the deal expected to close in late 2025.