In honour of PDAC, we again are sharing some of the results from our review of transaction activity in the mining and metals sector in Canada for calendar year 2011.  Our data, in part, was compiled with the assistance of our research partners, Capital IQ.

In total, we identified 1,953 transactions in 2011, compared to 2,454 transactions in 2010 and 2,188 transactions in 2009.  The decrease in the number of transactions in 2011 was largely explained by fewer private placements, albeit at a much higher average dollar volume.

The total dollar value of transactions in 2011 was $40.2 billion, substantially up from the $31.3 billion transacted in 2010.

Transactions include private placements, which, in turn, include flow through offerings.  Private placements in total accounted for 1,338 of the transactions, down from 1,818 in 2010. Other transactions include public offerings and M&A related activity.

With respect to M&A transactions, in 2011 the average Enterprise Value to EBITDA ratio was 18.5 times, and the average premium to prior month trading was 44%.

Posted by Kate Fan and Scott Sinclair, Range Corporate Advisors

Range Corporate Advisors provides multidisciplinary solutions to medium and small businesses requiring transitional, transactional or management assistance.