Canada

If adopted, Bill S-285, and in particular its proposed amendments to section 122 of the CBCA, would transform the CBCA’s approach to a corporation’s stakeholders from an incidental consideration to a central one, whereby the benefits provided to various stakeholders would no longer derive from pursuing the best interests of the corporation, but would instead form part of the corporation’s purpose, enshrined in law, and would be protected through redefined directors’ and officers’ duties.

Executive Summary/Highlights For the first time since 2021, global dealmaking is up year on year for the third consecutive quarter, with significant increases in volume attributable to U.S. M&A and mega deals. Global M&A volume was US$797 billion in Q1 2024, a 36% increase from Q1 2023 but an 11% decrease from Q4 2023. Global … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights Global M&A volume in 2023 declined relative to 2022 and 2021, when it set a record. M&A activity in the second half of 2023, however, exceeded that of the second half of 2022. Global M&A volume in 2023 was US$2.9 trillion, down from US$3.6 trillion in 2022 and below the annual average of … Continued

Following record-breaking M&A activity in 2021, M&A volume over the 12 months ending December 31, 2022 reverted toward the mean, with a significant slowdown in the second half of the year. Global M&A volume in 2022 was US$3.6 trillion, down from US$6.2 trillion in 2021 and closer to the annual average of US$4.3 trillion over the prior 10-year period.

Executive Summary/Highlights Global dealmaking slowed significantly in Q3 2022, reflecting current macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties and challenges. Nevertheless, many deals got done and many of the traditional drivers of M&A point to meaningful deal flow in Q4 and beyond. Global M&A volume was US$692 billion in Q3 2022, a 37% decrease from Q2 2022 and … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights Global dealmaking was up in Q2 2022 as compared to Q1 2022, and year-to-date is on pace with pre-pandemic deal volume (although below last year’s record-breaking levels). Global M&A volume was US$1.14 trillion in Q2 2022, an 11% increase from Q1 2022, but a 26% decrease from Q2 2021. Several mega deals were … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights After a record-breaking 2021 in which global M&A volume surged to a new peak, global dealmaking slowed in the first quarter of 2022. Global M&A volume was approximately US$1.0 trillion in Q1 2022, less than any of the prior six quarters. Despite a decline in M&A activity relative to the record-breaking volumes of … Continued

The past year generated substantial interest in the operation of the Investment Canada Act (ICA), especially the national security review process, against the backdrop of changes in government policy that purport to articulate a more expansive view of Canada’s national security interests. We expect foreign investment review to remain an issue of public and political concern in … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights The boom in global M&A activity reached new heights in the third quarter of 2021, resulting in a record volume of global M&A through the first three quarters. M&A activity has surged on the back of pent-up demand for deals following the Covid-19 shutdown in the early part of 2020 and the subsequent … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights Global M&A activity reached historic levels in the first half of 2021, amounting to one of the highest first-half deal volumes on record. The surge in M&A activity following the early-pandemic shutdown has continued for the last 12 months, driven by  a bull market, economic stimulus, corporate priorities to adapt to changes in … Continued