Tag archives: private equity

Full Speed Ahead: Post-Pandemic Trends in M&A

By Brandon Schupp on April 19, 2021 Posted in M&A

After a nine-year low in 2020, M&A activity in Canada made a strong rebound in the first quarter of 2021. As reported by BNN Bloomberg, in the first three months of 2021, Canadian companies were involved in 1,168 deals that together totalled US $115 billion in value, dwarfing the US $44.3 billion in deal value … Continue reading

What’s the Alternative?: The Rise of Alternative M&A Deals in a Post-COVID World

By Abigail Court (Toronto) on October 30, 2020 Posted in M&A

Mergers and acquisitions activity was already off to a slow start when 2020 began, but the COVID-19 pandemic (the “Pandemic”) initially resulted in a further decline in the volume of M&A activity. This was due in part to the economic and commercial uncertainties and market volatility for buyers and sellers alike, which made it difficult … Continue reading

Private Equity Exits During COVID-19: What the 2008 Crisis Can Teach Us

By Abigail Court (Toronto) on April 30, 2020 Posted in Corporate finance, M&A

In a previous post, we discussed the impact of COVID-19 on private equity transactions and how companies can prepare for upcoming economic changes. While opportunities for new investment are on the horizon with private equity funds presently flush with cash, movement on existing investments is likely to slow as sellers wait until markets stabilize before … Continue reading

Private Equity Funds & Co-Investment: A Symbiotic Relationship

By Peter Valente (Toronto) on April 7, 2020 Posted in Finance, M&A

Broadly, a co-investment is an investment in a specific transaction made by limited partners (LPs) of a main private equity (PE) fund alongside, but not through, such main PE fund. This is often accomplished through a separately structured co-investment vehicle which is governed by a separate set of agreements. Co-investments are attractive to PE funds … Continue reading

M&A Activity: 2020 Outlook

By nrfdigitalteam on March 17, 2020 Posted in M&A

J.P. Morgan’s “2020 Global M&A Outlook” (the Report) reviews what we can expect with regards to M&A activity this year. Some of the key takeaways from the Report include: Anticipated Trends in International M&A: We can expect to see an increase in the global M&A market due to greater geopolitical certainty and financially competitive opportunities … Continue reading

Venture capital investment once again shows strong year-over-year growth in H1 2019

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on September 12, 2019 Posted in Corporate finance, Technology and innovation

The Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (the CVCA) recently published its 2019 first half (H1 2019) report on Canadian venture capital (VC) and Canadian private equity (PE) investment. Over the past year, Canadian VC investment has continued its ascent, reaching unprecedented heights and experiencing its strongest first half performance on record. Conversely, Canadian PE … Continue reading

Both sides of the same coin? Examining the rise of sponsor-to-sponsor deals

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on August 29, 2019 Posted in Corporate finance, M&A

As competition and asset multiples increase, private equity (“PE”) firms must find new ways to put their money to work. One way to create new value is through a sponsor-to-sponsor deal. Sponsor-to-sponsor deals involve PE firms on both sides of a transaction – buy side and sell side. Due to their high cost and complexity, … Continue reading

Venture capital investments take off in the first quarter of 2019

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on June 6, 2019 Posted in Corporate finance, Finance

The Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (the CVCA) has recently provided insights into Canadian investment trends for the first quarter of 2019 (Q1 2019). The CVCA has indicated that Private Equity (PE) deals have slowed in Q1 compared to their Venture Capital (VC) counterparts. VC investments have almost doubled since Q1 2018, whereas PE investments have … Continue reading

Continued robust VC investment and PE mega-deals take the spotlight in a review of the 2018 VC & PE Canadian market

By nrfdigitalteam on April 9, 2019 Posted in Corporate finance, M&A

A recent report released by the Canadian Venture Capital Private Equity Association (CVCA) entitled “VC & PE Canadian Market Overview 2018” (the Report) reviews the current strength of Canadian venture capital (VC) investment and very recent mega-deal trend in Canadian private equity (PE). Highlights of the Report Total VC investment remains remarkably high: a total of … Continue reading

Private equity and the “buy-and-build” boom

By Peter Valente (Toronto) on March 21, 2019 Posted in Corporate finance, M&A

Private equity funds are increasingly turning to a “buy-and-build” (B&B) approach to boost revenues, realize value and increase returns. The B&B approach, also referred to as an “add-on” strategy, involves the purchase of a platform company, followed by the purchase of multiple related and complimentary targets through share or asset acquisitions. B&B strategies offer an … Continue reading

Canadian venture capital investment continues to increase in H1 2018

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on September 6, 2018 Posted in Corporate finance, Technology and innovation

The Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association recently published its 2018 first half (H1 2018) report on Canadian venture capital (VC) and Canadian private equity (PE) investment. While Canadian PE investment remains feeble, Canadian VC investment has continued to climb to incredible heights. A review of the increasing trends in Canadian VC investment, with respect … Continue reading

Private equity and Canadian partnerships: tax considerations

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on June 7, 2018 Posted in Finance, Real estate

Canada continues to be an attractive market for private equity (“PE“) investors with recent transactions highlighting significant investments into Canadian real estate and energy infrastructure assets. Partnerships (particularly, limited partnerships) continue to be a popular PE vehicle, providing a means of pooling and aggregating investment funds and allowing for income or losses to be “flowed-through” … Continue reading

Are megadeals coming back?

By Jaray Zhao (Toronto) on April 12, 2018 Posted in Antitrust, competition and regulatory, M&A

The year of 2017 witnessed a worldwide slowdown in the number of megadeals[1]. According to a recent Mergermarket Report (the Report), the global total for the number of deals worth US$4 billion or more decreased from a peak of 158 in 2015 and 133 in 2016 to 129 in 2017. In Canada, the number of … Continue reading

Top M&A attractions in 2018: technology assets and international markets

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on February 13, 2018 Posted in M&A, Technology and innovation

According to Deloitte’s latest M&A trends report, corporations and private equity (PE) firms expect to see an acceleration of M&A activity in 2018, both in volume and size of deals, and with particular interest in technology assets and international markets. Key Findings After surveying more than 1,000 executives at corporations and PE firms on their … Continue reading

What private equity investors look for in acquisition targets

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on January 24, 2018 Posted in M&A

According to a report by PWC, 43% of tech M&A deals were funded by private equity (PE) investors. For the deals with disclosed values, more than 52% are in the $50 million to $1 billion range. Private equity investors may look for different factors in a target company than the traditional corporate buyer. For this … Continue reading

Private equity investments in healthcare: a look into the future

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on September 6, 2017 Posted in M&A, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

Last year was a record-breaking year for private equity investments in the healthcare industry, with a total disclosed deal value reaching $36.4 billion by the end of 2016. Mid-year reviews of 2017 indicate a downward trend in the number of private equity investments but a significant increase in the value of investments compared to 2016. … Continue reading

SPAC in Canada: too small a market for too small a timeframe?

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on August 1, 2017 Posted in M&A

A special purpose acquisition company, (SPAC), is a publicly traded shell company created with a purpose of purchasing a future target. The Canadian SPAC is modelled largely off of the US model. One of the many important characteristics that is shared between both jurisdictions is the defined timeline to make an acquisition. In a SPAC, … Continue reading

Venture capital and private equity exhibit disparate Canadian market trends in Q1 2017

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on July 12, 2017 Posted in Corporate finance, M&A

According to a report recently published by the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) entitled “CVCA Q1 2017 VC & PE Canadian Market Overview: VC experiences robust quarter; PE flat in Q1”, Canadian venture capital (VC) recorded its second-best quarter since 2013, while Canadian private equity (PE) failed to outpace its current stagnant … Continue reading

Shareholder activism in M&A

By Trevor Zeyl (Toronto) on June 22, 2017 Posted in Governance and directors' liability, M&A

As noted by Kingsdale Advisors in a recently published report, corporate directors and their legal advisors continue to pay insufficient attention to shareholder activism in M&A. The authors of the 2017 special report caution that not only have shareholder activists been emboldened by post-financial crisis legislative changes that afford shareholders greater say, but that these investors … Continue reading

Private equity trends towards specialization

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on June 15, 2017 Posted in Energy, Intellectual property, M&A, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

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

Optimistic M&A outlook for 2017

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on January 19, 2017 Posted in M&A

As we begin 2017, the 1,000 corporate and private equity executives surveyed for Deloitte’s M&A Trends Year-end report 2016 display optimism for the coming year. The survey was conducted in September 2016 and included participants from companies or private equity firms with annual revenues of $10 million or more, representing 18 industries. Respondents expect a … Continue reading

The PE lifecycle is expanding

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on December 27, 2016 Posted in Corporate finance, M&A

While private equity firms are enjoying more dry powder than ever, the overall fund lifecycle is expanding. Mergermarket interviewed private equity partners, directors and principals from across the United States and their responses point to increases in time in all three lifecycle segments of a fund: raising capital, searching for suitable targets, and exit. Prolonged … Continue reading

Chinese outbound private equity on the rise

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on December 6, 2016 Posted in M&A

Chinese buyout frenzy Outbound private equity investments from China into North America and Europe have been growing rapidly. According to the investment bank Houlihan Lokey, in H1 of 2012, the outbound Chinese private equity transaction value was US$219M. Since then, Chinese private equity firms have drastically increased their offshore spending and recorded total transaction value … Continue reading

What can companies learn from PE sharks?

By Jacob Cawker (Toronto) on April 20, 2016 Posted in Corporate finance, Financial institutions, Pharmaceuticals and life sciences, Technology and innovation

Divestment is one strategy that a corporation can use to unlock funds for future growth and create long‑term shareholder value. According to a recent E&Y study, a successful divestment must meet three criteria: (i) it must create a positive impact on the valuation multiple of the remaining company; (ii) it must generate a sale price … Continue reading