Global M&A activity in the mining sector grew by about 50 percent last year to surpass $US100 billion, according to KPMG.
Copper producer and Firmex customer, Quadra FNX Mining was part of the largest Canadian deal in the final quarter of the year. They received a cash offer valued at $CDN3.5 billion from Poland’s state-controlled copper miner, KGHM Polska Miedz.
Close to one third of metals companies surveyed by KPMG expect to expand through mergers and acquisitions over the next two years. Canadian companies are expected to continue to be the primary targets. In the final quarter of 2011, Canadian firms made up 21% of the global M&A value in the mining sector. Total activity in Canada is up 30 percent year-over-year to about $US34 billion.
Mining and resource companies, like Quadra FNX, use Firmex Virtual Data Rooms to facilitate these highly confidential and complex deals. The Firmex Virtual Data Room provides a secure and easy way to organize and share the large amounts of data related to developing a mine, with the many experts involved in the valuation.
In 2011, Firmex data room usage amongst our mining customers matched the growth in M&A mining activity. Between 2010 and 2011, data room activity of our mining customers grew 88%.