JULY/AUGUST 2019 BCBUSINESS 53 COURTESY OF PAPER EXCELLENCE CANADA HOLDINGS
T
rade deals and rumours of trade
wars; rising interest rates and
tighter government regulation—
such was the year in business
across B.C. as the 100 biggest companies
by revenue kept expanding, evolving and
broaching new markets in 2018.
"Right now, the economy is pretty strong,"
says Ken Peacock, chief economist with the
Business Council of British Columbia. "But
more and more, there's this sense of cracks
Global connections
have made B.C.'s
biggest companies
more resilient, but
not smug
continued on page 61
Wheeling,
Dealing–and
Worrying
b y P E T E R M I T H A M
ON A ROLL
Paper Excellence
Canada Holdings
grew thanks to its
recent takeover of
rival Catalyst Paper
emerging, and it's all centred around these
competitiveness challenges and concerns."
While businesses such as Avigilon Corp.
and Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust were
acquiredˆ and left the list, B.C.'s Top 100
companies also did their share of take-
overs. In one of the most signiŠcant deals
of 2018, Paper Excellence Canada Holdings
Corp. announced the purchase of fellow
Richmond rival Catalyst Paper Corp., clos-
ing the merger this spring.ˆ The combina-
tion of Goldcorp and U.S.-based Newmont
Mining Corp. also closed earlier this year,
and a regional headquarters of Newmont
Goldcorp Corp., one of the world's biggest
gold miners, will be in Vancouver.
BID Group, a supplier to the forest indus-
try (see p.89), and beverage maker Mark
Anthony Group made strategic acquisi-
tions, while Victoria-based Lonš view
Aviation Capital Corp.—owner of Viking
Air—bought the Dash-8 program and the de
Havilland trademark from Quebec aerospace
