Canada private equity buyouts on a roll

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Buyouts of Canadian companies by the private equity sector remained strong in the third quarter, despite ructions in global credit markets where most of the money for these largely debt-financed takeovers come from, an industry body said on Monday.

Buyout funds invested C$3.3 billion ($3.4 billion) in Canadian companies in the three months ended September 30 in 39 transactions, according to Canada's Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) and research partner Thomson Financial.

The CVCA did not give comparative figures for the same quarter of 2006 but said a record C$12.2 billion worth of buyouts took place in Canada during all of 2006.

"The third quarter data clearly shows that the buyout sector in Canada remains strong, in spite of recent instability in the credit markets," said Rick Nathan, president of the CVCA and managing director of Kensington Capital Partners Ltd..

"On an annualized basis, the activity in the third quarter would represent a new record year for Canadian buyouts, exceeding the total investment levels and the number of reported transactions of last year's record pace," he said in a statement.

In the year to date, Canadian firms are the subject of 133 buyout transactions valued at C$64.1 billion. That includes the proposed giant buyout of telecommunications company and Bell Canada parent BCE Inc (BCE.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), with a value of C$47.2 billion, including debt.

Even without the BCE deal, buyout activity remains robust.

"It is remarkable to note that even without the Bell Canada buyout, our private equity markets remain on a pace to double in size yet again this year," Nathan said.

($1 = $0.96 Canadian)

(Reporting by Nicole Mordant; Editing by Bernadette Baum)