Canadian Income Trust M&A

With approximately 250 income trusts in Canada, representing an aggregate market capitalization of almost C$200 billion, income trusts form a significant part of the Canadian capital markets. Until recently, however, there had been limited M&A activity involving Canadian income trusts as targets, outside of the more mature oil & gas and real estate investment trust (REIT) sectors. This may have been due in part to the relatively high valuations afforded income trusts in the Canadian public markets, and the fact that the "business" income trust sector (consisting generally of businesses outside of the resource and real estate sectors) has really only emerged in the past five years.