Private equity deal volumes dropped in 2025 compared to 2024, according to McCarthy Tétrault’s “On Target: 2026 Private Equity Outlook” report.
Nonetheless, aggregate deal value for 2025 is expected to align roughly with 2024’s figure. High-value transactions such as La Caisse’s $10.2 billion take-private of Innergex Renewable Energy and Apollo and BC Partners’ acquisition of GFL Environmental’s environmental services unit for $8 billion are driving this value.
Six PE transactions valued at over $2.5 billion were recorded as of November 30, 2025. Four deals were valued in the $1-$2.5 billion range – a dropoff compared to 2024’s seven mid-market deals.
Just two deals were in the $500 million-$1 billion range for 2025 compared to 2024’s three transactions; 12 transactions were valued in the $100-$500 million range last year compared to 18 in 2024.
The report indicated that the first quarter of 2025 recorded high deal values, with PE activity softening in the second quarter. Activity ticked up in the third quarter, with Q4 data suggesting that the year would record a steady close.
PE exit deals
Additionally, only 65 Canadian PE exit transactions were recorded as of November 30, 2025 compared to 117 in 2024, representing another year of decline in this space and sustaining the downward trend observed since 2022. Twenty-six transactions were conducted in the business products and services sector and only one was by IPO, reflecting the low IPO activity in the country.
Total exit value comes to $25.7 billion, down from 2024’s $28.2 billion. This result suggests that while volume declined, the deals were large scale.
Add-ons
Add-on transactions comprised 67.3 percent of buyout deals as of November 30, 2025, representing the largest share of PE activity last year. The report noted that firms debuted fewer new platforms and focused on improving current ones through follow-on investments.
Nonetheless, add-on deals contributed only 9.1 percent to Canadian buyout activity by value, indicating that standalone transactions are the main drivers of buyouts’ dollar value.
Fundraising
Fundraising by PE firms is picking back up, with 17 firms raising $16 billion as of November 30, 2025 compared to 15 funds raising $1.6 billion in 2024.