Mergers and acquisitions in Canada in the second quarter were up in both dollar value and amount compared with last year on some major cross-border deals, according to a report from investment firm Crosbie & Co. Inc. on Tuesday.
During the latest quarter, the Financial Post Crosbie: Mergers & Acquisitions in Canada database tracked 255 transactions worth at least $5-million for a total of $34.8-billion.
This compares favourably with the second quarter of 2009, when only 213 transactions were reported worth about $25-billion.
The second-quarter values are also a 44% improvement on the first quarter, when there were 258 announcements worth $24.1-billion.
The largest deal during the quarter was an international one, with Chinese state-owned Sinopec International picking up a stake in Syncrude Canada Ltd. through ConocoPhillips for US$4.65- billion.
However, the list does include hostile bids that may not actually close, such as Quebec’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. and its dogged pursuit of Iowa-based Casey’s General Stores Inc.
That potential deal, worth almost US$2-billion, was first announced in April and has dragged on in the months since with plenty of vitriol from both sides.
The six largest transactions of the quarter were cross-border deals and at $29.2-billion is almost triple that of the prior quarter, at $10.9-billion.