Whether measured by volume or aggregate value, 2013 was a weaker year for energy-related M&A than 2012, continuing a four-year decline in activity in the sector. There was a noteworthy lack of public company M&A in 2013 and nothing to match the marquee deals of 2012.
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Canadian M&A activity was moderate in 2013. The weakened natural resources sector, which had helped Canada outperform other economies through the recession, contributed to an overall drop in M&A levels as the total number and aggregate value of Canadian deals, and Canada's share of global M&A, decreased. The total value of Canadian announced deals was C$168.5-billion, the lowest recorded value since 2009 (market statistics from Bloomberg, except as noted).
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On Nov. 21, 2013, Canadian securities regulators in all the provinces and territories, except Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, published for comment a substantially harmonized proposed prospectus exemption allowing for distributions of securities by TSXV issuers to their existing securityholders. Multilateral CSA Notice 45-312 Proposed Prospectus Exemption for Distributions to Existing Security Holders (Notice 45-312) addresses the concern that retail investors are disadvantaged and that TSXV issuers are denied a potential source of capital, due to the prohibitive cost and time for TSXV issuers to conduct a prospectus offering and the lack of a prospectus exemption available to most retail investors.
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Activist investors determined to shake up the way companies do business are amassing record cash for their campaigns. Now investment banks are advising clients how to anticipate and thwart such vocal investors before they even show up.
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Don't be complacent. The recent trough in the SEC's enforcement of financial-reporting regulations will turn around this year.
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These nine trends point to one conclusion: Boards must be more transparent and more willing to communicate with shareholders.
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U.S. public companies face a host of challenges as they enter 2014. Here is our list of hot topics for the boardroom in the coming year.
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The new Companies Act has several additional provisions regarding independent directors, but is the term independent director itself an oxymoron?
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Here's what CFOs need to know about what will be going on in boardrooms as they head into next year.
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