Cornell Wright speaks on M&A Quarterly article with The Globe and Mail

Partner and co-head of M&A Cornell Wright has spoken with The Globe and Mail on current M&A trends following his mid-year update on deals in the latest edition of the Torys Quarterly.

The Globe article looks at Torys’ Q3 Quarterly piece “Big deals, trade tensions and sector shifts: mid-year M&A update” which explains that despite a fears of a global downturn toward the end of last year, momentum of M&A “appears set to continue with a positive economic climate, strong markets and favourable interest rates anticipated to drive more dealmaking in Canada for the rest of 2019.”

The news article quotes Torys’ piece saying that already in the first half of 2019 deals have topped $39.3 billion, which is only a little lower than the $40.2 billion worth of deals in all of 2018.

Cornell told the Globe that based on announced transactions and market murmuring, this year is shaping up to be a strong year. though it is too early to predict any kind record.

“M&A is driven principally by confidence and confidence remains high. You’ve got a good macro environment, and you’ve got great targets and great opportunities in Canada,” Cornell said.

The total number of deals that occurred between January and June fell from last year, however the transaction size increased; shaping up to be a strong year for M&A, specifically amongst foreign buyers.

Unlike recent years, the energy sector represented a small percentage of Canadian M&A activity, reported Cornell.

The Globe piece quotes the Quarterly article, saying “in order to achieve meaningful improvement in deal activity, investors will need to rebuild their confidence in the Canadian regulatory and political climate and prioritize capital spending in the sector.”

You can read more from the Q3 edition of the Torys Quarterly, and our M&A practice, on the relevant pages.