Private equity-sponsored deals continued their steep downward trend, accounting for only 2.5% of all Canadian M&A deals and amounting to only $3.2 billion of the $129 billion worth of Canadian M&A deals in 2009. This represents a 92% decline in private equity deal values involving Canadian companies from 2007, which amounted to almost US $39 billion.
"Debt capital markets and economic conditions made it difficult for private equity to compete for transactions in 2008 and the downward trend accelerated in 2009," said Peter Hatges, President of KPMG Corporate Finance. "In this market, companies experiencing financial and market difficulties present opportunities for strategic buyers, and challenges for private equity buyers. But don't count private equity out yet, they still have a lot of capital to deploy."
From a sector perspective, mining, and oil and gas continue to do well. Mining and metals were highly active in M&A deals this year. Approximately one-third of all Canadian M&A deals were in the metals and mining sector, with a value of US $9.2 billion. Oil and gas accounted for approximately 14% of the deals, worth US $70.7 billion; constituting 55% of total Canadian M&A deal values. The Petro-Canada/Suncor merger, and EnCana Corporation's spin-off of Cenovus Energy Inc. led the way with a combined total deal value of over US $41.6 billion.
"The high volume of deals in mining and metals is not surprising, given tight credit conditions and the need for companies to realize synergies at each opportunity," said Brian Imrie, corporate finance partner at KPMG responsible for mining and metals. "Moreover, the abundance of Asian capital looking at the sector will result in significant opportunities for a lot of different players. The issue facing Canadian mining companies is that the search for capital and strategic partners has become a global exercise that knows no boundaries."
On the bright side, Canadian companies were the acquirer in seven of the top 10 Canadian deals this year.
For more information on the top ten deals please click on the attached link... 
KPMG LLP, a Canadian limited liability partnership established under the laws of Ontario, is the Canadian member firm affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. Member firms operate in 144 countries and have more than 137,000 professionals working around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity, and describes itself as such.
For further information: or to arrange a media interview, please contact: Julie Bannerjea, Head of Media Relations, KPMG, jbannerjea@kpmg.ca, (416) 777-3243, Cell: (416) 527-1804; www.kpmg.ca