As deal flow between Canada and the United States continues to pick up, spurred by the interest of private equity players in cross-border opportunities, one of the latest Canadian law firms to bolster its corporate transactional practice is Stikeman Elliott.
Mario Nigro (pictured), who previously practiced law at Blake Cassels & Graydon, is now a partner in Stikeman’s M&A and private equity practice in Toronto. Nigro advises private equity and venture capital clients, many of them active in the technology, energy, manufacturing, food, and retail sectors, on cross-border acquisitions and dispositions. While not all the details of his transactions are public, Nigro has represented an affiliate of a private equity firm during the acquisition of a branded food producer in Canada, and has advised another private equity affiliate on Canadian law aspects of the purchase of a laundry brand manufacturer, among many other transactions.
“My practice has been heavily focused on private equity, particularly US private equity coming into Canada. The deal volume has been growing, and I’m one of those people who believe that volume and activity will continue to grow. The integrated nature of the Canadian-US marketplace is becoming apparent, particularly in the world of middle-market M&A transactions,” Nigro told IFLR1000.
The involvement of US entities in deals in Canada, a country with a deal flow dominated by the mid-market, is becoming especially pronounced on the private equity side.
“Even now, by sheer volume, there are more US private equity firms involved in Canada than Canadian ones doing deals. My practice is just a reflection of that,” Nigro commented.
With the Canadian dollar poised at 20% off what it has recently been, a premium exists for the Canadian investor. At the same time, there are many US private equity firms that need to deploy capital, and are working in an environment where it is hard to find deals, Nigro noted. Many of them have yet to do a deal in Canada, and are looking to change that.
“Another consideration is the lower corporate tax rate in Canada. The federal and provincial corporate tax rate for Ontario is approximately 26%. Canada generally has lower corporate tax rates than the US by a good margin,” Nigro said.
Nigro holds an LL.B. and BCL from McGill University, an M.A. and B.Ed. from the University of Western Ontario, and a B.A. from the University of Toronto.