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Canadian mergers and acquisitions activity quickened in the first half of the year, although overall deal value plummeted, according to a report from The Mergermarket Group.

The value of Canadian deals fell 30% from the same period last year to US$29.6, the New York-based group said. The first six months of 2010 saw the lowest deal value since the first half of 2005.

(Editor’s Note: Because the Canadian dollar fluctuated greatly over that period, converting the total back to Canadian dollars would be fraught with peril.)

At the high end of the market, mega deals – defined as those worth more than US $500 million – declined in value to just $18.1 billion, from a recent peak of US $91.8 billion in the first half of 2007.

There were 210 deals announced in Canada in the first half, compared to 153 in the same period a year earlier.

Canadian resource firms were particularly active, with energy deals making up 49% of deal value, and 27% of deal volume.

Combining energy with mining and utilities, the three sectors represented 66% of overall deal value and 37% of total deal volume.

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Raymond James Private Client hires veteran

Raymond James Ltd. has announced industry veteran, Bob Larose, has joined the firm’s private client team effective immediately. He will work with Terry Hetherington, head of the firm’s private client group.

“Bob’s many accomplishments and professionalism are well respected throughout the Canadian investment industry,” says Hetherington, executive vice-president, private client group. “We know he will have an important impact helping us attract and develop high quality financial advisors to Raymond James and in many other ways as we continue to build on our success as Canada’s fastest growing independent investment dealer.”

Most recently, Larose served as national sales manager at Canaccord Private Client Group where he led significant growth over an eight-year period. He has also held senior management positions at ScotiaMcLeod and RBC Dominion Securities in Calgary, Montreal and Toronto.

“Raymond James has an unmatched reputation in Canada and throughout its global network for its intense client focus and service first approach,” says Larose. “Its culture of independence sets it apart and continues to attract like-minded professionals who value the freedom to do what is right for their clients.”

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TD changing several fund names

TD Asset Management will change the names of several mutual funds, in an effort to provide improved clarity and better reflect the mandates of the mutual funds. The investment mandates of the funds will not change.

In the firm’s Comfort Portfolios and the TD Advantage Investment Portfolios, the “Conservative” portfolios will be renamed “Balanced Income” while the “Moderate” portfolios will be renamed “Balanced”. Those funds currently named “Balanced” will be changed to “Balanced Growth” and “Equity” portfolios will change to “Aggressive Growth”.

Among TD Mutual Funds, the High Yield Income fund will become “High Yield Bond”; the Global Select Fund changes to “Global Growth”; the International Equity will become “International Value”; International Equity Growth becomes “International Growth”.

The U.S. Equity Advantage Portfolio will be changed to the “U.S. Equity” Portfolio; U.S. Equity Advantage Currency Neutral Portfolio will become “U.S. Equity Currency Neutral” and Global Equity Advantage Portfolio will be renamed “Global Equity Portfolio”.

The name changes will be effective on or about July 23, 2010.

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Two credit unions enter merger talks

Two of Canada’s credit unions serving the Ukrainian community have entered into merger discussions, which, if successful, will bring together 25,000 members with assets in excess of $470 million.

The boards of directors of So-Use Credit Union Limited and Ukrainian Credit Union Limited (UCU) have signed a letter of intent to merge, signaling the completion of formal negotiations.

A merger agreement is expected to be reached by October 31, 2010, subject to regulatory approval. The resulting firm would be the 15th largest credit union in Ontario.

(07/13/10)