PwC: Canadian-led M&A in Europe hits a post-crisis high

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

The middle market segment of the Canadian M&A market  picked up steam during Q2 with 51 transactions worth $12.2 billion announced, up 21% and 35% respectively over the prior quarter.   However, the overall drop off in announced M&A during the second quarter was led by a decline in “mega deals.”  The aggregate value of M&A transactions worth more than $1 billion dropped by $4.8 billion, or 16%, compared to Q1.  Ontario overtook Alberta as the most popular province to make an investment.  By value, 41% of announced deals were in Ontario compared to 36% in Alberta.  A key reason for the change was because of fewer large deals in Alberta’s oil sands.

However, Canadian companies were very active in Europe during Q2 2012, announcing $15.1 billion worth of deals on the continent—a post-crisis quarterly high.  Overall, the quarter saw Canadians active in a number of foreign markets.  $21.8 billion of acquisitions were announced in 40 countries outside of Canada, including 27 growth markets, one of the highest outbound deal values on record.

Cancelled deal activity dropped to a record low in the quarter despite shaky markets.  There were only 12 deal cancellations in Q2.