Topic: Energy

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Parties to M&A must be diligent about climate change

Climate change has become a high profile issue that is expected to have significant implications for M&A transactions going forward. As public awareness and scientific understanding of climate change continues to evolve, we are more informed about the climate change-related risks that businesses must grapple with and get ahead of. As a result, businesses need … Continue reading

Uncertainty at the root of U.S./Canada oil market fluctuations

Investors are struggling to price market uncertainties, with widely fluctuating market prices in both the United States and Canada. West Texas Intermediate, a U.S. crude benchmark, slid 2.9% during the first week of September, following a jump of more than 7% in August and has remained turbulent ever since. Meanwhile, Canadian energy stocks have failed … Continue reading

Oil & gas update: AER hints at more changes

In recent years the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has been making changes to its liability management system. In early August, the AER hinted more changes are on the way. In a news release, Jim Ellis, the regulator’s CEO, explains that a gap has been clearly identified in the current liability management system, and that the … Continue reading

Q1 2018 review: record deal values for the power and utilities sector

A recent report by Ernst & Young (the Report) has concluded that the power and utilities (P&U)  is thriving, as global deal value in the first quarter of 2018 reached an all-time high of US$97 billion. This rise has predominately been driven by mega-deals, with only 15 deals forming 90% of the total global deal value in the … Continue reading

Holding an oil and gas licence: a privilege, not a right

Say you are about to buy, sell, or invest in an Alberta oil and gas company. You are conducting your due diligence, negotiating the transaction documents, pursuing any necessary approvals and are looking forward to closing. Before you can proceed, get ready to add another item to your closing checklist. The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has … Continue reading

Signs of optimism for mining, oil-and-gas M&A activity in 2018

Overall merger and acquisition deal value involving Canadian companies totalled $216.3 billion in 2017, which was approximately 14% lower than the $251.88 billion seen in 2016, which was a decade-high level. The fall in overall value was primarily caused by a 25% decline in energy deals, according to a report in Bloomberg, which resulted in … Continue reading

Canadian M&A activity at 10-year high due to oil-sands sell-off

The value of Canadian M&A activity in the first half of 2017 was the highest in a decade, according to a recent report from Bloomberg. The approximately $132 billion in total transaction value is the highest since the first half of 2007, when approximately $156.6 billion in transactions were completed. According to the report, one … Continue reading

Private equity trends towards specialization

Competition has increased in the private equity (PE) market. In the US, PE firms paid a 31% premium for acquisitions in 2016, an eight-year high according to Bloomberg data. There are a growing number of market participants chasing after ever scarcer quality businesses thereby causing price appreciation of businesses. In addition, the availability of low … Continue reading

Trend report: increased M&A deal values across the Americas for Q1 2017

On April 25, Mergermarket released its Q1 2017 Regional Flash Reports describing the M&A climate, trends and developments throughout the Americas during the first quarter of 2017. The Canada’s Trend Report indicates that Canadian M&A has remained strong with 111 deals in Q1 2017 worth US$ 35.8bn. This is a robust start for 2017 as … Continue reading

M&A trends for 2017: Canada a likely target

According to a year-end report on M&A Trends published by Deloitte, corporate and private equity executives surveyed in the last quarter of 2016 anticipated significant M&A activity in 2017. Indeed, three quarters of survey respondents expect deal activity to increase in 2017 relative to 2016, and almost 65% expect deal size to increase. Aside from … Continue reading

M&A considerations for resource issuers: Canada’s Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act

Canada’s Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA, or the Act) came into force on June 1, 2015. The Act imposes disclosure obligations on certain Canadian businesses engaged in the commercial development of oil, gas or minerals with respect to payments made to domestic and foreign governmental bodies. As we previously noted, Canadian businesses subject to … Continue reading

A global overview of M&A activity: August 2016

MergerMarket Group recently published its September edition of Monthly M&A Insider which reported on mergers and acquisitions activity around the world for the month of August 2016. More than two thirds into the year, August was no exception to the recent rather sluggish growth in M&A activity, especially compared to the record-breaking year for M&A … Continue reading

#Trubama, climate change and the oil industry: how will it impact M&A in 2016?

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enjoyed an official visit to Washington that attracted significant attention and generated positive headlines for Canada-US relations. At the top of the agenda was the common goal shared between the leaders to combat climate change. Although “#Trubama” (the twitter moniker given to the pair) only have until November … Continue reading

An overview of global M&A activity: 2015 into 2016

2015 was an extraordinary year for global M&A activity. Mergermarket recorded almost 17,000 transactions worth a remarkable US$4.3tn. This topped the previous record set in 2014 by over 30%. The race for top performing sector this year was very close. Energy Mining & Utilities won with US$630bn in deal value; however, the top performers were … Continue reading

New Year’s resolution: buying & selling smart

2015 was a huge year for global M&A with deal activity reaching $4.2 trillion by the middle of December.  If 2016 continues at the same pace, be prepared for a big year of M&A activity. In order to be well equipped for the upcoming year, ask yourself the following two questions when contemplating an M&A … Continue reading

M&A activity is booming in Asia’s renewable energy market

The first half of the decade has seen a swift rise in green-house gas (GHG) emissions in Asia. Consequently, China is now the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide from the consumption of energy, accounting for over 25% of global emissions. This rapid intensification has also created an active and robust renewable energy market in … Continue reading

Global M&A in the first half of 2015

Similarly to American M&A in the first half of 2015, the first half of 2015 was remarkably active on the global mergers and acquisitions front. According to a recent Mergermarket report, total deal value topped US$1.7 trillion. This represents an increase of 15.2% over the first six months of 2014, and only 15.4% behind the record-setting … Continue reading

Foreign investors eye Canadian companies

Canadian companies are becoming increasingly attractive to American and European companies as targets of foreign investment according to a recent article from the Lexpert Special Edition on Canada’s Leading Corporate Lawyers, published within the June edition of The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business Magazine. The Lexpert article states that both U.S. and U.K.-based investors … Continue reading

A mixed bag for global M&A activity in April 2015

Mergermarket published its M&A Monthly Insider for May of 2015 earlier this week, summarizing M&A activity around the world, and particularly in the regions of North America, Central and South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Japan. To date in North America, there have been 1,516 deals worth US $407.2 billion. April 2015 … Continue reading

M&A in Canada’s clean tech and energy innovation sector

The decrease in the price of oil and resulting available capital may create a surge of investment in cleantech, renewable energy and electricity in Ontario, and Queen’s Park appears to be doing all that it can to aid this East-bound capital flight. The Liberal government’s much publicized plan to liberalize the electricity sector and privatize … Continue reading

M&A in Q1 2015: the results are in

The Mergermarket Group has published its Monthly M&A Insider – April 2015 report outlining trends and developments in M&A activity worldwide for the first quarter of 2015. In North America, M&A activity continued on the upward trend set in 2014. The first quarter saw 1,116 deals valued at US $338.8 billion, which was a 11% … Continue reading

Positive outlook for Canadian M&A despite market volatility

The past year witnessed the highest volume of deal activity in Canada in the last five years. However, recent challenges may result in some uncertainty in the dealmaking environment of 2015. The predictions of 50 leading Canadian executives were gathered in interviews commissioned by Citi and conducted by Mergermarket. This study, entitled “Charting the course: … Continue reading
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