In the eye of Quebec Inc.: the former CEO of Cogeco left with $3 million

In this column, we provide an overview of insider transactions and investments in Quebec companies.

He left his post in March

Philippe Jetté, who was at the head of Cogeco for a little over five years, will receive a severance payment of more than $3 million, the Quebec cable distributor recently revealed. In March, Mr. Jetté was abruptly replaced by Frédéric Perron, an industry veteran who resides in Ontario. Two other former senior executives of Cogeco, the American Frank van der Post and the Montrealer Valéry Zamuner, received compensation of $2 million each after losing their position. M^me Zamuner had been with Cogeco for barely nine months.

He sells Dollarama

Ontarian Stephen Gunn, who has chaired the board of directors of Dollarama since 2018, sold nearly $7.8 million worth of shares in the Montreal retailer last week. He has about $10 million left. Dollarama's stock has climbed more than 45% since the start of the year.

Sherweb buys in Ireland

Quebec company Sherweb recently completed the acquisition of MicroWarehouse, a major player in the cloud computing sector in Ireland. The value of the transaction was not disclosed. Founded in 1998 by the Cassar brothers from Sherbrooke, the firm today has more than 1,000 employees worldwide.

A salesman at Bell

The big boss of the business market at Bell Canada, John Watson, sold more than $1 million worth of shares in the telecommunications giant almost a month ago. The manager did not choose the best time to sell: Bell's stock fell around 15% in November due to disappointing results and a controversial acquisition in the United States. Since the start of 2024, the company's stock value has plunged more than 35%.

He buys Boralex

A Boralex director, André Courville, purchased nearly $60,000 worth of shares in the Quebec renewable energy producer about a month ago. A former partner of the accounting firm Ernst & Young, Mr. Courville has served on the board of Boralex since 2019. The company's stock has lost more than 10% since the start of 2024.

Il you turn Bombardier

Bombardier's chief financial officer, Bart Demovsky, sold nearly $1.1 million worth of shares in the Montreal aircraft manufacturer ten days ago. A former senior executive at Suncor and Canadian Pacific, Mr. Demovsky has been at Bombardier since the end of 2020. The company's stock has gained more than 80% since the start of the year.