According to new data from Thomson Reuters, deal activity outside of Canada from the country’s top pension funds, banks, investment management firms, and insurers, made Canadian deal activity the second-highest ever in 2015.
The report showed $278.69 billion USD worth of deal activity involving Canadian entities in 2015, up 37 percent from last year.
The report showed $278.69 billion USD worth of deal activity involving Canadian entities in 2015, noting that this activity was up 37 percent from last year. JPMorgan, the lead advisor to General Electric on the sale of its finance assets, took the top spot for Canadian M&A as big parts of that GE portfolio were scooped up by Canadian institutions like Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Bank of Montreal, and Element Financial.
“The real story around Canadian M&A activity this year was the outbound activity that was up some 175 percent and drove the lion’s share of activity,” said John Armstrong, head of Canadian M&A at BMO Capital Markets.
Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and BMO Capital Markets managed to take the top five spots. “The continuing emergence of the Canadian pension funds as top-tier deal-makers on the global stage was solidified in 2015,” said Ron Lloyd, head of Credit Suisse Canada. Credit Suisse Canada was ninth out of the top ten deal makers.
Because of the strong deal activity in 2015, M&A deals are expected to pick up in 2016. “M&A activity in the energy sector is likely to pick up over the next 12 to 18 months,” said David Rawlings, head of JPMorgan Canada. “There should be an opportunity to create real franchise value for well-capitalized companies.”
The report also noted that BMO Capital Markets was the top bank for IPOs. TD Securities and RBC Capital Markets were second and third respectively.
Related: EY executive says Canadian executives looking more towards M&A for growth