Topic: How To Invest

Q: Dear Pat: May I have your opinion, please, on Alaris Royalty Corp. Thank you.

Article Excerpt

A: Alaris Royalty Corp., $22.58, symbol AD on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 36.4 million; Market cap: $819.6 million; www.alarisroyalty.com), lends money to its partners—private businesses—in exchange for royalties or distributions. Its goal is to generate stable cash flows, so that it can provide its shareholders with dividend payments. Since 2004, Alaris has provided over $890 million in funding to partner firms. They pay monthly distributions to Alaris, and the company adjusts the rates it charges annually based on certain criteria. They include changes in a client’s gross sales or profits. Alaris currently collects distributions from 16 private businesses. Its most recent investment was in October 2016: the company bought $23.4 million in preferred shares of Matisia LLC, a Seattle-based management consulting firm that helps large firms improve their business operations. Matisia will contribute $3.6 million in annual distributions to Alaris’s revenue. The Matisia stake was the first purchase made by the company’s new…