CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

World Cup tickets promised at $60, fans paid $4,185: The European Commission could take on FIFA

Copyright Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

By Rebecca Spezzano

Published on 26/03/2026 - EURONEWS

Euroconsumers and the Football Supporters Europe (FSE) network have filed a formal complaint with the European Commission, accusing FIFA of abusing its monopoly position over 2026 World Cup ticket sales.

As the sole organiser of the event and the only authorised seller on the primary market, FIFA holds enormous power over 2026 World Cup tickets.

Euroconsumers, a European consumer rights organisation, argues it is abusing that power through high prices and a lack of transparency. The cheapest available final ticket starts at $4,185 (€3,611) or more than 7 times the price of the cheapest final ticket at the 2022 World Cup.

FIFA told Euronews it had not formally received the complaint and was therefore unable to comment.

A spokesperson added that the organisation is "focused on ensuring fair access to our game for existing and prospective fans," and that as a not-for-profit, World Cup revenues are reinvested across its 211 member associations globally.

For many fans, however, the prices tell a different story.

"It was one of my dreams to go to the US for the World Cup," said Jean-Philippe Ducart, a Belgian fan who has attended more than 200 games for his national team.

"Unfortunately, this year, I won't be there. The prices are just too high."

What ‘variable pricing’ means

FIFA uses what it calls "variable pricing," which is similar to dynamic pricing, in its ticket sales. This means that the price customers pay can change during the ticket sale process depending on demand and availability.

An investigation by The Athletic revealed that the price of tickets for games in Mexico and Canada increased by around 25% between sales phases.

Similarly, the price of a Category 1 ticket, which includes the highest-priced seats located in the lower tier, rose by $250 (€232.85) from October to November.

Els Bruggeman, head of policy and enforcement at Euroconsumers, says dynamic pricing is deeply unfair to fans and that the price they pay bears no relation to the seat they get.

“The way it's being organised now, you can sit next to someone at the World Cup that paid three times less than you did, or maybe 10 times less than you did, just because they entered the digital queue 3 seconds before you did,” she said.

“Putting two and two together”

Euroconsumers have been advocating a ban on dynamic pricing for live events because limited supply and high demand leave consumers with little power.

So, when FIFA announced it was using variable pricing, it raised concerns in Brussels.

“We have been monitoring very closely how this would evolve, but we also have been working together with Football Supporters Europe, who heard that we were very active on dynamic pricing,” Bruggeman explained.

“They [FSE] had the complaints, they had the experiences coming in. And putting two and two together, we were able to file this complaint.”

Related

• Mexican cartel clashes spark security concerns ahead of FIFA World Cup
• Ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter backs calls to boycott World Cup in the US

More than just sky-high prices

The complaint includes other factors aside from dynamic pricing and high prices.

Euroconsumers claim FIFA used bait advertising, which is illegal under EU consumer law.

Prior to the first phase of ticket sales opening, FIFA announced it would sell group-stage tickets starting at $60 (€51.77). In reality, few fans were able to secure tickets at those prices, according to the press release.

If customers wish to resell World Cup tickets or purchase resale tickets, FIFA encourages them to do so via the FIFA Resale/Exchange Marketplace rather than competitors such as StubHub or Vivid Seats, stating that its own marketplace is the “official and secure way”.

FIFA’s Resale/Exchange Marketplace then imposes a 15% fee on both the buyer and the seller. The Euroconsumers and FSE complaint notes this is highly profitable for FIFA but “to the detriment of consumer rights and interests”.

“No games anymore,” said Els Bruggeman, Head of Policy and Enforcement at Euroconsumers.

“Let’s put a stop to this dynamic pricing. Let’s be very clear on how many tickets you [FIFA] still have and for where. Announce in all transparency what will be the prices.”

Euroconsumers said it reached out to FIFA ahead of ticket sales to ask how the variable pricing would work for the 2026 World Cup, but it did not receive a response.

What can the European Commission do?

Euroconsumers and FSE are calling on the European Commission to order FIFA to stop using dynamic pricing for all tickets sold.

Bruggeman said she hopes this will be settled quickly, as another ticket draw opens on April 2 and the World Cup begins in June.

“If we don't have measures by then, then the damage for consumers will be irreparable,” she said.

A Commission spokesperson said they have received the complaint and "will assess it under our standard procedures".

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Estée Lauder and Puig in €35bn merger talks to combine major beauty brands

Copyright AP Photo

By Doloresz Katanich with AP

Published on 24/03/2026 - EURONEWS

Estée Lauder has confirmed merger talks with Spain’s Puig as it looks to strengthen its position in fragrances and reverse a prolonged sales decline.

Estée Lauder and the perfume maker Puig are in merger talks that would potentially put brands such as MAC, Clinique, Charlotte Tilbury and Jean Paul Gaultier under one roof.

Estée Lauder confirmed the discussions but said that no agreement has been reached with the century-old Spanish company.

The American cosmetics multinational has been attempting to stem a slide in sales, with revenue falling in each of the past three years.

In 2025, they said they would cut as many as 7,000 jobs by the 2026 fiscal year, more than 11% of its workforce. CEO Stéphane de La Faverie said at the time that the company was transforming its operating model to be “leaner, faster and more agile”.

“Estee Lauder has lost its footing in recent years and needs to do something radical to get back on top," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

"A takeover of Puig is an interesting proposition, but history suggests that bolting two companies together is not a guaranteed recipe for success," he continued.

Related

• Getting a makeover: How AI and metaverse technology are transforming the beauty industry
• Hugo Boss CEO: Quiet luxury and smarter shoppers are reshaping fashion

Puig oversees make-up, skincare and fragrance brands such as Nina Ricci, Jean Paul Gaultier and Dr Barbara Sturm.

The company went public on the Madrid Stock Exchange in early 2024.

A merger between Estée Lauder and Puig would create a company valued at more than $40bn (€34.5bn), Jefferies’ Sydney Wagner wrote, and would give the New York company a stronger position in fragrances, which make up most of Puig’s portfolio.

While fragrances remain a strong category, Wagner said competition from independent brands is intensifying, and L'Oréal has strengthened its position.

Shares of Estée Lauder were down by more than 7.5% at approximately 15.30 CET on the New York Stock Exchange. Puig's share price was up by nearly 13% at the same time in Madrid.

STATE MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Zijin Gold acquires control of rival Chifeng in $2.6B deal

Cecilia Jamasmie | March 23, 2026

Porgera gold mine, acquired from Barrick in 2020. (Image courtesy of Zijin.)

Zijin Gold is acquiring a controlling stake in Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining for 18.26 billion yuan ($2.64 billion), reinforcing its position as China’s largest gold producer.

The unit of Zijin Mining Group (HKG: 2899) will purchase existing mainland-listed shares and newly issued Hong Kong shares, lifting its interest to nearly 26% and securing effective control with full financial consolidation, the companies said. Chifeng sold about 14.4 tonnes of gold last year from operations in China, Ghana and Laos, compared with Zijin Gold’s 46.6 tonnes.

Zijin will assume operational control of Chifeng, “further solidifying its position as China’s top gold miner,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts said in a note on Monday. They added the target will benefit from improved efficiency under Zijin’s management.

The deal follows Zijin Gold’s C$5.5 billion ($4 billion) acquisition of Allied Gold (TSX, NYSE: AAUC) and reflects a broader push by Chinese miners to expand output and secure overseas assets amid strong bullion prices and constrained global supply.

Zijin Gold and other Chinese bullion miners including Shandong Gold Mining are poised to outperform global peers after a record 2025, driven by higher prices and rising production, even as gold retreats more than 10% from late-February highs above $5,000 an ounce.

Ongoing geopolitical tensions and safe-haven demand continue to underpin the market, while international rivals face declining output and thinner project pipelines.

CRIMINAL  MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Ticketmaster parent execs privately laugh over price-gouging: 'These people are so stupid'

Matthew Chapman
March 12, 2026
RAW STORY




Vancouver, CANADA - Dec 3 2022 : Twitter account of popular US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift in Twitter website seen in iPhone on Live Nation logo background. (Photo: Koshiro K/Shutterstock)

Newly revealed internal communications show a pair of executives at entertainment venue giant Live Nation laughing about how much they are able to gouge people for concert tickets.

"In a series of chats from 2022, Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold, two regional directors of ticketing for Live Nation amphitheaters, boasted about their ability to raise so-called 'ancillary fees' – like parking, lawn chair rentals and VIP access – and still get concertgoers to pay for them," reported Bloomber News. "In one exchange, Weinhold gloated about raising VIP parking costs at a Virginia concert venue to $250. 'These people are so stupid. I almost feel bad taking advantage of them,' Baker wrote, adding later, 'I gouge them on ancil prices.' In another exchange, he bragged about charging '$50 to park in the grass' and '$60 for closer grass.'"

“Robbing them blind, baby, that’s how we do it,” Baker wrote.

Live Nation has been accused in a series of lawsuits of holding a monopoly over venues, that squeezes both performers and ticketholders alike — resulting in people being charged hundreds or thousands of dollars more than reasonable to see concerts, shows, and performances around the country. They also own the booking platform Ticketmaster, which has infamously hiked booking fees to higher and higher levels over the years, and can often be the only way to book tickets for Live Nation owned venues. The fiasco surrounding tickets for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour brought many of these issues into national focus.

The company has also been accused in litigation of stonewalling congressional investigators.


This comes as the Trump administration Justice Department's antitrust division reached a settlement with Live Nation, which requires them to pay $200 million to several states, allow third-party sellers access to Ticketmaster, limit their exclusivity agreements, divest 10 of its amphitheaters, and cap service fees for amphitheater tickets to 15 percent of ticket price.

This settlement has been rejected by over two dozen state attorneys general as inadequate to resolve Live Nation's monopoly power, since it doesn't require Ticketmaster to be divested altogether, and state-level litigation is expected to continue.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Live Nation settles antitrust case with US Justice Dept, states object


By AFP
March 9, 2026


Live Nation has reached a tentative settlement with the Justice Department in the antitrust case brought against the US entertainment giant - Copyright AFP/File Giuseppe CACACE

Live Nation reached a tentative settlement with the US Justice Department on Monday in the federal antitrust case brought against the entertainment giant, a senior official said.

The settlement, which still requires the approval of a judge, comes just days after the start of an antitrust trial against Live Nation in New York.

The case was initiated under then-president Joe Biden when the Justice Department labeled Live Nation a monopolist that controlled virtually all live entertainment in the United States.

The settlement requires Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, to open up the ticketing platform to competitors and to allow other concert promotors to stage events at certain Live Nation venues, the official said.

Live Nation will also divest up to 13 amphitheaters and pay $280 million in damages to the nearly 40 states that were parties to the antitrust lawsuit against the California-based company.

New York and a number of other states declined to join the settlement, however, and said Monday that their litigation would continue.

“For years, Live Nation has made enormous profits by exploiting its illegal monopoly and raising costs for shows,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said.

“The settlement recently announced with the US Department of Justice fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case, and would benefit Live Nation at the expense of consumers,” James said in a statement.

“We will keep fighting this case without the federal government so that we can secure justice for all those harmed by Live Nation’s monopoly.”

Live Nation is a behemoth in its industry: in 2025 it organized more than 55,000 events worldwide, drawing 159 million attendees.

Beyond promotion, it holds stakes in 460 venues and, since 2010, has controlled Ticketmaster, the world’s leading ticket seller.

The Justice Department had accused Live Nation of abusing its dominant position to pressure artists and venues into signing with it, stifle competition, and impose excessive fees on fans.

The Trump administration’s decision to press forward with the case against Live Nation had surprised many observers, who had interpreted last month’s resignation of Justice Department competition chief Gail Slater as a sign the case would be dropped.

‘While No One’s Looking,’ Trump DOJ Settles Antitrust Case With Live Nation-Ticketmaster

“This settlement is the clearest sign yet that this administration serves big business, not the people.”

The Ticketmaster logo appears on a smartphone screen in the Apple app store on on March 6, 2026.
(Photo by Thomas Fuller/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Jake Johnson
Mar 09, 2026
COMMON DREAMS

 Trump Justice Department on Monday reportedly reached a tentative deal with Live Nation—the owner of Ticketmaster—to settle a Biden-era antitrust lawsuit that aimed to break up the company, accusing it of illegally monopolizing the live entertainment industry.

News of the settlement, which would not require a breakup of Live Nation, came days after the trial began, with a lawyer for the Trump Justice Department’s decimated antitrust division saying last week that the company abuses its market power and earns its massive profits “through illegal action.” The antitrust division’s counsel in the case, David Dahlquist, was apparently not made aware of the settlement until he appeared in court Monday morning.

Lee Hepner, senior legal counsel at the American Economic Liberties Project, said it is “highly unorthodox for the Justice Department’s lead litigator to be left out of the loop on the settlement and highly prejudicial to the jury’s deliberations.”

“According to every observer, this trial was already going well for the Justice Department and states,” said Hepner. “They had just won summary judgment and a jury had already heard evidence of Live Nation’s longstanding pattern of retaliation against venues who had attempted to open the market to competition. State AGs are once again left to clean up the mess left by this Administration’s incompetence.”

Under the settlement, which must be approved by a judge, Live Nation “would pay a fine of up to $280 million and divest itself of at least 13 amphitheaters across the country as it opens up its ticketing processes so that competitors can share in the sale of tickets,” the Associated Press reported.

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), a trade group representing thousands of independent live entertainment venues, festivals, and promoters, noted in a statement that the reported $280 million settlement amount “is the equivalent of four days of [Live Nation’s] 2025 revenue, which means they could potentially make it back by this Friday.”

“The reported settlement does not appear to include any specific and explicit protections for fans, artists, or independent venues and festivals,” said Stephen Parker, NIVA’s executive director. “Reported details also indicate that ticket resale platforms could be further empowered through new requirements for Ticketmaster to host their listings, which would likely exacerbate the price gouging potential for predatory resellers and the platforms that serve them.”

“If these facts are true,” Parker added, “NIVA views this as a failure of the justice system.”

The antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation was filed in 2024 after a nearly two-year investigation launched amid mounting public outrage aimed at Ticketmaster, spurred in part by its botched presale of Taylor Swift concert tickets in 2022. Then-President Joe Biden’s Justice Department filed the complaint in partnership with 30 state attorneys general, most of whom vowed Monday to continue the fight without the Trump administration’s support.

“For years, Live Nation has made enormous profits by exploiting its illegal monopoly and raising costs for shows,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “My office has led a bipartisan group of attorneys general in suing Live Nation for taking advantage of fans, venues, and artists, and we are committed to holding Live Nation accountable.”

The settlement deal comes weeks after Gail Slater, the former head of the Justice Department’s antitrust arm, was pushed out by DOJ leadership. Prior to Slater’s removal, Live Nation executives and lobbyists had reportedly been negotiating the terms of a possible settlement with senior Justice Department officials outside of the antitrust office, heightening corruption concerns.

Emily Peterson-Cassin, policy director at the Demand Progress Education Fund, said in a statement that “this settlement amounts to a slap on the wrist that tinkers around the edges of the real problem: Live Nation’s monopoly.”

“Instead of breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster, Live Nation will now get to continue forcing the vast majority of live venues to use Ticketmaster,” said Peterson-Cassin. “Following the ousting of Gail Slater and the gutting of the government’s antitrust enforcement capabilities, this settlement is the clearest sign yet that this administration serves big business, not the people.”

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Canada’s Oil Patch Swept Up in Record $38B Consolidation Wave

By Alex Kimani - Feb 24, 2026,

• U.S. upstream M&A is slowing sharply, falling from $192 billion in 2023 to $65 billion in 2025.
• 
  
• Canada is seeing the opposite trend, with $37.8 billion in 2025 deals consolidating oil sands control among a handful of major players.
• 
  
• M&A action was driven by cost-cutting, operational synergies, pipeline constraints, and investor pressure for efficiency.
• 
  

Previously, we reported that the U.S. Shale Patch has witnessed a big slump in corporate buyouts in recent years as premium acreage depletes and volatile energy prices keep buyers on the sidelines. Following a record $192 billion in mergers and acquisitions announced in 2023 and $105 billion in 2024, U.S. upstream oil and gas M&A activity totaled just $65 billion in 2025, despite a late-year rebound with $23.5 billion in deals announced in the fourth quarter.

However, the situation could not be more stark in America’s neighbor to the north.

Canada's oil and gas sector is currently experiencing a massive, multi-year wave of consolidation, with 2025 seeing over $37.8 billion in deals executed or pending, marking the highest activity level since 2017. This trend is consolidating control into the hands of a few dominant players including Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (NYSE:CNQ), Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE:CVE), Suncor Energy Inc.(NYSE:SU), and Imperial Oil Ltd.(NYSE:IMO) and even Texas-based ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)--who together account for roughly 85% of Alberta's oil sands production. Some high-profile tie-ups in the space include Whitecap Resources Inc.'s (OTCPK:WCPRF) CA$15-billion merger with Veren Inc.; Cenovus Energy’s merger with MEG Energy for ~CA$8.6 billion as well as Ovintiv Inc.'s (NYSE:OVV) CA$3.8-billion acquisition of NuVista Energy Ltd.

Related: U.S. Crude Stockpile Surge Weighs on Oil Prices

With oil prices remaining lacklustre over the past two years, energy companies are increasingly seeking to cut costs by scaling up, improving operational efficiency and slashing overheads, rather than through organic growth. Meanwhile, investors are demanding better returns through dividends and buybacks, forcing companies to focus on profitability rather than production growth. Further, rising crude oil production from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) has led to increased pipeline congestion and renewed rationing on the Enbridge Mainline system. This has depressed prices for heavy Canadian crude despite the completion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, discouraging new and expensive long-term projects.

“M&A is a way that you can grow when you don't want to invest in drilling, when you're not going to get the kind of returns you're expecting,” Grant Zawalsky, vice-chair at Calgary law firm Burnet, Duckworth and Palmer LLP, told Radio Canada. “Until the fundamentals change, we'll likely see more of the same.”

However, while consolidation will likely persist in the current year, analysts anticipate a modest slowdown in deal momentum, in large part due to a growing scarcity of high-quality targets, “I don't know if we'll see the values that we saw in 2025, which were dominated by a number of large deals over in the billions,” Tom Pavic, president of Sayer Energy Advisors, told Radio Canada. “I think you'll still see quite a bit of activity, just at a smaller scale,” he added.

Experts have predicted that the "field synergy" model, whereby merging companies combine operations that are geographically close to each other, will remain a popular M&A strategy. Tie-ups in the Canadian OilPatch are increasingly focusing on asset consolidation and improving efficiency by combining adjacent or complementary assets to improve operational scale, such as merging Montney producers to maximize infrastructure usage rather than just drilling new wells. These deals include optimizing field logistics, sharing procurement contracts and reducing overhead, such as Cenovus Energy’s estimated $400M/year in projected synergies after merging with MEG Energy, largely driven by field efficiencies and G&A cuts.

Consolidation often leads to lower job-per-barrel ratios through automation and leaner head offices, allowing for increased production with fewer, more specialized staff. Further, companies are utilizing predictive geophysics and "subsurface digital twins" to simulate and optimize field operations before drilling.

Interestingly, mergers in Canada’s energy sector are increasingly focused on improving the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) profile, with over 70% of recent deals involving the target having a higher ESG score than the buyer.

Unlike in the U.S., ESG criteria remain critically important in Canada's energy sector, acting as a core framework for risk management, investment attraction, and social license to operate. While there is a shift away from glossy marketing towards more data-driven reporting, the pressure to maintain high ESG standards--particularly regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, indigenous partnerships, and corporate governance--is increasing, rather than decreasing. That’s probably not surprising considering that the federal government of Canada is led by the centre-left Liberal Party of Canada, which has been in power since 2015 and secured a fourth consecutive term in April 2025.

In contrast, many U.S. energy companies are scaling back, altering, or outright hiding their ESG commitments, a trend driven by political pressure coupled with investor backlash against underperforming sustainable funds.

The re-election of Donald Trump has accelerated the anti-ESG movement, with efforts to roll back Biden-era climate policies, clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and regulations favoring ESG investing. Consequently, many U.S. Big Oil companies are ditching their previously ambitious clean energy roadmaps and have abandoned earlier plans to cut oil output.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Canadian oilpatch expected to keep bulking up through mergers and acquisitions

ByThe Canadian Press
Updated: February 10, 2026 

A pumpjack draws out oil and gas from a well head with a Canola field in the background near Cremona, Alta., Tuesday, July 15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY — Oilpatch advisers are expecting the wave of consolidation to continue after last year’s string of blockbuster Canadian deals, but whether foreign buyers are ready to jump into the fray remains an open question.

Companies have seen the merit in bulking up through mergers and acquisitions as oil prices hover around the lacklustre US$60 per barrel mark, shareholders demand better returns through dividends and buybacks and uncertainty continues to cloud the ability for producers to sell their output in lucrative global markets, said Grant Zawalsky, senior partner and vice-chair at law firm Burnet, Duckworth and Palmer LLP in Calgary.

“M&A is a way that you can grow when you don’t want to invest in drilling, when you’re not going to get the kind of returns you’re expecting,” he said.

“Until the fundamentals change, we’ll likely see more of the same.”

Zawalsky worked on three major energy transactions last year: the bidding war for MEG Energy Inc. in which Cenovus Energy Inc. emerged victorious; Whitecap Resources Inc.’s $15-billion combination with Veren Inc. and Ovintiv Inc.’s $3.8-billion acquisition of NuVista Energy Ltd.

BD&P as a whole was involved in eight of the 10 biggest energy producer transactions last year. Deals were done largely among domestic players, with Ovintiv somewhat of an exception. It’s headquartered in Denver, but its stock trades on the TSX and it has a substantial Canadian presence, having formerly been known as Encana and based in Calgary

Tom Pavic, president of Sayer Energy Advisors, is expecting this year to be busy.

“I don’t know if we’ll see the values that we saw in 2025, which were dominated by a number of large deals over in the billions,” he said.

“I think you’ll still see quite a bit of activity, just at a smaller scale.”

Pavic added that it’s a “buyer’s market,” as companies look for the most cost-effective way to add to their drilling inventories.

The investment environment has been improving with Ottawa and Alberta reaching a sweeping energy accord that includes support for a new West Coast oil pipeline, Pavic said. But so far, he’s not observed an uptick in global interest in Canadian acquisitions.

Zawalsky said potential buyers are having to weigh the attractive quality and value of Canadian assets against lingering concerns over regulatory burdens and infrastructure needed for overseas exports.

However, U.S. private equity players have been showing an interest in picking up Canadian assets, building up production and then selling the companies or taking them public, he said.

“Anywhere they see a value arbitrage with Canadian assets selling lower or being developed at a lower cost, they view that as an opportunity,” Zawalsky said.

“And they tend to be more willing to take risk on the regulatory side than established oil and gas producers.”

Hostile bids, like the one from Strathcona Resources Ltd. that put MEG in play last spring, are expected to be the outlier, he said.

About 40 people across BD&P had a hand in the MEG-Strathcona-Cenovus saga as its lawyers worked on behalf of the target company, he said.

“They’re very legally intensive for the bidder. It’s a very expensive proposition to put forward a bid when you don’t know that you’re going to be successful.”

In its 2026 outlook, ATB Capital Markets said it was anticipating a “modest slowdown” in consolidation among explorers and producers.

“This expected decline in momentum is driven by an intersection of structural and economic factors, most notably the scarcity of remaining high-quality targets that possess adequate scale and inventory depth to justify valuation premiums,” the report said.

“Furthermore, weakness in oil commodity benchmarks heading into the new year ... and limited appetite for crystallization at the bottom of the commodity price cycle create a challenging backdrop for transactions, likely widening the spread between opportunistic buyers and sellers patiently waiting for higher valuations.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2026.

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Red-Hot Canadian Oil Patch M&A Likely to Cool

By Andrew Topf - Feb 11, 2026

• Canada’s upstream oil and gas sector saw a record $31.2 billion in M&A activity in 2025.
• 
  
• 2025 saw major deals such as Whitecap Resources’ merger with Veren and Cenovus Energy’ takeover of MEG Energy.
• 
  
• Sayer Energy Advisors expects deal activity to moderate in 2026 due to a shrinking pool of high-quality targets, strong producer balance sheets, and structural constraints despite improving policy signals.
• 
  

Last year saw a record number of deals in the Canadian oil patch, with sectoral consolidation reaching an eight-year high.

But a new report from Calgary-based Sayer Energy Advisors anticipates mergers and acquisitions in Canada’s upstream oil and gas will moderate over the next 12 months.

The report’s findings go against the expectations of industry analysts and executives of more US buyers searching for acquisition targets, along with more favorable government policies towards the sector spurring more action in 2026.

According to the report, via the Calgary Herald, the upstream oil and gas sector saw an estimated $31.2 billion of M&A activity in 2025, a 53% jump from the previous year and the most dealmaking since 2017, when five large transactions led by foreign firms exiting the oilsands accounted for 80% of the total deal value.

The 2025 total included Whitecap Resources’ (TSX:WCP) $15 billion merger with Veren Inc. last March, and Cenovus Energy’s (TSX:CVE) $8.6B takeover of oilsands producer MEG Energy in November.

Other deals saw Sunoco LP’s (NYSE:SUN) purchase of fuel giant Parkland Corp. for $9.1 billion; Keyera Corp.’s (TSX:KEY) $5.1B acquisition of Plains All American Pipeline’s (NASDAQ:PAA) NGL (Natural Gas Liquids) Division; Ovintiv Inc.’s (TSX:OVV) purchase of NuVista Energy for $3.8 billion, and Canadian Natural Resources’ (NYSE:CNQ) acquisition of Chevron’s (NYSE:CVX) Oilsands/ Duvernay Assets ($1.0B).

Buyers bulked up to achieve better returns and operational synergies during a period of lower oil prices averaging roughly $60 a barrel, rather than investing in new drilling.

About 30% of last year’s M&A activity targeted assets in the Montney formation of northeastern British Columbia and northwestern Alberta — a region known for its natural gas, condensate and NGLs.

Most major deals were completed by domestic players, although interest from US buyers began to increase as US shale wells started to become depleted.

A separate report from ATB Capital Markets notes most producers still have strong balance sheets, which could slow M&A in 2026, as there will be fewer firms looking to sell.

“We anticipate a modest slowdown in Canadian (exploration and production) M&A activity through 2026 following three years of robust consolidation within the sector,” the report states, per the Herald.

“This expected decline in momentum is driven by an intersection of structural and economic factors, most notably the scarcity of remaining high-quality targets that possess adequate scale and inventory depth to justify valuation premiums.”

On the other hand, Grant Zawalsky, senior partner and vice-chair at law firm Burnet, Duckworth and Palmer LLP in Calgary, was quoted by The Canadian Press as saying that “M&A is a way that you can grow when you don’t want to invest in drilling, when you’re not going to get the kind of returns you’re expecting,” he said.

“Until the fundamentals change, we’ll likely see more of the same.”

He should know. Zawalsky worked on three major energy transactions last year: the Cenovus-MEG Energy acquisition, Whitecap’s combination with Veren, and Ovintiv’s purchase of NuVista Energy.

BD&P was involved in eight of the 10 biggest transactions.

Tom Pavic, president of Sayer Energy Advisors, said that while the investment environment has been improving due to the Canadian and Alberta governments reaching an energy accord that includes support for a new West Coast oil pipeline, he hasn’t observed increased global interest in Canadian acquisitions.

Pavic chalked the disinterest up to lingering concerns over regulatory burdens and infrastructure needed for overseas exports.

However, US private equity players have been showing an interest in picking up Canadian assets, building up production and then selling the companies or taking them public.

“Anywhere they see a value arbitrage with Canadian assets selling lower or being developed at a lower cost, they view that as an opportunity,” Zawalsky was quoted by The Canadian Press.

“And they tend to be more willing to take risk on the regulatory side than established oil and gas producers.”

By Andrew Topf for Oilprice.com

Big Oil’s Merger Boom Is Being Driven by a Surprisingly Small Club

By Haley Zaremba - Feb 06, 2026

• Just 20 oil and gas companies accounted for more than half of the total M&A deal value over the past decade, according to Bain & Co.
• 
  
• Frequent acquirers dramatically outperformed non-acquirers, delivering shareholder returns roughly 130% higher over ten years.
• 
  
• Recent mega-deals, including Devon’s acquisition of Coterra, highlight how consolidation is reshaping U.S. shale even as future dealmaking may slow or shift focus.

The oil and gas sector is continuing to consolidate after years of ‘merger-mania’, with ramifications for the entire energy sector and wider economy. But a recent report reveals that the spate of mergers and acquisitions that has characterized the fossil fuels industry over the last decade is not as widespread as it may seem, but rather concentrated among a few key players. 

A newly released report from the consulting firm Bain & Co found that, within the oil and gas sector, “fewer companies are doing more of the deals and creating more of the value.” In fact, over the last ten years, just 20 companies were responsible for 53% of total deal value when it comes to mergers and acquisitions within the sector.

“And it’s not only the large supermajors,” Bain & Co report, “but also independents such as Diamondback Energy and large midstream companies such as ONEOK and Energy Transfer.” Indeed, this consolidation frenzy is reshaping the landscape of Big Oil, with not-quite-supermajors gobbling up more and more of the market.

What is more, the companies that are driving merger-mania are winning big. The report concluded that the companies considered to be ‘frequent acquirers’ ultimately provided shareholder returns that dwarfed the firms that were not involved in acquisitions over the last ten years. Companies completing at least one acquisition per year yielded returns that were a jaw-dropping 130% higher than companies that did not conduct acquisitions. This is more than double the performance gap seen between acquirers and non-acquirers in the sector a decade ago.

What is the math behind this massive performance gap? In layman’s terms, as explained by news outlet Semafor, “mergers tend to allow companies to capture scale and reduce unit costs through operational efficiencies and consolidated infrastructure, savings that have become more important now that oil prices have retreated from their 2022 peak.”

The consolidation boom has been especially concentrated in the United States, where “year-over-year mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity surged 331%, totaling $206.6 billion,” according to an August report from Ernst & Young. In fact, the domestic oil and gas sector has shrunk from a field of 50 major players to one of just 40 big names.

Just in the last two years, Chevron bought Hess for $53 billion, Exxon Mobil bought Pioneer Natural Resources for $60 billion, and Devon bought Grayson Mill Energy for $5 billion. And this merger-mania reached a new height just this month as Devon moved to acquire Coterra for nearly $26 billion in a marriage of two “crown jewels.” This deal “creates a domestic oil and gas juggernaut trailing only household names Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips in sheer production volumes” according to Fortune.

However, not everyone is thrilled about the new United States shale giant. The deal is a pure stock deal, with Devon shareholders set to hold 54 percent and Coterra shareholders 46 percent of the merged company. This makes it a bit contentious for investors. As explained by MarketWatch, “investors in the acquiring companies don’t usually like stock deals, because issuing new shares to fund the purchase dilutes their holdings, meaning they now own a smaller percentage of the company.”

The Devon-Coterra merger, popular or not, is major news after a relatively quiet year for mergers and acquisitions in 2025. In fact, it could be the harbinger of the next big consolidation wave. But probably not.

Some experts think that merger-mania is set to wind down or at least reorient its focus as prices become more volatile on the back of shifting demand patterns. “With ongoing uncertainty around supply and demand, pricing, tariffs, and geopolitics, operational efficiency and capital discipline will be critical,” says Ernst & Young’s Herb Listen. “The companies that adapt quickly, invest strategically and integrate effectively will define the next chapter of U.S. energy.”

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com