The Canadian M&A juggernaut slowed in Q3 as credit market turmoil derailed debt-heavy transactions.
The total value of Canadian M&A transactions in the first nine months of 2007, C$319 billion, already surpasses the previous 12-month high of C$275 billion set last year. However, the credit crunch triggered by the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market has virtually shut down the market for debt-heavy leveraged buyout deals during the third quarter.
Says Richard Willoughby, "The pace of private equity-driven LBO transactions at the very large end has clearly stalled." "But the middle market transactions continue."
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