Australia

The M&A state of play

Australian M&A activity has remained resilient in 2026 despite heightened geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility, including as a result of ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

In the first half of 2026, there were 464 completed deals with an aggregate disclosed value of approximately A$25.7 billion. This was a 26% decline in deal count and a 61% decline in aggregate disclosed value compared with the first half of 2025, which recorded 628 completed deals and A$66.4 billion in disclosed value.

Despite the headwinds, deals are still being done albeit often on more cautious timelines, with bidders and targets alike also needing to navigate Australia's increasingly complex regulatory environment. Contested deals and bidding wars have become a defining feature of M&A in Australia in 2026, with prospective acquirers willing to compete for highly sought-after assets, as evidenced by the contests for control for gold producer, Vault Minerals, media company, oOh!media, vehicle leasing and fleet management company, FleetPartners, financial services group, EQT Holdings and rental and holiday accommodation provider, Ingenia Communities. Industry consolidation also continues to drive activity, especially in the resources and mining sectors.

2026's market-defining transactions

Australia has remained one of the leading markets globally for large and strategic M&A transactions in 2026, despite global market uncertainty and volatility.

Key completed deals in 2026 have included Sembcorp’s A$6.5 billion acquisition of Alinta Energy, a major Australian integrated electricity and gas platform, Brookfield and GIC's A$5.8 billion acquisition of National Storage REIT, Australia and New Zealand’s largest self-storage platform, and Macquarie Asset Management, UniSuper and Pontegadea's $11.5 billion (EV) acquisition of Australia's largest logistics provider, Qube.

Additionally, in 2026, Alcoa and South32 announced the US$4.1 billion proposed acquisition by Alcoa of South32’s bauxite, alumina and aluminium assets, Amwins and Dragoneer have made a A$7.1 billion acquisition offer for Steadfast Group, the largest general insurance broker network in Australasia, Steel Dynamics / SGH made a A$14.3 billion acquisition proposal for steel supplier and manufacturer, BlueScope Steel, and EQT Infrastructure agreed a A$9.3 billion acquisition of waste management company, Cleanaway Waste Management.

The top 10 publicly disclosed Australian M&A deals in 2026 were as follows, with Ashurst Perkins Coie advising on 7 of those transactions:

Source: Mergermarket

Resources and materials sectors paving the way

In the first half of 2026, the resources sector accounted for 38 completed deals, representing approximately $2.5 billion in total disclosed value, with gold deals representing the greatest proportion of completed deals in the first half of 2026 by value.

Consolidation and competition for assets in this sector remains a key trend, as evidenced by Genesis Minerals’ A$5.6 billion cash-and-scrip deal with Vault Minerals, which led to the termination of Vault's proposed all-scrip merger with Regis Resources, and OceanaGold's proposed A$776 million acquisition of Ausgold, the owner of the Katanning Gold Project in Western Australia, by way of scheme of arrangement. Appetite for scale in gold was further highlighted in September 2026 by Gold Fields' unsolicited A$36.7 billion non-binding indicative proposal to acquire Northern Star Resources by way of scheme of arrangement.

The strong activity in the resources sector in 2026 continues the trend from 2025, when the materials sector was the most active sector for Australian public M&A, accounting for 33% of all announced Australian public M&A deals, including Gold Fields' A$4.3 billion acquisition of Gold Road Resources, Ramelius Resources' A$2.4 billion acquisition of Spartan Resources and Harmony Gold Mining's A$1.3 billion acquisition of MAC Copper.

In addition, in the context of US-Australia Government agreements establishing a coordinated policy to secure supply chains for critical minerals essential to defence and advanced technologies, investments in Australian critical minerals companies are also attracting significant attention. Recent investments include into Arafura Rare Earths, VHM, Larvotto Resources, Liontown Resources and Australian Strategic Minerals.

Digital infrastructure on the rise

M&A in the Australian digital infrastructure sector has experienced unparalleled growth in recent years, with activity being driven by AI, cloud demand and data sovereignty. Of note, is Stack Infrastructure's APAC data centre business, where potential bidder interest is reported to value the portfolio at approximately A$28 billion, potentially the region's largest data centre M&A deal since AirTrunk's A$24 billion sale to Blackstone in 2024. In addition, the energy needs of data centres are also expected to lead to demand for energy investments including in batteries and other renewable energy.

Private capital and foreign bidders fuel growth

Private capital remains a key driver of M&A activity in Australia. In 2026, private capital bidders accounted for approximately 30% of announced Australian public M&A deals, while total private capital announced deal value reached A$24.96 billion. That momentum is evident in the take-privates of National Storage REIT and Qube, as well as Blackstone's A$1.2 billion acquisition of Hamilton Island. EQT's successive proposals for Perpetual and proposed acquisition of Cleanaway, Brookfield's proposed acquisition of Reliance Worldwide and I Squared Capital's A$1.70 per share proposed take-private of oOh!media (and the proposals for oOh!media from Pacific Equity Partners and Oaktree Capital Management) further illustrate sponsors' willingness to pursue listed Australian companies.

Foreign bidder interest in Australian assets has remained strong, with foreign bidders involved in 32% of announced Australian public M&A deals in the first half of 2026. Bidders from the United States have been particularly active, including the US-led Amwins and KKR consortium's A$7.1 billion proposal for Steadfast Group and US-based Energy Fuels' $444 million bid for Australian Strategic Minerals and US-based TPG Global's proposed acquisition of EQT Holdings Limited.

Increasing regulation

Navigating Australia's increasingly complex regulatory environment has become a key issue in transaction execution for buyers and sellers alike.

Australia’s new merger clearance regime, which commenced on 1 January 2026, has shifted Australia’s merger control framework from a voluntary notification model to a mandatory and suspensory clearance regime. The changes have meant that many more deals require clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which has increased the cost and time burdens on M&A transactions (including as all relevant stakeholders learn to adapt to the new system and its wide reach which has had various unintended consequences), and prevalence of deal protection devices to address regulatory risk.

The Australian Government has also flagged changes to foreign investment laws to increase scrutiny in sensitive sectors such as critical minerals, energy and digital infrastructure. Separately, further powers have been given to regulators managing the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act.

Additionally, the Australian Securities Exchange's recent changes to shareholder approval rules for scrip-funded acquisitions by listed entities will increase the number of scrip deals that require bidder shareholder approval. These will require listed entities in the S&P/ASX300 to obtain shareholder approval to issue more than 25% of their share capital under a regulated takeover or merger, a significant reduction from the previous 100% cap.

And last but not least, not wanting to be left out, the Australian Takeovers Panel and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission have, on occasion, adopted a more aggressive stance on intervening in potential transactions and enforcement activity.