The urge to merge: Canada’s five largest mergers and acquisitions

Suncor Energy Inc. and Petro-Canada announced a $19.2-billion merger proposal on Monday, a deal that would create the biggest energy firm in the country, and one of the largest in the world.

But even if the deal were finalized, it still wouldn’t top the list of Canada’s biggest mergers and acquisitions.

BCE Acquisitions takeover of BCE, 2007: $51.7 billion

Topping that list is a 2007 acquisition of Bell Canada owner BCE by BCE Acquisitions, an investor group made up of Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, Providence Equity Partners Inc. and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

The $51.7-billion deal for the country’s largest communications company was the biggest in Canadian history.

Rio Tinto Group takeover of Alcan Inc., 2007: $40.95 billion

Second on the list is the friendly $40.95-billion takeover of Montreal-based aluminum company Alcan Inc. by mining giant Rio Tinto Group.

The 2007 takeover was approved in October 2007, after the London, England-based Rio Tinto promised to keep headquarters in Montreal, and was able to prove that the deal would be of net benefit to Canada.

The deal also thwarted an attempted $33-billion hostile takeover of Alcan months earlier by Alcan’s larger U.S. rival Alcoa Inc.

Vale acquisition of Inco Limited, 2006: $19 billion

Next on the list is the $19-billion 2006 acquisition of Canadian mining company Inco Limited by the world’s top iron ore miner, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce.

The deal made the Brazilian firm, also known as Vale, the second-largest mining company in the world. As part of the deal, Vale agreed to base nickel operations in Toronto under the name Vale Inco, and to not lay off any Canadian workers for three years.

Xstrata takeover of Falconbridge, 2006: $19 billion

Just a few months prior, in August 2006, fellow Canadian nickel miner Falconbridge was taken over by Swiss-based mining company Xstrata PLC in a $19-billion deal.

Xstrata owned almost 20 per cent of Falconbridge prior to the complete acquisition.

The $19-billion figure represented a 12.3 per cent premium on another bid for the Toronto-based Falconbridge by Inco.

The head office of the new company Xstrata Nickel is currently located in Toronto.

Thomson and Reuters merger, 2007: $17.2 billion

The fifth largest deal in Canadian history was the merger of Thomson Corporation and Reuters Group PLC in 2007.

The Thomson Corporation was one of the largest information companies in the world, creating and maintaining legal, health, technology and financial databases, textbooks and reference materials.

The $17.2-billion deal with news service provider Reuters created one of the largest providers of financial news and data in the world.