Views From the Market

George Sabbouh of Stifel Financial joins Mario Nigro for an enlightening discussion on the state of the deal market in Canada. After an uneven “K-shaped” recovery in 2025, George is seeing strong momentum in certain sectors – metals and mining, business services, infrastructure services, and waste management – amid continuing buyer hesitancy in tariff-exposed sectors such as manufacturing. Broader market trends include increasing diligence around AI disruption risk, which is emerging as a major concern in the marketplace. Looking ahead, Sabbouh expects 2026 to strengthen with easing rates, an IPO rebound, significant dry powder, and alternative exit tools such as continuation vehicles and dividend recaps. 🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/stikeman-elliott-llp 🔗 For more information and resources, visit: stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket

Ezio Bondi of Bondi Produce & Specialty Foods joins Mario Nigro to discuss the M&A-driven growth of his Ontario-based food distribution business. Ezio highlights the roles that operational discipline, early adoption of technology, and a clear integration playbook have played in Bondi’s success. In a fragmented produce-distribution market, Bondi’s M&A strategy leverages its roots as a small family-owned business to address potential sellers’ legacy-protection concerns. Mario and Ezio also discuss Bondi’s decision to fund acquisitions directly from its balance sheet – a reflection of its philosophy of control and capital discipline. Ezio remains confident in the resilience of the produce sector and sees significant opportunity as older owner operators look to exit over the coming decade. 🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/stikeman-elliott-llp 🔗 For more information and resources, visit: stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket

Jeffrey Elliott, a partner in Stikeman Elliott’s funds and securities regulatory practice, joins Mario Nigro to discuss the evolution of private equity fund structures in Canada. While the classic single-fund structure and traditional “2 and 20” model are still intact, sponsors are increasingly using more complex arrangements, including co-investment vehicles, GP-led secondaries, open-ended or long-duration funds, and continuation vehicles in which an asset is rolled over to a new investor base. The discussion explores the growth of midmarket fund formation in Canada, including funds of search funds and emerging “holdco” structures that resemble fund vehicles but focus on narrower strategies. Looking ahead, Jeffrey expects continued growth in long-term hold strategies and increased secondary market activity as investor liquidity needs evolve. 🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/stikeman-elliott-llp 🔗 For more information and resources, visit: stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket

Join Mario Nigro and Senia Rapisarda, Managing Director of HarbourVest Canada, for a discussion of Canada’s changing venture, growth and private equity landscape. Senia and HarbourVest have become a significant presence in the Canadian market, with $1.2 billion in investments focused on the technology, climate tech and life sciences sectors. Key challenges for Canada’s entrepreneurs, in Senia’s view, include building large, enduring Canadian champions, overcoming the shortage of domestic growth capital, and encouraging a culture of repeat entrepreneurship. Looking ahead, Senia believes that geopolitical uncertainty will prompt Canadian entrepreneurs to pursue global opportunities, fostering a more balanced and internationally connected business sector. 🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/stikeman-elliott-llp 🔗 For more information and resources, visit: stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket

In this episode, Mario Nigro speaks with Adrian Bartha and Quinten Griffiths, founding partners of GoodCapital, about their approach to midmarket private equity. GoodCapital was built on a high involvement, hands on model that influences everything from deal selection to post acquisition engagement and is informed by Quinten and Adrian’s own experiences as business owners and acquirers. While not exclusively tied to the proprietary deal model, its four acquisitions to date have been sourced internally from the founders’ extensive networks. This underscores the firm’s core belief that deep and longstanding personal relationships are the key to success in any economic environment. 🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/stikeman-elliott-llp 🔗 For more information and resources, visit: stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket

David Au-Yeung and Victor Wong join Mario Nigro to discuss CollectiveXP, which provides investment and advisory services in Canada’s lower midmarket. After exiting Flipp, a VC-backed tech startup that achieved revenues over $100 million, David and Victor decided to use their skills, connections and capital to work with other investors. CollectiveXP’s philosophy centres on relationship building, early collaboration with founders, and leveraging real-world experience to apply technology – including AI – to drive growth in midmarket businesses across all sectors. CollectiveXP typically makes minority investments, with flexibility for majority stakes. 🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/stikeman-elliott-llp 🔗 For more information and resources, visit: stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket

Sebastien Dhonte joins Mario Nigro to discuss Clairvest’s approach to mid-market M&A. Based in Toronto but very active on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, Clairvest has decades of experience with its distinctive partnership-driven investment model. Their approach prioritizes alignment of interests, with existing management teams maintaining effective operational control. While Clairvest often holds a minority stake, it is far from passive: the firm supports management growth strategies and retains approval rights on hiring, financing, M&A, and budgeting. Sectors of interest include IT services, waste management, operations and maintenance and equipment rentals, among others. Sebastien and Mario conclude their discussion by looking at some of the trends that Clairvest is currently seeing in the marketplace. 🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/stikeman-elliott-llp 🔗 For more information and resources, visit: stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket

In the 150th episode of Views from the Market, Ira Goldstein joins Mario Nigro to discuss the evolving role of cybersecurity in midmarket M&A. As he explains, cybersecurity diligence has become a key part of deal-making, driven by the ever-increasing value of data in many business sectors. He stresses the value of hands-on technical assessments – rather than check-the-box exercises – for many organizations, as well as the importance of proactive controls and the challenges smaller firms face in allocating resources for cybersecurity. Looking ahead, Goldstein predicts increased use of AI-driven tools for risk assessment as cybersecurity awareness continues to grow. 🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts 🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/stikeman-elliott-llp 🔗 For more information and resources, visit: stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket

This episode of "Views from the Market" features Sévrine Labelle, Managing Director of BDC’s Thrive Lab and Thrive Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Fund, which focus on women entrepreneurs. As Sévrine notes, only 4% of investment in Canada supports women-founded businesses. The conversation centres on the newly launched $50 million Thrive ETA Fund, which helps women become entrepreneurs through acquisition – whether via search funds, self-funded deals, or management buyouts. The fund provides equity for women to acquire mid-sized businesses. Sévrine emphasizes the sector-agnostic fund’s flexibility in investment models and cheque sizes (typically $1 - 2 million) and its reliance on co-investment rather than majority ownership. 🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts 🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/stikeman-elliott-llp 🔗 For more information and resources, visit: stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket

In this episode, Mario Nigro speaks with Andrew Sarna and Vanessa Hui of Forthlane Partners, an independent wealth management firm. Forthlane offers sophisticated institutional investment strategies to its clientele of high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and foundations. Vanessa and Andrew discuss how the firm diversifies client investments through private equity, hedge funds, and defensive credit strategies that offer downside protection. The broad experience of Forthlane’s team allows it to tap into geographies and lower midmarket investments that are sometimes overlooked. Opportunities in precious metals and other commodities, which are partly AI-driven, are among the recent developments that are considered. 🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts 🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/stikeman-elliott-llp 🔗 For more information and resources, visit: stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket