Equity issuance in Canada soared to record levels in the first quarter of 2015, according to new data from Thomson Reuters.
Canadian equity and equity-related issuance for the first quarter totalled $15.8 billion from 76 deals, the firm reports. This is the strongest quarter on record, Thomson Reuters says; and, it represents an 86% increase in total proceeds from the first quarter of 2014, and a 281% increase from the fourth quarter of 2014.
The vast majority of the new issue activity involved secondary offerings, which contributed $14.5 billion in proceeds from 68 deals. Conversely, there was less than $700 million in initial public offering (IPO) activity. Also, the issuance of retail structured products dropped 59%, and preferred securities issuance declined 24% from the first quarter of 2014.
By sector, energy and power companies accounted for about 35% of the new issue activity; followed by healthcare firms at 16.7%; and, materials with a 15.2% share.
Thomson Reuters says that the top underwriter for the quarter was RBC Capital Markets, which ranked first in Canadian equity overall, as it also led common stock deals, secondary offerings, and the preferred securities rankings. CIBC ranked first in retail structured products.
On the debt side, overall issuance was also up, Thomson Reuters reports. Total issuance for the quarter reached $47.4 billion in the first quarter, which represents a 21.2% increase from the first quarter of 2014 and a 20.9% increase from the previous quarter.
About half the new issue activity came in government and agency debt, financials accounted for another 36%, and the energy and power sector recorded a 6% market share.
RBC also led the underwriting league tables for debt, placing first in both the Canadian all debt and the domestic corporate debt rankings. It also led in cross border activity, and in the government debt tables. TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets tied for first in supranational and sovereign Maple debt, Thomson Reuters reports.