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The technology industry experienced a notable decrease in both transaction volume and value in Q1 2022 relative to the prior quarter.

In Q1 2022, transaction volume in the North American manufacturing sector decreased 56% and overall disclosed transaction value decreased 16% compared to Q4 2021.

In Q3 2021, transaction volume and value in the North American manufacturing sector fell compared to the previous quarter. Total disclosed transaction value decreased 54% from $72.2 billion to $33.3 billion year-over-year (YoY), remained below the quarterly 5-year average of $87.2 billion.

2020 was a strong year for M&A activity in the North American dealership industry. From 2019 to 2020, disclosed transaction value increased from $925 million to $3.3 billion, and the number of transactions increased from 23 to 43.

Oil prices continued to increase in Q1 2021, as bullish forecasts on recovering demand this summer outweighed concerns about the impact of rising COVID-19 cases in India, Japan, and Brazil.

Healthcare merger and acquisition activity in the first quarter of 2021 exceeded $8.0 billion in disclosed transaction value across 621 deals in Canada and the US. The average deal size among disclosed transactions was $13.0 million, a slight decline from $15.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. In Canada, the top healthcare sub-sectors for deal activity in the quarter were healthcare services (16), healthcare technology (14), pharmaceuticals (14) and healthcare facilities (7). Together, these sub-sectors accounted for over 73% of Canadian healthcare deal volume. In 2020,industry EV/EBITDA multiples (based on private equity transactions listed below) increased 18% from the previous year, and had an average multiple of 6.6x for lower mid-market transaction values ($10-25 million range).

Following a global market slowdown in the first half of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, M&A activity in the North American agriculture industry continued its rebound in Q1 2021, with quarter-over-quarter increases in disclosed transaction value from $4.6 billion to $5.1 billion and transaction volume from 98 to 113.

The technology industry experienced a decrease in both transaction volume and transaction value from Q2 2021 to Q3 2021. Total transaction value decreased from $122 billion to $79 billion and transaction volume decreased from 181 deals to 151 deals.

Oil sands producer Suncor Energy Inc. is partnering with utility Atco Ltd. on a "multibillion-dollar" project to produce more than 300,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year.

M&A activity in the North American dealership industry has returned to historical averages. 19 transactions have been disclosed in the first two quarters of 2021, which is on pace with the 43 transactions in 2020. However, the transaction value in 2021 will likely return to the 2018 and 2019 levels, noting a mega $2.8 billion transaction that drove the 2020 value up.