The absence of data concerning the exact nature, scope and dimensions of Canada’s middle market make it impossible to expound at length on its contemporary development or pension participation. What information the CLMPC was able to obtain from interviews and written material comprise the balance of this section.
Important economic trends are reflected in growing attention paid to the middle market. Among the most obvious, of course, are structural shifts taking place within traditional industries, and particularly manufacturing and retail industries, that have prompted consolidation, modernization and transition to “niche” production, often geared to export markets. Most middle market events are rooted in responses to new competitive pressures brought on by globalization, altered trading relationships, and other fundamental economic challenges.
If established medium-sized and larger business comprise the client base of the middle market, what reasons might compel such to approach merchant banks and other suppliers of privately-placed debt and equity, including those backed by pension assets? The following is a list of typical company-based “events” that frequently drive demand. These examples have been derived from CLMPC interviews with pension managers, market analysts and practitioners and from research sources in Canada and the United States.
Source: CLMPC, 1998