There was a 22% increase of corporate mergers and acquisitions in Canada for the first 11 months of the year, just ahead of a global increase of about 19 per cent, according to a study released today by accounting firm KPMG.

There were 1,064 Canadian deals that closed in 2005 with a combined value of US$56.9 billion compared to 873 worth about US$55 billion in 2004, the report by KPMG Corporate Finance said.

According to KPMG, the largest deal of 2005 in Canada was the US$4.3 billion merger of Adolph Coors Co. and Molson Inc. announced in February.

By country, the United States continued to post the highest total value of mergers and acquisitions at US$785 billion from 6,522 completed deals so far this year.

“However, there has been no growth in activity targeted at the U.S. when compared to last year with total values flat and the volume of activity down by around three per cent,” KPMG said.

Continued liquidity in the banking market and low interest rates will likely continue to fuel merger and acquisition activity in the new year, KPMG said.