VENUE ® Market Spotlight
CANADIAN DEAL-MAKING OUTLOOK
June 2015 Edition
. CONTENTS
Welcome 3
Foreword 4
Survey 5
Notable Q2 deals in the room
About RR Donnelley
9
10
VENUE® Market Spotlight: Canadian Deal-making Outlook
. WELCOME
Dear Valued Reader,
Welcome to the June 2015 edition of the Venue Market Spotlight. This month we take a closer
look at Canadian deal-making and what the future holds for the region over the next 12 months.
Despite strong balance sheets, low interest rates and available financing, Canadian dealmaking has been a bit rocky this year. The region recorded a total of 112 deals worth
US$8.6bn in Q1, the lowest quarterly deal value since Q4 2008, which saw 78 deals worth
US$7.4bn. However, while inbound M&A activity into Canada fell during Q1 (55 deals worth
US$4.2bn, the lowest since Q1 2009), outbound activity flourished also totaling 55 deals
worth US$40.3bn.
It is important to note that there are other factors responsible for the overall decline,
specifically the Canadian dollar’s depreciation against the US dollar, which has significantly
affected Canadian businesses’ M&A activity.
Respondents to this month’s Spotlight however,
remain positive that deal-making activity in the region will pick up.
In addition, while the drop in oil prices seemed to affect all areas of the globe in various ways,
Canada was particularly hit the hardest, alongside volatile equity markets and, of course,
a weaker Canadian dollar. Canadian businesses’ will look most towards foreign acquirers
and private equity buyers to help increase the region’s deal activity.
At RR Donnelley, we go to great lengths to meet our clients’ business needs. As with all
RR Donnelley solutions, our technology goes hand in hand with our service organization.
Our Venue virtual data room, just one example, provides our clients with access to hands
on, start to finish service unique to the industry and has been awarded a 98% positive rating
from our loyal user base.
As always, please enjoy this month’s Spotlight.
Sincerely,
Tom Juhase
President, Financial Services Group
RR Donnelley
3
.
FOREWORD
Canadian M&A has had a sleepy start to 2015: in the first five months of the
year, M&A declined 18% year-on-year (YoY) by volume to 215 deals, and
35% YoY by value to US$23bn.
Several key factors have underpinned this shift. In particular, the Canadian dollar’s
depreciation against the US dollar has decreased Canada-based businesses’
purchasing power. Also, the worldwide decline in commodity prices has been
acutely felt in Canadian M&A, due to the central role of energy in Canada’s
economy. These challenges are reflected in this month’s Spotlight: 48% and 32%
identify the falling Canadian dollar and fluctuating commodity prices, respectively,
as factors affecting deal-making in the coming year.
That said, respondents are cautiously optimistic about Canadian M&A in the coming
year.
At 76%, a large majority expect M&A to increase significantly or to increase
somewhat. While some respondents believe that this is because the overall business
climate is set to improve, others believe that foreign investors will be attracted by
the relative inexpensiveness, along with the underlying health, of Canadian firms.
Respondents anticipate that, particularly in the energy sector, foreign acquirers will
look to pick up assets from businesses that are struggling due to the broader business
climate, but have good long-term growth prospects. Throughout the study, respondents
highlight that sound strategic purchases, rather than opportunism, will underpin M&A
in the coming year.
Overall, respondents in this month’s Spotlight present a number of avenues and
drivers for growth.
While Canadian M&A has faltered due to a challenging business
environment, the underlying fundamentals for growth are present: attractive assets,
interested buyers, and strategic opportunities.
Other key findings include:
• At 76%, a clear majority of respondents believe that the average size of Canadian
deals will be between US$26m and US$100m. This is generally consistent with
announced figures from the first half of the year, in which 16% of announced deals
had values between US$26m and US$100m – the second most active deal size
segment. However, the most active segment of the market was between US$5m
and US$25m, accounting for 21% of announced activity.
• Forty-four percent of those interviewed say that the biggest buy-side driver
in the coming year will be strategic purchases.
Some respondents even say that
financial considerations will likely take a backseat to strategic ones, as this will help
buyers increase profitability and synergies in the longer term.
• Unsurprisingly, a large majority of respondents (80%) tip Energy, Mining and
Utilities to be the busiest sector in the coming year. This sector is historically the
largest sector in Canada by both volume and value.
VENUE® Market Spotlight: Canadian Deal-making Outlook
Seventy-six percent
of respondents expect
Canadian M&A activity
to increase in the next
12 months.
. SURVEY
What do you expect to happen to Canadian M&A activity
over the next 12 months?
8%
20%
16%
What type of buyer will become increasingly active over the
next 12 months?
4%
Significantly increase
Foreign acquirers
12%
Somewhat increase
Private equity buyers
Remain the same
Domestic acquirers
Somewhat decrease
Other
52%
32%
56%
Three in four respondents (76%) expect that Canadian M&A
will increase in the next year. While 2015 YTD dealmaking
figures have been depressed relative to the same period in 2014,
these findings may indicate that a revival is on the horizon.
Interestingly, respondents who expect M&A to increase offer
starkly contrasting reasons why this is so. Some point to a gradual
improvement in the broader business climate. For instance, the
CFO of an energy company says, “The Canadian economy
is now rebounding and offers strong growth for deal-makers.
This will accelerate M&A, with corporates developing firm
expansion strategies.” But a sizeable share of respondents
anticipating an M&A increase point to a weak business climate
as the driver: “The growing distress in the region will encourage
strategic and financial buyers to approach the Canadian market
and they will target businesses with potential, but which are
unable to manage due to lack of investment capabilities and
exhaustion of capital,” notes the CEO of an energy company.
A slim 16% and 8% expect M&A to remain the same, or to
somewhat decrease, respectively.
When explaining their views,
respondents point to currency fluctuations and recent declines in
M&A. For instance, the managing partner at a private equity (PE)
firm notes, “Looking at the sudden drop in deal-making activity,
which was due to a variety of reasons like price volatility and
currency fluctuations, investors will focus on other regions, mainly
Asia and Latin America.”
Over half of respondents (52%) expect that foreign acquirers
will become increasingly active over the next year. These
predictions align with the current deal-making landscape: in
the first five months of 2015, 49% of deals involved a foreign
bidder.
In explaining the drivers behind international interest,
several respondents again point to the relative cheapness
of Canadian assets: “Availability of undervalued targets in
Canada and the current favorable regulatory environment
for foreign direct investments will attract foreign buyers,”
comments the CFO of a technology company.
An additional 32% of interviewees expect to see increased
activity from private equity. The CFO of an energy company
notes, “Private equity buyers have been active in Canadian
M&A, as they have a knack for transforming businesses and
making them productive through their tried and tested strategies.
PE firms would not hesitate in making further investments as long
as they find that it would raise the value of the acquired business.”
Meanwhile, a slim 12% believe that domestic acquirers will
be the most active. Just as international corporations will look
to take advantage of the weak Canadian dollar, so too will
some Canada-based corporates, according to the managing
director of a PE firm: “Domestic buyers will take the volatility
situation as an opportunity to invest in new regions and closely
related sectors, so that they can cut down on operational costs
and middle party expenses.”
5
.
SURVEY (CONTINUED)
Which sectors in Canada will see the most activity in the coming
year? (Select all that apply)
80%
Energy, Mining & Utilities
Consumer
Falling Canadian
dollar
20%
Fluctuating
commodity prices
36%
Industrials & Chemicals
What economic factor would affect deal-making in Canada
the most in the coming 12 months? (Select the most important)
36%
Lower interest rates
TMT
Pharma, Medical & BioTech
Financial Services
48%
32%
28%
32%
24%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Percentage of respondents
At 80% a clear majority of respondents point to Energy, Mining
and Utilities as M&A’s busiest industry in the next year. This tallies
with industry data from January through May 2015, in which the
sector accounted for 27% and 65% of Canadian M&A volume
and value, respectively. Several respondents point to oil price
volatility as the key driver of M&A: “The energy sector is
affected by the fall in oil and gas prices throughout the globe.
Thus energy corporates are trying to stabilize their balance sheets
by embarking on new deals that will help reduce the operational
expenditures once the combined business has restructured,” notes
the CFO of an Energy, Mining and Utility company.
Following this, respondents are relatively mixed as to the
busiest industries in Canada: between a quarter and a third of
respondents point to Consumer, Industrials and Chemicals, TMT,
Pharma, and Medical & BioTech as the sectors that will see the
most activity.
ENERGY WILL SEE THE
GREATEST M&A ACTIVITY
VENUE® Market Spotlight: Canadian Deal-making Outlook
Respondents point to several factors that will likely affect
Canadian M&A in the coming year. Still, interviewees mention
throughout the study that the falling Canadian dollar has
presented challenges for businesses, but has also helped pique
international acquirers’ interest in Canadian assets.
Accordingly,
the largest share (48%) point to currency weakness as the most
pressing. “The fall in the Canadian dollar is sure to have an
impact on businesses, as their fund values will drop in reserves.
These businesses may have to take out more debt. This will
drive foreign buyers to Canada, as they will find it easier to
convince Canadian businesses to sell by offering them capital,”
comments the vice president of finance at a PE firm.
Following this, a sizeable share of respondents (32%) say that
fluctuating commodity prices will affect deal-making.
Interestingly,
some respondents say that this will cause M&A figures to falter,
while others view it as a growth opportunity.
Further, 20% of respondents indicate that low interest rates
will affect M&A. All of this sub-set believe that the low interest
rate environment will be a boon to deal-making. According
to the CEO at a technology company: “Low interest rates and
availability of credit at low costs are facilitating businesses to
conduct expansion strategies and in increasing their presence
in the market.”
.
What do you expect to be the average deal size for
Canadian activity?
What will drive activity in Canada in the coming year from
the perspective of buyers?
8%
US$26m-US$100m
Strategic purchases
US$101m-US$500m
24%
20%
44%
More opportunities
to purchase
companies
in distress
Better pricing for
companies at
this time
76%
28%
Pressure from
shareholders to
spend spare capital
A clear majority of respondents (76%) expect that the
average deal size will be in the lower and middle market,
in the value range between US$26m and US$100m. This
broadly chimes with announced findings in the first half of the
year, with the largest share of deals valued at under US$100m
(although the largest share of announced deals were valued
between US$5m and US$25m). While some respondents
report that the anticipated deal size is due to Canada’s weak
economic environment, many others point to the robustness
of the Canadian mid-market: “Most deals will involve SMEs
consolidating as a result of increasing competition in the market.
Also, there is a strategic focus to increase growth through
combined efficiencies, resources and infrastructure,” comments
the CFO of a transportation company.
When considering Canadian M&A activity in the coming year,
respondents point to a range of buy-side drivers. The largest
share of the survey pool (44%) say that, for buyers, strategic
purchases will be the biggest spur to activity.
A number of these
respondents highlight many Canadian businesses’ health and
growth potential in attracting buyers: “Buyers will choose to
make strategic purchases and will work on business integration
when undertaking deals. Acquirers want to remain competitive,
and so will focus more on strategy than financials. This will be
helpful to both parties in the long-term,” says the managing
director of a PE firm.
Still other respondents in this sub-set note
that, while the Canadian economy is weaker, the primary
appeal of acquiring Canadian businesses is synergistic and
growth-oriented.
Still, a substantial minority (24%) point to US$101m – US$500m
as the average deal size. Respondents again attribute this view
to increased foreign corporate and PE interest in comparatively
cheap Canadian assets. “Foreign cash rich acquirers are aware
of the Canadian market conditions and will aim at capturing large
businesses at a relatively low price than actual value, which likely
means that the average deal size will be between US$101m and
US$500m,” the managing director of a PE firm explains.
That said, 28% of respondents believe that more opportunities
to purchase distressed companies will be the primary driver
of M&A.
The managing director of a PE firm elaborates:
“Companies that are not able to manage the economic storm
and the low economic environment may offer to sell their
businesses in the next year. Prospective buyers will assess
potential targets, and could end up with a good bargain.”
Similarly, 20% of respondents say that the key buy-side driver
will be better pricing for companies.
7
. . Notable Q2 deals in the room
Venue® data room: A special report
Connextivity Inc.
acquires
PriceGrabber®
June 16, 2015
Industry: Retail
Evercore
acquires
Kuna & Co.
May 27, 2015
Target: Kuna & Co.
Counsel for Target: DLA Piper
Counsel for Buyer: Freshfields
Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Industry: Investment Banking
Microsoft Corporation
acquires
6 Wunderkinder GmbH
Avago Technologies Ltd
acquires
Broadcom Corporation
May 28, 2015
June 1, 2015
Financial Advisor for Target: Evercore Partners Inc;
JP Morgan
Target: 6 Wunderkinder GmbH
Counsel for Target: Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; Paul
Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP; Skadden Arps
Slate Meagher & Flom LLP; Sullivan & Cromwell LLP;
WongPartnership LLP
Counsel for Target: Fenwick & West LLP
Counsel for Buyer: K&L Gates
Private Equity Firm for Seller: Earlybird
Venture Capital GmbH & Co KG; Sequoia
Capital; Atomico; e42 GmbH
Industry: Computer software; Internet /
ecommerce
Starwood Capital
acquires 50 hotels from
Mount Kellett Capital
Management
May 19, 2015
Industry: Leisure; Accommodation;
Restaurants/Pubs
Financial Advisor for Buyer: Bank of America Merrill
Lynch; Barclays; Citi; Credit Suisse; Deutsche Bank AG
Counsel for Buyer: Latham & Watkins LLP; Simpson
Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Industry: Computer: Semiconductors; Computer
software; Telecommunications: Hardware
.
Verizon acquires AOL
May 12, 2015
Financial Advisor for Target: Allen &
Company LLC
Counsel for Target: Wachtell, Lipton,
Rosen & Katz; White & Case LLP
Financial Advisor for Buyer:
Guggenheim Partners, LLC; LionTree
Advisors, LLC
Counsel for Buyer: Weil Gotshal &
Manges LLP
Industry: Internet /ecommerce
TerraForm Global,
Inc. IPO
May 7, 2015
Issuer: TerraForm Global, Inc. IPO
Counsel for Issuer: Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Counsel for Underwriter: Latham &
Watkins LLP
Underwriter(s): J.P. Morgan; Barclays;
Citigroup; Morgan Stanley
Industry: Energy: Electrical power
generation; Alternative energy
For more information:
Please contact your
RR Donnelley Sales Rep.
Call 1.888.773.8379
Twitter acquires
TellApart
April 28, 2015
Target: TellApart, Inc.
Private Equity Firm for Seller:
Bain Capital LLC; Greylock
Partners
Industry: Internet / ecommerce;
Media; Advertising; Search engines and other internet enabling
technology
Or visit www.venue.rrd.com
Venue demo (audio enabled):
https://Venue.RRD.com/Demo
Corporate Headquarters
35 West Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
U.S.A.
GoDaddy IPO
April 1, 2015
Issuer: Go Daddy Inc
Counsel for Issuer: Wilson Sonsini
Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.
Counsel for Underwriter: Davis Polk &
Wardwell LLP
Underwriters: Morgan Stanley;
JP Morgan; Citigroup; Barclays;
Deutsche Bank Securities; RBC Capital
Markets; KKR; Stifel; Piper Jaffray;
Oppenheimer & Co.; JMP Securities
Industry: Internet / ecommerce
Deals.
Done. Simple.
888.773.8379
www.rrdonnelley.com
www.venue.rrd.com
Copyright © 2015 R. R.
Donnelley & Sons Company.
All rights reserved.
. ABOUT RR DONNELLEY
RR Donnelley is a global provider of integrated communications. The
company works collaboratively with more than 60,000 customers worldwide
to develop custom communications solutions that help to drive top-line growth,
reduce costs, enhance ROI and ensure compliance. Drawing on a range of
proprietary and commercially available digital and conventional technologies
deployed across four continents, the company employs a suite of leading
Internet based capabilities and other resources to provide premedia, printing,
logistics and business process outsourcing services to clients in virtually every
private and public sector.
RR DONNELLEY AT A GLANCE
$11.6 billion
2014 net sales
65,000+
500+
Employees
Global locations
Venue® is a secure online workspace with a powerful feature-set and an intuitive
design that allow you to easily organize, manage, share and track all of your
sensitive information. Venue® data rooms provide complete control, ensuring that
you can manage who has access to your data room, which documents they see,
and how they can interact with those documents.
Venue data rooms are backed by RR Donnelley, a $11.6 billion corporation with
more than 500 locations and over 65,000 employees worldwide.
RR Donnelley’s
total revenues are larger than all other virtual data room providers combined. We
bring extensive experience to providing integrated communications services.
For more information regarding Venue®, RR Donnelley, or this report, please contact
us directly.
Daniel Perez | Sr. Marketing Manager, Venue Data Room
RR Donnelley | Financial Services Group | financial.rrd.com
255 Greenwich St.
| New York, NY 10007 | Phone: 888.773.8379
Fax: 212.341.7475 |venuecommunications@rrdvenue.com
VENUE® Market Spotlight: Canadian Deal-making Outlook
Corporate Breakups
Manufacturing
locations
750+
About Venue®
Nearly 125
Issued and
pending patents
Nearly $2
billion
Capital
investments over
the past six years
. VENUE DATA ROOM
®
The World’s Workspace
Venue is the fast-growing virtual data room solution of RR Donnelley, the leader in integrated communications
services. Our Venue virtual data room provides a secure online workspace with a powerful feature-set and an
intuitive design that allow you to easily organize, manage, share and track all of your sensitive information. A
Venue workspace provides complete control, ensuring that you can manage who has access to your data room,
which documents they see, and how they can interact with those documents.
We serve hundreds of thousands of Venue users, who are accessing content related to the highest profile deals
in the market. With a Venue data room you have access to the RR Donnelley global footprint, where you can
leverage our suite of financial services— everything you need from pre-negotiation to post-transaction filing and
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Work faster and more efficiently with Venue’s
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Unmatched room service: We give you hands-on, startto-finish service that’s unique to the industry. The
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For more information please visit www.venue.rrd.com.
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Copyright © 2014 R. R.
Donnelley & Sons Company.
All rights reserved.
11
. VENUE® Market Spotlight: Canadian Deal-making Outlook
.