Leaving its mark as one of the richest years in M&A history, Australia’s total deal value soared well above expectations abandoning the uncertainties of 2020. Defensive strategies faded as many growth-hungry companies, pent up from a sluggish 2020, deliberately shifted from capital preservation towards capital deployment. With cheap capital behind them, many boards executed aggressive transaction strategies taking full advantage of the buyer’s market.

In our 2021 Edition of the ‘Australian public M&A deal trends report’, we examine a year filled with an uptick of record-smashing mega deals, a mammoth increase in total deal value and one where foreign investment was down yet again. With the first half of the year being slow off the mark due to ongoing border closures, supply chain issues and labour shortages, the government’s pivot towards economic recovery, high vaccination rates and low unemployment figures were several reasons behind the swift restoration in deal maker confidence.

Our report considers how the Australian public M&A market has fared during what has been a remarkable 12 months and attempts to forecast what could be another vibrant year ahead.

 
 

This report covers:

 
  • 2021: A year in review
  • Structure and execution of deals
  • A breakdown of deals by: target industries, foreign bidder origins, deal consideration, funding and premiums, private equity appetite, deal conditions and break fees

Read the full report

  • Regulatory developments affecting public M&A deals
  • Three takeaways of targets
  • Three takeaways for bidders
  • Expectations for 2022

 

A snapshot of the top trends in 2021 with transaction values over $50 million

Infographic snapshot of 2021 public M&A 

 

Top 10 deals by value for 2021

Infographic of top deals of 2021



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