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Mergers and acquisitionsToronto

Mergers and acquisitions in Toronto

Sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory for private companies in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. We help owners and acquirers buy, sell or exit with a clear view of value, risk and terms, from the first conversation to closing.

When owners call us

Six moments that lead to a transaction

Most of our M&A work starts with one of these decisions. Each needs a different kind of preparation, and the earlier we are involved, the more options you keep.

Selling the company

You want the strongest price and terms from a buyer who will look after the business, without the sale distracting the team that runs it.

Buying a competitor or a supplier

An acquisition that adds customers, capacity or margin, priced on what the target is worth to you rather than to its owner.

Responding to an approach

A buyer has made contact. Before you reply, you need a view on value, on the buyer and on whether to talk to others.

Succession or a management buyout

An owner is stepping back and the company passes to family, managers or a partner, at a fair value and with financing the business can carry.

Selling a stake to an investor

A private equity firm, family office or strategic partner wants part of the company, and the terms of a minority deal matter as much as the price.

A sale two or three years away

Clean financials, a business less reliant on the owner and the reporting a buyer will ask for, put in place while there is still time.

How we help

M&A advisory services in Toronto

Mergers and acquisitions advice for founders, family businesses and investor-backed companies in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. One team carries the analysis from valuation through due diligence and negotiation to closing.

Sell-side advisory

We prepare the company for market, set a defensible asking range, build the information memorandum and approach the buyers you approve, then manage offers, diligence and negotiation through to closing.

Buy-side advisory

We screen and approach targets, assess fit, value the business on what it would be worth in your hands, and help arrange the financing so the price still works after closing.

Capital raising

Valuation and deal structuring

A grounded valuation range, and a structure that balances price, control and risk: cash at closing, earn-outs, vendor financing and rollover equity.

Business valuation in Toronto

Financial modeling and scenario analysis

Models that show what the deal assumes, from accretion and dilution to synergies, financing and performance after closing, so both sides can see the trade-offs.

Financial modeling in Canada

Due diligence support

Buy-side financial due diligence, sell-side preparation and a data room organized before the first buyer request, so surprises surface early rather than late.

Financial due diligence in Toronto

Exit readiness and planning

Not ready to sell yet? We clean up the financials, identify the value drivers a buyer will pay for and test the earnings with a quality of earnings review before going to market.

Quality of earnings in Toronto

M&A in Toronto

What shapes a deal in Toronto

Toronto is the centre of Canada’s M&A market. Many of the country’s largest banks, pension funds and private equity firms are based here, and the Greater Toronto Area’s mid-market of manufacturers, distributors, technology and services companies draws strategic, financial and international buyers. Competition for well-prepared companies is real, and so is the scrutiny they face.

We know the buyers and capital providers active in the GTA, from strategic acquirers and private equity firms to search funds, family offices, private credit funds and the banks that finance acquisitions.

Read how working capital adjustments affect the price.

Buyers who know what they want

Private equity firms and strategic acquirers in Toronto run disciplined processes with experienced diligence teams. Sellers who prepare their numbers, their data room and their story before going to market keep control of the timetable.

Competitive processes

A well-run process with several qualified buyers improves price and terms. We build the buyer list with you, from Toronto and beyond, and manage the process so offers can be compared on more than headline value.

Structure as much as price

Earn-outs, rollover equity, vendor financing and working capital targets decide what a seller actually receives. We model each offer so you can compare them on what you keep.

Founders and second-generation owners

Many GTA companies were founded by entrepreneurs who are now planning their exit, or are run by a second generation deciding whether to sell. We help them weigh a sale against a recapitalization or a family transfer.

Our view

The price is set long before closing

By the time buyers submit letters of intent, the range of outcomes is largely fixed. It follows from how well the business is prepared: whether its earnings hold up, whether it can run without the owner, and whether the numbers answer a buyer’s questions before they are asked.

We do that work first. Then we run a process that gives serious buyers a reason to compete, and we negotiate terms as well as price, because the structure decides how much of the headline number you keep.

Watch: The Right Deal, Done the Right Way

How a sale process works

Five stages from first call to closing

We run a sale as one project with one team, so you can keep running the business while it is sold. The timetable depends on the company and the market, and you receive a written proposal with the scope, stages and fee before any work begins.

Buying a business? The work runs the other way: screening, valuation, offer, diligence and integration, with the same team throughout.

A working session with clients around a meeting table
  1. ReadinessWe normalize earnings, agree a realistic range and deal with the issues a buyer would discount for.
  2. PositioningWe prepare the information memorandum, the financial model and the data room, and agree the list of buyers with you.
  3. OutreachWe approach strategic and financial buyers under a non-disclosure agreement and release information in stages.
  4. OffersWe compare letters of intent on price, structure and risk, and negotiate the strongest.
  5. Diligence and closingWe manage buyer questions and work with your lawyer and accountant through the purchase agreement to closing.

Thinking about selling or buying a company?

Discuss a transaction

Selected clients

Companies we have worked with

View selected work

170+Engagements since 2016
$300m+Transactions and financings advised
2016Founded in Vancouver
Battery X Metals logoBuildDirect logoCedar Coast Capital logoDraganfly logoHelios Wire logoIan Scott International logoKegshare logoKeirton logoQwick Media logoReship logoSubway logoUltimate Tools logo

Frequently asked questions

M&A questions we hear most often

Both. We advise owners selling all or part of a company, and companies, private equity firms, search funds and family offices acquiring one. We also support due diligence on either side.

Private companies, mostly owner-led and mid-sized, from family businesses to growth-stage and investor-backed companies. If you are not sure we are the right fit, a first conversation will tell you.

Through our network of business owners, search funds, family offices and private equity firms, and through outreach to strategic buyers. We agree the list with you before anyone is contacted.

The company is described without being named until a buyer signs a non-disclosure agreement, and information is released in stages as their interest firms up. Staff and customers are told only when you decide.

It depends on how prepared the business is, the market and the buyer. Once a buyer is chosen, financial due diligence typically takes two to six weeks before the purchase agreement is finalized.

Usually, yes. A valuation sets a realistic range before buyers are approached and shows which adjustments a buyer is likely to challenge. See our business valuation service.

Fees depend on the scope and size of the transaction. After a first conversation we send a written proposal setting out the scope, the stages and the fees, so the cost is clear before any work begins.

Yes. Our office is in Vancouver, and we advise on transactions in Toronto, across the Greater Toronto Area and elsewhere in Ontario. Most of the work is done remotely, with a shared data room and scheduled calls. We work closely with your lawyers and accountants throughout.

Have a question that isn’t covered here? Ask us directly.

Start a conversation

Talk to us about a transaction

Tell us whether you are buying or selling, and your timing. We will come back with the questions that matter for your situation.

What happens next

1We reply within 24 hours.
2A confidential call about your objectives, your timing and the outcome you need.
3A written proposal with scope, stages and fee, before any work begins.

Office

Alphabridge Group Inc.555 Burrard StreetVancouver, BC V7X 1M8

We use your details only to respond to your inquiry.

Discuss a transaction