Despite declines in mergers and acquisitions (M&) throughout Canada for the fourth consecutive quarter, B.C. managed to buck the trend in Q2 and even boost the dollar value of deals taking place in the province.
In its quarterly M&A report released Thursday (July 30), Crosbie and Company found the number of deals across Canada declined from 508 a year ago to 435 during the second quarter. The total value for the deals within Canada fell $11 billion, from $28.7 billion in Q2 2014 to $17.5 billion.
But B.C. held steady, with 99 deals completed in the most recent quarter compared with 100 a year earlier. Meanwhile, the value of West Coast M&A activity grew from $1.4 billion in Q2 2014 to $2 billion.
The report said weakness in the resources sector — particularly in energy — was the main culprit behind the lowest level of activity in two year.
The most high-profile deal in B.C. in recent weeks — The Match Group’s acquisition of Vancouver-based online dating service PlentyOfFish — isn’t expected to close until the fourth quarter.
When it does, founder and sole shareholder Markus Frind will walk away with US$575 million.
