Canadian firms are more often taking the lead when it comes to mergers and acquisitions with foreign companies, according to investment banker M&A International.
Between 2004 and 2013, Canadian companies bought 4,787 foreign businesses. Over the same period, foreign-owned firms bought just 3,544 Canadian businesses,.
“Many people might be surprised to learn that Canadians are more often the aggressor in a deal versus the sellers and we saw that really increase since 2009,” said M&A president Howard Johnson.
“High quality Canadian companies with capital for spending have been quietly buying up companies around the world for the past 10 years and it’s across the board in a variety of sectors.”
The difference can be most seen in the financial and materials sectors, in which Canadian firms bought almost three times as many foreign businesses as were sold. They also took the lead in most other categories, including energy, utilities and telecom.
However, foreign firms were more likely to acquire Canadian businesses than the reverse in the information technology, industrials and healthcare industries.
Of the companies that Canadian businesses are interested in acquiring, 60% were from the United States and 16% were from Europe, with the remainder from Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Johnson said there will be increasing interest in Canadian firms by foreign buyers.
“The strength and performance of Canadian companies and the Canadian economy during the 2008 credit crisis attracted a lot of attention in the international community.”
