TD Economics has issued a report debunking the theory that the weak loonie has caused a recent “fire sale” of Canadian companies to U.S. buyers.

The reports allows that although the theory of a cheap loonie causing more acquisitions is viable, it finds “scant evidence” that low value of the loonie is the main reason for the sell off of Canadian firms.

The report suggests that there has been a surge in global M&A activity. It notes that acquisitions by Canadian firms have also risen in the past couple of years, outpacing foreign buying of domestic firms in three of the past five years. “The more plausible explanation for all this activity is that increasingly global competitive pressures have unleashed a wage of merger and acquisition activity, and has little to do with the value of the exchange rate,” notes the report.

The report does allow that the currency could have played some part in the wheeling and dealing. “The question remains open. Little detailed work has been done on the topic and more in-depth research could well come up with different conclusions,” it observes. “However, for now, the broad statements about the weak loonie leading to a fire sale of Canadian assets do not appear to be supported by the evidence.”