Views From the Market
Stikeman Elliott
Stikeman Elliott provides creative Canadian legal services to clients around the world.
In this series of 15-minute podcasts on private equity and midmarket M&A, with a focus on Canada, a wide range of industry participants discuss the deal market trends that they’ve been seeing. The host and originator of the series is Mario Nigro, M&A partner at Stikeman Elliott in Toronto.
Read more about Mario Nigro: https://bit.ly/3IkJsPJ
🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts
🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn for more insights
🔗 For more information and resources, visit stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket
In this series of 15-minute podcasts on private equity and midmarket M&A, with a focus on Canada, a wide range of industry participants discuss the deal market trends that they’ve been seeing. The host and originator of the series is Mario Nigro, M&A partner at Stikeman Elliott in Toronto.
Read more about Mario Nigro: https://bit.ly/3IkJsPJ
🔗 To stay connected and receive the latest updates, subscribe to our podcast on Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts
🔗 Follow Stikeman Elliott on LinkedIn for more insights
🔗 For more information and resources, visit stikeman.com/viewsfromthemarket
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 14, 2022 • 20min
Episode 47 - Midmarket Private Debt as a Supplement to Bank Financing
Joining Mario Nigro for this podcast is Jason Sellakumar of First West Capital, a junior capital provider with 20 portfolio companies at present. Mario and Jason discuss First West’s experiences as a cash lender to businesses in need of capital beyond what is available from bank lenders and look at how market uncertainty could generate new demand for this type of financing.
Jul 7, 2022 • 21min
Episode 46 – The Current Landscape in Midmarket Corporate Finance: From Banks to Alternative Lenders
Shilpa Mishra, Managing Director and Leader of the Capital Advisory team at BDO Canada, joins Mario Nigro to discuss recent financing trends in the Canadian midmarket. During the pandemic period, banks and alternative lenders, particularly U.S.-based PE funds, have shown an increasing willingness to look at midmarket deals. Mario and Shilpa discuss whether, in anticipation of further rate increases, now may be the best time for midmarket businesses to take advantage of available opportunities.
Jun 16, 2022 • 17min
Episode 45 – Searching For Success: A Decade of Growth for Search Funds
Mario Nigro’s guests in this podcast are Trevor Lwin and Bruce Moszcelt, Operating Partners of Blue Frame Capital Partners. In 2011, Trevor and Bruce were among the first in Canada to enter the search space, acquiring a business that they successfully operated for 5 years. Recently, they joined with two traditional investors to create Blue Frame, which provides financing and advice to searchers across the North American market. As they discuss, the flexibility of the search model makes it a particularly strong solution for midmarket businesses in succession scenarios.
Jun 9, 2022 • 18min
Episode 44: Transaction Diligence in an Era of Uncertainty
In this episode, Mario Nigro speaks with Michelle Alphonso of Grant Thornton LLP about her recent experiences conducting financial diligence in midmarket M&A transactions. While opining on “sustainable EBITDA” can be a challenge in these uncertain times, Michelle and her team are able to identify and evaluate the variables that make up a company’s risk profile. Data analytics are playing an increasing role in this work – a development that has been accelerated during the pandemic.
Jun 2, 2022 • 21min
Episode 43 – Economic Sanctions Laws: A Growing Issue for Canadian Businesses
Mario’s guest on this edition of the podcast is Shawn Neylan, a partner at Stikeman Elliott and a specialist in foreign investment issues of all types. In recent years, and particularly since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, compliance with economic sanctions legislation has been a growing regulatory issue for many Canadian businesses. Today, even small and medium-sized businesses are developing internal policies and education programs and, as Shawn notes, such efforts often require attention to not only Canadian sanctions regulations but U.S. and other foreign requirements as well.
May 26, 2022 • 18min
Episode 42: Finding Financing for Canadian Midmarket Companies
Mario Nigro’s guest on this podcast is Leon Raubenheimer, founder of Toronto-based Zed Financial Partners, which for 20 years has specialized in connecting Canadian businesses with debt and equity financing. Leon provides insight into the factors that make a financing deal work, which include targeting the right financiers and presenting the deal clearly. While an economic recession is possible, he expects that the deal market will continue to benefit from a strong supply of uncommitted capital.
May 19, 2022 • 18min
Episode 41 – The Tech Sector Deal Space: Where To From Here?
Daniel Lee of CIBC Capital Markets joins Mario to discuss the state of the midmarket tech sector after two years of pandemic-driven growth. Despite some softening in valuations, Daniel detects positive signs: investment capital “dry powder” is at historically high levels and the economy’s structural shift toward digital transformation will likely sustain a healthy investment climate.
May 12, 2022 • 28min
Episode 40: Bringing Innovation to Consumer Legal Services
Mario’s guest in this podcast is Lena Koke, the driving force behind Axess Law, a provider of consumer-friendly legal services focused on residential real estate, as well as will drafting and probate. Lena’s understanding of the retail sector has helped shape Axess as it continues to push the boundaries of virtual service provision in a historically conservative industry – a process accelerated by the growing acceptance of “legal tech” during the pandemic.
May 5, 2022 • 18min
Episode 39: ESG’s Growing Presence in Smaller Private Companies
In this episode, Mario welcomes Ramandeep Grewal, Partner and Member of the Corporate Group at Stikeman Elliott in Toronto. Well-known for her securities law expertise, Raman is a leading advisor in the growing field of ESG. As she and Mario discuss in this podcast, it is partly because of the increasing recognition of the link between strong ESG performance and sound overall management that ESG practices are beginning to take hold in smaller non-public companies, a trend that she believes will continue.
Apr 21, 2022 • 20min
Episode 38 – Food System Sustainability: An Innovative Investment Focus
Mario Nigro is joined by Ben Gibbons, founder of Waterpoint Lane, an investment firm that contributes growth capital to a diverse group of businesses that each promote food system sustainability. Ben and his firm partner with investors who want their investments to achieve solid economic returns and positive social impacts. Ben and Mario discuss the promising future of this sector in an environmentally and health conscious age.
