Canadian M&A deal volume up in 2017

It’s shaping up to be a good year for Canadian mergers and acquisitions. Through the third quarter, M&A deals rose to 1,879 from 1,522 during the same period in 2016, according to a new PwC Canada report. The U.S. is still the biggest outbound destination: deals with our southern neighbour grew 27 per cent, to 310. Despite the 23-per-cent gain in overall volume, deal value slid, partly because Canada saw fewer transactions north of $1 billion.

Four tips from PwC for M&A buyers and sellers:

1. Ask yourself: is now a good time to sell?
2. Stress-test potential purchases by considering scenarios such as a downturn.
3. Post-deal value creation is key.
4. Go where the market is less crowded.