Angela Blake talks with Canadian Lawyer about what to expect in the M&A landscape in 2024.
She says that inflation and the rise in interest rates were key drivers of last year’s lag in deal activity. But there are reasons for optimism. “A lot of those challenges that we faced last year are still in place right now, and we're still having to deal with them. But the market has had a lot of time now to adjust and adapt.”
There are also important M&A trends to follow, such as the surge in private credit, which emerged to fill the gap left by the retreat of conventional lenders. While private lenders are not new, the conditions have never been as optimal to actively participate in the market, says Angela.
“If you look at the U.S. or over in Europe, there's an explosion of activity there on the private credit side, and we haven't seen that same extent here yet.” However, she says Canada is typically slower in following these trends, and growth is expected in the use of this tool in 2024.
A defining theme in private equity in 2023 was a slowdown in exits. Angela says this has led to a spike in the use of secondaries and continuation funds, which allow investors to sell their stakes in a fund before the fixed end-of-term or to remain invested to await more favourable valuations. "Anything that creates optionality right now, I think, is helpful in this market."
You can read more about what Angela and the Bennett Jones M&A team have to say about dealmaking in the coming year in Ready to Rebound: Canada's 2024 M&A Landscape.