KPMG Canada advised on most mid-market M&A deals in 2022

KPMG Canada advised on the most mid-market mergers and acquisitions in 2022, according to a Refinitiv report.

The Big Four accounting and consulting firm supported 55 Canadian transactions in 2022 – outstripping PwC (27) and EY (26), who ranked second and third, respectively. KPMG also supported the most mid-market deals in the five-year period from 2018-2022, at 217 transactions.

KPMG’s corporate finance practice focuses on mid-market companies – with enterprise values ranging from US$10M to US$500M. The practice advises clients on issues including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, raising capital buyouts, financings, debt restructurings, equity recapitalizations, infrastructure project finance, capital advisory, portfolio solutions, and fairness opinions.

KPMG expects mid-market deal making to remain resilient in 2023, despite the weakening of megadeals and IPOs. The primary factors buoying the middle market are a wave of retiring business owners and private equity sitting on record amounts of capital.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business projects that, in the next 10 years, $2 trillion in assets will change hands as three quarters of business owners retire.

"Small and medium-sized businesses contribute significantly to the job market and drive more than half of Canada's GDP growth. For business owners who are thinking of monetizing their businesses as a pathway to retirement over the next few years, preserving their value is important not just for themselves or the business, but for the economy at large," said Neil Blair, president of KPMG Canada’s corporate finance practice. "Without a well-qualified management team ready to take over a business, its future faces significant risks, and the multiplier effect of this poses an even bigger risk to Canada's future prosperity.”