Recent Trends In Canadian M&A

ESG is an acronym that has turned into a buzz word. Nevertheless, its components – Environmental, Social and Governance – remain critical as companies engage in business transactions, such as M&A, or develop business strategy. 

“We serve a range of clients, and they span Canadian business sectors. At the most sophisticated and largest public companies such as banks, mutual funds and pension funds, ESG topics occupy centre stage within the investment committees, within the CIO's office, and within the C Suite. At smaller and medium-sized enterprises as well as private companies, you tend to see businesses that are less burdened from a regulatory landscape, which results in a lower degree of urgency toward ESG. However, this is changing. There are very few clients that are entirely indifferent to or not apprised at all as to ESG topics, and the projections are that every business, small and large, is going to be impacted by ESG in the future in a meaningful way,”

Says Jason Kroft, a senior corporate lawyer in Miller Thomson's corporate practice with specialization in structured and alternative finance.