MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Mergers and Acquisitions activity is expected to intensify in the transportation sector over the next several years.

Aging Baby Boomers are seeking opportunities to capitalize on their years of hard work. The Great Recession “took the fun out of the business” for many entrepreneurs. Leading economists are predicting an extended period of slow growth. A return to the “golden age” of trucking does not appear to be on the horizon. This may produce a group of interested sellers.

Investors see the prospect of improving their profitability by adding new revenue streams and new customers while rationalizing overheads. Whether it’s adding a “tuck in” investment to fill a service void or part of a “grand plan” to become one of the top players in an industry, the time is ripe for change.

But we have heard this story before. Will 2014 really be different from other years?

Find out at our next Surface Transportation Summit which will include a panel discussion with M&A expert, Douglas Nix and “Baby Boomer” entrepreneur Mike McCarron, who recently sold his trucking business. The Summit is scheduled for October 16 at the Mississauga Convention Centre in Mississauga, Ont.

Douglas Nix is Vice Chairman of Corporate Finance Associates (CFA) and Chairman of CFA’s Transportation and Logistics Industry Practice Group. He is one of Canada’s leading mid-market M&A advisors in the transportation and logistics industry and has been involved in over 60 M&A transactions in the past 15 years.

Mike McCarron was one of the founding partners of MSM Transportation in 1989. For the next 22 years he helped grow MSM into one of the most recognizable brands in the Transportation Industry before selling to the Wheels Group last fall. Currently he is working in Wheels M and A department where he is focusing on the consolidation of the third party space. Mike sits on the Board of the CTA and the Executive Board of the OTA where he has been Chairman of their annual convention for the past decade. He also writes a regular column for Fleet Executive and Fleet Owner magazines.

The panel will discuss the key issues in buying and selling a trucking business and will share their insights on how to maximize the odds of making a successful purchase or sale.

The M&A panel is one of many sessions planned for the all-day Surface Transportation Summit.

To register for the Summit, go to: http://www.surfacetransportationsummit.com/