Canada saw more mergers and acquisitions in 2010
by CanadianManufacturing.com Staff
Total M&A deals valued at almost US$80 billion
Mergers and acquisitions in Canada were up 19 per cent in 2010, Mergermarket is reporting. Increased liquidity in credit markets and more lending activity amongst banks led to an upward trend of M&A deals as Canadian resources welcomed heavy investment by the US and China.
There were 468 M&A deals in 2010, totaling an aggregate value of US$78.5 billion. There was, however, a dip in activity towards the end of the year with the last quarter seeing the fewest deals.
The energy, mining and utilities sectors led the charge, accounting for 67.5 per cent of all transactions, valuing US$51.6 billion. Kinross Gold’s 90.6 per cent acquisition of Red Back Mining was the biggest mining deal at US$6.1 billion.
Asian companies played a role in a significant number of deals because of an increase in demand for commodities in developing areas of Asia and a need to secure supplies for those regions.
