Crosbie & Company Canadian Mergers & Acquisitions Report for Q2 2025

Larger Deals Propel M&A Activity Amidst Trade Turmoil 

M&A deal volume in the second quarter of 2025 eased slightly to 611 deals, down from 615 the prior quarter, as deal makers grappled with President Trump’s tariffs and trade uncertainties. However, robust mega-deal activity drove announced deal value up 82% to $114B, the highest level since 2019.    

The quarter opened under the shadow of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement. While many proposed measures have been delayed or revised, ongoing policy shifts continue to create uncertainty for companies. Still, strategic and high-quality assets remain in demand, and where the rationale is strong, deals are getting done. Looking forward, M&A is expected to be used to help manage risk and tariff exposure. Acquisitions can help secure supply chains and provide flexibility under fluid and evolving trade rules. However, with much trade still covered under the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (at least for now) and general alignment across North America, Canada still represents a relatively low risk jurisdiction for M&A. 

“In the face of uncertainty resulting from the US trade war, the M&A markets are exhibiting some green shoots with many large deals being announced,” said Richard Betsalel, Managing Director at Crosbie & Company Inc. “This uptick in mega-deal M&A activity should eventually trickle down to the broader market as the backlog of companies looking to transact continues to grow. In addition, market fundamentals in many sectors remain supportive, financing markets are open, and many strategic and financial buyers continue to actively search for new M&A opportunities.”

Mega-deal transactions (deals valued above $1B) hit the highest level in over a decade in the second quarter with 21 transactions, totalling $97B in value. There were three transactions in excess of $10B value, including Sunoco’s $14.3B acquisition of Parkland Corporation, creating the largest fuel distributor in North America. Informatica, a portfolio company of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, was acquired by Salesforce for $13.9B. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. announced the acquisition of Colonial Enterprises for $12.6B, owner of the largest refined fuel products pipeline system in the U.S.

Mid-market transactions (valued below $250M) continue to be the largest component of the broader market, representing 85% of deals with disclosed values. 

M&A activity on a sector level has adjusted to the changing market dynamics as Precious Metals (+21), Materials (+15), Industrials (+13) experienced meaningful increases in transactions this quarter. Energy (+$33B) led the rise in total deal value despite recent declines in oil prices. Information Technology (+$14.8B), and Communication Services (+$11.5B) also posted sizeable gains, each fuelled by mega-deals.

Cross-border M&A continued to be a driver of activity in Q2 2025. Deal count remained in line with last quarter at 274 transactions, while total value climbed to $48.1B. Canada–U.S. deals continued to represent a major part of the market, accounting for 58% of cross-border transactions and 78% of the associated value, despite ongoing trade uncertainty.

Overview

• Q2 2025 deal activity stayed in line with the previous quarter with 611 announcements, and deal value increased to $114B (up 87% QoQ) driven by 21 mega-deals
• Mid-market transactions represented 85% of announcements where the value was disclosed
• The Energy and Information Technology sectors hosted some of the biggest deals this quarter
• Cross-border deal activity represented 45% of total transactions, in line with where it has been over the last few years (50%). Canada/US transactions represented the bulk of the activity (58%)

Mega-Deals 

• 21 mega-deals were announced in the quarter (those over $1B) a decade high, representing $97B in value and a 94% increase from last quarter 
• The largest deal this quarter was Sunoco LP’s $14.3B acquisition of Parkland Corporation
• Energy led all sectors with 5 mega-deals totalling $41.5B in value

Industry Sector Activity

• Noticeable deal count increases were seen in Precious Metals (+21), Materials (+15), and Industrials (+13)
• Information Technology (-34) and Healthcare (-23) experienced the largest declines
• Energy and Information Technology generated the largest aggregate deal value at $43.8B and $18.3B, driven by five and two mega-deals in each sector, respectively

Breakdown by Transaction Size

• Mid-market activity (deal value below $250M) accounted for 85% of deal count 
• There were 230 mid-market transactions, up 19% from last quarter, totaling $6.7B in value, up 50% over the same period

Canadian Domiciled versus Foreign M&A Targets

• Acquisitions involving Canadian targets rose 4% quarter-over-quarter to 392 deals, with 293 (75%) of those involving domestic buyers and 99 (25%) involving foreign acquirors 
• Canadian firms remained active internationally, making 175 acquisitions of foreign targets

Cross-Border Deals

• Cross-border deals represented 45% of overall deal activity and contributed to 42% of total deal value in Q2 2025
• The ratio of outbound to inbound transactions declined slightly to 1.77:1
• Canada–U.S. cross-border deals remain resilient through tariff noise, with total deal value rising to 78% and accounting for 58% of total cross-border transactions

Deals by Provincial Domicile

• Domestic aggregate deal count and deal value increased from the previous quarter
• Ontario remained the most active province by deal count (136), representing 35% of all transaction value for Canadian-domiciled targets
• British Columbia experienced the largest increase in deals (+40) from last quarter, totalling 120 deals worth $15.3B.