ONTARIO: Canadian mergers and acquisitions are set to increase following a modest Q3 recovery from multi-year lows, as market stability and access to capital give companies the confidence to negotiate and price transactions.
Equity offerings also picked up in the three months through September, as stock market recovery following a tumultuous few months early in the coronavirus pandemic encouraged issuers to tap markets to recapitalise.
Some $40.9 billion worth of M&A deals were announced in the third quarter, the highest since the onset of the coronavirus crisis in late 2019 and a 200 per cent jump from the three months ended in June, Refinitiv data showed. But it was lower than the $50.7 billion worth of transactions from a year ago.
“There are clearly indications that we’re in the early stages of recovery, a lot more strategic dialogue going on and private equity is continuing to be very active,” said Emmanuel Pressman, partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.
Canadian security firm GardaWorld’s $3.8 billion offer for Britain’s G4S and cable operator Altice USA Inc’s $7.7 billion proposal to buy Canadian cable company Cogeco were among the deals announced Q3. — Reuters
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