TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 28, 2025--
Chartered Business Valuators Institute (“CBV Institute” or “the Institute”), the not-for-profit and self-governing valuation professional organization providing training and accreditation in business valuation and leading the Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) profession, released today the results of its 2025 M&A Outlook Survey.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250128820400/en/
With the cost of debt generally declining, inflation easing, and exchange rates fluctuating, the Institute’s 2025 M&A Outlook Survey reveals growing confidence in the Canadian M&A market. Conducted amongst CBV Institute Members active in M&A transactions in 2024, the survey indicates that over half (56 per cent) of respondents anticipate an increase in M&A activity in Canada over the next 12 to 24 months compared to 2024. Specifically, survey respondents identified the industrial products and services, healthcare, technology, and energy sectors as those most likely to experience increased M&A activity in the coming months.
“This is an interesting time for M&A, with numerous economic and geopolitical factors impacting the quantum and size of deals,” said Dr. Christine Sawchuk, MEd, EdD, CPA, CA, CBV, President & CEO, CBV Institute. “CBVs bring a wealth of experience and a comprehensive understanding of business health, providing trusted insights that drive the successful execution of M&A transactions.”
Additional highlights from the survey include:
Cross-Border M&A: Optimism Amid Challenges
Deal Size Expected to Remain Steady
Acquisition Focus
Buyers and Sellers
This survey was developed in close collaboration with Dr. Howard Johnson, DBA, FCPA, FCA, FCMA, CPA, CFA, ASA, CF, C.Dir., FCBV, Canadian Market Leader and Managing Director in Kroll’s M&A Advisory Practice.
Survey Methodology
The 2025 M&A Outlook Survey was conducted by CBV Institute between January 13, 2025, and January 19, 2025. The online survey was completed by CBV Institute’s Members who were involved in M&A activity in 2024.
About CBV Institute
CBV Institute is a not-for-profit accreditation body and professional oversight organization leading the Chartered Business Valuator profession, Canada’s only designation dedicated to business valuation since 1971.
CBV Institute upholds rigorous training and accreditation standards. With 4,000 Members and Registered Students across Canada and around the world, the Institute is dedicated to advancing the profession in the public interest and upholding the highest standards of business valuation practice through education, accreditation and governance.
For more information on CBV Institute, visit: www.cbvinstitute.com
About the CBV Designation
The Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) designation is a globally recognized business valuation accreditation and the benchmark of excellence in the profession. Holders of the prestigious CBV designation have the skills and expertise to meet the challenging and ever-evolving dynamics and complexities of business valuation. The integrity of the CBV designation is grounded in CBV Institute’s world-class Program of Studies and Membership Qualification Examination. Stringent Institute standards are upheld through annual professional requirements, including adherence to a Code of Ethics, participation in a practice inspection program, and continuing professional development requirements.
CBVs are internationally recognized by Courts, tribunals, and securities regulators as experts in business valuation and related financial matters.
For more on the CBV accreditation, visit: www.cbvinstitute.com/become-a-cbv/
Find a CBV through the CBV Institute Membership Directory: https://cbvinstitute.com/find/
(Graphic: Business Wire)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department is taking a closer look at financial transactions between Minnesotan residents and businesses and Somalia as the federal government ramps up its immigration crackdown in the state, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters on Friday during a visit to the state.
Bessent said his agency has launched a series of actions to combat fraud in the state and has launched investigations into four businesses that people use to wire money to family members abroad to do more to scrutinize transactions. He did not name the businesses.
His visit to the state coincides with protests in Minneapolis after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a woman in a residential neighborhood south of downtown on Wednesday, leading to a clash between federal and local leaders.
President Donald Trump has targeted the Somali diaspora in the Democratic-led state with immigration enforcement actions and has made a series of disparaging comments about the community, directing Bessent to uncover more fraud. The Treasury first announced last month that it would begin targeting money service businesses, focusing on remittances to Somalia.
The department's actions have been prompted in part by a series of fraud cases, including a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future accused of stealing coronavirus pandemic aid meant for school meals. Prosecutors have put the losses from that case at $300 million.
Gov. Tim Walz, before he ended his bid to serve a third term this week, said that fraud will not be tolerated in Minnesota and that his administration “will continue to work with federal partners to ensure fraud is stopped and fraudsters are caught.” Walz, who came under heavy criticism from Republicans who said his administration should have caught the Feeding Our Future fraud earlier, said he was “furious” with “criminals that preyed on the system that was meant to feed children.”
The founder of Feeding our Future, Aimee Bock, was charged with multiple counts involving conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery and was convicted in March while maintaining her innocence.
Bessent declined to comment on specific investigations but said he had met with several financial institutions on Friday to ask them to do more to prevent fraud. The department has not disclosed which institutions Bessent spoke with.
Key Treasury actions include Financial Crimes Enforcement Network investigations into Minnesota-based money services businesses, enhanced transaction reporting requirements for international transfers from Hennepin and Ramsey counties, and alerts to financial institutions on identifying fraud tied to child nutrition programs.
“Treasury will deploy all tools to bring an end to this egregious unchecked fraud and hold perpetrators to account,” Bessent told reporters on Friday.
Bessent’s announcement was met with some criticism. Nicholas Anthony, a policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, said Bessent is “building a legacy of financial surveillance and control."
“The announcement that he is stopping Americans from sending their money abroad and increasing surveillance under the Bank Secrecy Act should be condemned,” Anthony said.
Some Somali leaders said last month they had received anecdotal reports about community members being detained by federal agents but had no details. Those leaders and allies including Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have vowed to protect the community.
During a speech on Thursday about the Republican Trump administration’s economic agenda at the Economic Club of Minnesota, Bessent referred to the alleged fraud, without mentioning the Somali community that his department is targeting.
“I am here this week to signal the U.S. Treasury’s unwavering commitment to recovering stolen funds, prosecuting fraudulent criminals, preventing scandals like this from ever happening again, and investigating similar schemes state by state,” Bessent said.
FILE - U.S. Department of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks before President Donald Trump arrives at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pa., Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
