Canadian M&A Outlook 2023

Just weeks before year-end, U.S. markets saw US$40 billion worth of new deals on a single day¹. In a challenging economic environment buffeted by inflation, higher interest rates, geopolitical headwinds, and continuing supply chain turbulence, this wave of deals qualified as distinct good news.

We also saw pockets of robust activity in the past year and expect them to continue into 2023, potentially intensifying in the back half of the year.

The numbers from 2022: mid-sized deals reign

The end-of-year M&A data for 2022 are in many ways a reflection of the various forces that were in play in 2022. Public M&A activity in 2022 experienced a downturn, with deal value down by more than half compared to 2021's blockbuster year. Volume also declined, by just over a quarter (27%), bringing the total to under pre-pandemic