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Back in early October, it wasn't a stretch to think that new issue markets would be a mine field to navigate for the rest of the year.

Then came the glorious October run, fuelled by oil prices that soared from the depths of $76 per barrel all the way up to $92. Today crude sells for about $100 per barrel.

That recovery has not only buoyed the TSX, it's also opened the market for financings as the calendar year winds down – particularly for smaller cap resource companies. In the oil and gas space, the wave of deals started with some bigger, venerable names like Pengrowth Energy Corp. and Gibosn Energy, but that has now expanded to the likes of Crocotta Energy, Strategic Oil and Gas Ltd. and Argosy Energy, with deals ranging from about $10-million to $50-million.

The financings aren't confined to energy. While that industry definitely dominates, mining companies such as Atacama Minerals Ltd. have also come to market, helping to spread the positive sentiments.

The same thing happened in 2010, but to an even greater extent. Markets had been shaky for much, much longer leading up to year end, and as soon as investor appetite came back, pretty much every issuer that needed money raised it. That flurry of deals helped to save bonuses this year, because that activity offset the slow activity this past summer and in September.

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