The Canadian dollar’s weakness over the past few years has created attractive opportunities for U.S. dollar investors. We see this not only in the real estate markets of Vancouver and Toronto but also in the Canadian stock market, where foreigners have bought a total of $26 billion worth of shares between January and June of 2016 — about four times more than the normal six-month average.

The Dividend Champions portfolio has also benefited from foreign buyers. Two of our former holdings, InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust (delisted) and Whistler Blackcomb Holdings (TSX: WB, OTC: WSBHF), recently received offers from foreign entities at considerable premiums to the then-prevailing market prices. In the case of InnVest, we sold our units for a total return of 48%. For Whistler, we doubled our investment value over a 15-month holding period.

These investments were selected for their ability to pay attractive dividends based on our normal selection criteria: a sound long-term track record, a strong balance sheet, ample cash flow and the ability to sustain and grow the dividend over time. We suspect that the foreign buyers noticed not only these characteristics but also the unique qualities of the underlying assets. That’s why they were willing to pay premiums over the prevailing market prices.

The foreign buying spree of Canadian assets may not be over. The Canadian dollar is still trading 25% below its 2014 levels against the U.S. dollar and despite Canadian asset prices moving higher since the start of the year, interesting opportunities are still available to foreign bargain hunters.

We believe that these buyers may also find some of the current holdings in the Dividend Champions portfolio of interest. In addition to the selection criteria listed above, foreign buyers will also consider the shareholder structure (because they’ll need to convince a majority of shareholders to support the transaction), and they’ll consider if required regulatory approvals, competition or legislation could jeopardize the transaction.

The table lists the Dividend Champions we consider possible acquisition targets, based on these criteria.

Our focus in selecting the Dividend Champions is always on the ability of the company to sustain and grow its dividend.  We do not need a takeover bid at a premium price to make the investment case for these stocks.

But it’s nice when it happens – like the cherry on the cake!