Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
Mortgage business logo

M&A activity reaches new highs

It was a record-breaking year for Australian M&A activity in 2015, according to new data released by Mergermarket.

A total of 467 M&A deals worth $134.9 billion were announced in Australia last year – a 76.5 per cent increase in value from 2014.

Mega-deals (deals worth more than US$1 billion) dominated the M&A landscape, with 27 deals worth $105.08 billion announced, accounting for 77.9 per cent of annual value.

To put this in perspective, there were just 18 mega-deals totalling $45.31 billion recorded during 2014. As a result, average deal size in 2015 rose to $413.7 billion from $191.9 billion the year prior.

Mergermarket noted that the dominance of mega-deals seems to have affected mid-market activity which, contrary to the boom of total M&A value, decreased 23.2 per cent in value year-on-year to $12.8 billion, with 64 fewer deals.

“Accordingly, the share of mid-market value in total M&A dropped from 21.8 per cent to 9.5 per cent – below 10 per cent for the first time since 2002,” the group said in its latest trend report.

“In terms of mid-market transactions, business services led all sectors by deal value ($1.9 billion) and volume (37 deals), followed by financial services (22 deals, $1.5 billion).

md discover

Mergermarket said the depreciation of Australian dollar coupled with low interest rates have made Australian assets even more attractive.

“As a result, inbound deal value posted a year-on-year increase of 70.0 per cent compared to 2014, reaching a historical high of $64.9 billion with 183 deals,” the group said.

“Outbound M&A however seems unaffected by the devalued currency with 130 deals worth $29.4 billion, marking a 34.1 per cent increase compared to 2014 ($21.9 billion, 101 deals).”

[Related: Macquarie leads M&A activity for 2015]

Share this article
brokerpulse

Join Australia's most informed brokers

Do you know which lenders are providing brokers and their customers with the best service?

Use this monthly data to make informed decisions about which lenders to use. Simply contribute to the survey and we'll send you the results directly to your inbox - completely free!

brokerpulse graph

What are the main barriers to securing a mortgage at the moment?