Positive Outlook For Canadian Power M&A

The outlook for M&A activity in the Canadian power sector is positive, according to participants in a panel discussion at the Canadian Power Finance Conference on January 25th. Factors cited by the panel, which was moderated by Lewis Smith of Stikeman Elliott's Toronto office, included:

• ongoing turmoil in the financial markets continues to create demand for stable, long-term investments and has lowered the return expectations for many classes of investor
• lower return targets support higher asset valuations, which is motivating those vendors who have been holding out for higher prices
• large pools of equity capital dedicated to power investments have been raised and pressure will continue to build for these funds to be deployed