TORONTO (Bloomberg) —Canadian stocks rose to a record, spurred by merger speculation, as steelmaker Ipsco said it’s in talks with a possible acquirer and Astral Media said it bought Standard Radio for about C$1.08 billion ($949 million).

The steel pipe maker’s confirmation that it’s the latest Canadian company that’s for sale helped push the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index for the first time in three days.

Take-overs “will continue. Canada’s got a lot of good-sized, well-run companies,” said David Cockfield, who helps manage $1.1 billion at Leon Frazer & Associates in Toronto.

To someone wanting entry into the North American market, Ipsco looks cheap, he said.

The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index added 98.66, or 0.7 percent, to a 13,499.65 in Toronto, exceeding its previous record on April 9.

It was also lifted by energy stocks including Suncor Energy, which rose as crude oil prices climbed. The benchmark has gained 4.9 percent this year.

Ipsco rose C$16.53, or 11 percent, to a record C$165.40. North America’s second-largest maker of steel pipe for energy explorers is in talks it said may lead to a takeover of the company. Ipsco didn’t identify the other party. The shares jumped as much as 14 percent, valuing Ipsco at about $7 billion.

Russian daily Vedomosti said Evraz Group SA, Russia’s second- biggest steelmaker, is seeking financing from UBS AG to buy Ipsco, citing a banker it didn’t identify. Evraz spokeswoman Irina Kibina in Moscow declined to confirm or deny the report.

Astral climbed C$1.17, or 2.8 percent, to C$42.75. The broadcaster agreed to buy closely held Standard to become the largest radio company in the country. The transaction had been announced in February without a price. Astral paid less than feared said CIBC World Markets analyst Robert Bek.

Oil for May delivery rose 3 percent to $63.85 a barrel in New York, after the International Energy Agency said OPEC reduced supplies to a two-year low to cut world stockpiles.