RBC leads banks in slow year for Canada M&A, share issues - Reuters
Royal Bank of Canada led investment banks in advising on equity issues and mergers and acquisitions in Canada in 2013, but share issues overall rose only slightly in the year and M&A activity fell hard, reports Reuters. In a year in which gold prices plunged and base-metal and oil industry activity was hit by uncertainty over global economic growth, the total value of M&A deals in 2013 fell by 31 percent to US$144.7 billion, according to data released by Thomson Reuters. RBC also was the leader in debt issues as low interest rates and favorable market conditions led to a banner year for corporate and government debt in Canada in 2013. Top law firms advising on M&A deals were Torys, which guided US$38.8 billion in deals, Davis Ward Phillips & Vineberg, which advised on US$31.8 billion in deals, and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, which advised on US$30.6 billion.
