CANADA M&A LEAPS TO US $184B AS RAILROAD BIDDING HEATS UP

Canadian dealmaking is extending its boom, as a potential bidding war between two railway operators contributes to a tripling in mergers and acquisitions volumes. Companies from Canada have been involved in US$184 billion of transactions this year, including agreed deals and more preliminary proposals, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s up 198 per cent on the same point in 2020 and the most for any corresponding period on record, the data show. The latest blockbuster bid came Tuesday, when Canadian National Railway Co. made a US$30 billion offer for Kansas City Southern. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. reached a US$6.5 billion agreement this month to buy out minority investors in its listed real estate arm. Just last week, Bank of Montreal announced the sale of some overseas asset-management operations to Ameriprise Financial Inc. for 615 million pounds (US$859 million).