Deals Quarterly: Q2: 2012

Article by Nicolas Marcoux

91 days, 721 deals, $47.7 billion

A state of "Canadian M&A anaemia" was the accepted wisdom during the volatile second quarter, especially in the headline "mega deal" resource segment. However, perspective is key to assessing if the M&A glass is half full or half empty. 

• Many Canadian entities are combating slow domestic growth via penetration into foreign markets. This quarter saw the value of Canadian acquisitions into foreign markets hit $21.8 billion, one of the highest outbound tallies on record. 
• When segmented by deal size, the overall drop-off in announced M&A during Q2 was led by a decline in mega deals, with the middle market segment picking up the slack.