Harsh Batra
Those who already read Teaser India or Teaser Middle East know well the excitement I feel when talking about M&A. But Asia-Pacific holds a special place in this equation. Its diversity, influence and ambition make it the perfect place for anyone looking for a fast-paced and deeply strategic deal flow.
This is the moment we are stepping into now, with the new Teaser Australia.
Every fortnight, you’ll get a fresh and updated view of how companies are buying, selling and raising capital across the region, as well as the market signals showing where the tide may be turning.
And expect our curation of the deal flow to remain busy. H1 closed with a recorded USD 52bn of M&A volume across 451 deals, up 23% YoY. For a market that is traditionally second-half heavy, this seems like a pretty good headstart.
This fortnight comprised 32 deals, with the full list in our deals tracker. The highlights are:
- Alcoa entered into a definitive agreement to acquire South32 Limited’s interests in bauxite mine, alumina refinery and aluminium smelter operations in a cash-and-stock transaction for upfront consideration of approximately US$4.1bn, implying an enterprise value of approximately US$4.7bn.
- EQT agreed to acquire Melbourne-based parking and compliance technology provider Orikan from Five V Capital through its Asia-focused mid-market fund, BPEA Mid-Market Growth Partnership, in a transaction with undisclosed financial terms.
- Danone entered into definitive agreements to acquire Australia-based MADE Group and the remaining 49% stake in its fresh dairy joint venture with Saputo Dairy Australia, expanding its presence in the fast-growing healthy nutrition space across Asia-Pacific.
For more insights and conversations about the market, connect with me on LinkedIn.
Enjoy the read.
Week Summary | From June 22 to July 6, 2026
There were 36 M&A deals in Australia this fortnight, with eight coming from the mining sector alone.
This includes Alcoa’s US$4.1bn acquisition of South32’s bauxite, alumina and aluminium assets, Forrestania Resources’ A$300m move for the Edna May Gold Hub, and consolidation across gold, copper, uranium and coal assets.
Outbound activity was also visible. Stakk agreed to acquire U.S.-based ParaScript for US$63m, Intelligent Monitoring Group struck a £180m deal for ADT’s UK residential security business, and Kelsian Group moved into New Zealand ferry operations through its acquisition of Belaire Ferries.
It is always nice to see Australia’s strategics using M&A to build larger international platforms.
Australia’s M&A market enters H2 with momentum
For a market that usually saves its strongest M&A activity for the second half, Australia wasn’t holding back.
According to Mergermarket, Australia recorded USD 52bn in M&A volume across 451 deals in H1 2026, up 23% YoY. That came even after some of the year’s expected mega-deals, including BlueScope and Rio Tinto/Glencore, failed to move forward.
In a recently published analysis by ION Analytics, UBS’s Nick Brown said momentum across infrastructure, industrials and resources remains strong. Mining was the largest sector by volume, with USD 13bn across 53 deals, supported by major coal, gold and aluminium transactions. Cross-border appetite also stayed visible, especially from North American buyers.
Financial sponsors were another important part of the story. Rothschild’s Simon Marrison said sponsors are pushing exits ahead of expected fundraising activity over the next 12 to 18 months.
Mergermarket data shows sponsor exit volume reached USD 8.6bn across 17 deals, up more than 75% from 2H25. Buyout activity was also strong, reaching USD 9.97bn across 31 deals.
The next wave of Australia M&A activity may be just as relevant as the deals already announced. Healthcare assets, radiology platforms, clinical trial businesses, renewables, batteries and critical minerals are all moving through the pipeline.
At the same time, continuation vehicles are becoming more mainstream in Australia, with Coller Capital’s David Hallifax noting stronger GP-led secondary activity.
Rumour mill
- Vault Minerals’ A$10.7bn merger agreement with Regis Resources now faces a potential rival proposal, after Genesis Minerals entered the race with an all-share offer for Vault.
- Moody’s warned it may downgrade South32 after the miner agreed to sell its aluminium value-chain assets to US aluminium producer Alcoa for an implied enterprise value of up to US$5.6bn.
- Perpetual rejected EQT’s A$2.45bn takeover proposal, saying it undervalued the company. EQT had offered to acquire all shares at a near-40% premium to Perpetual’s previous closing price.
- Ready To Drink is among the parties understood to have submitted a bid for Cranky Health, the owner of The Man Shake.
- Bennelong Funds Management has reportedly been put up for sale, with bankers brought in to run the process.
- Sojitz has reportedly joined the bidding for Programmed, as PERSOL’s sale process for the Australian staffing and services group gathers pace.
- A Future Fund-led consortium is understood to be among the bidders for Ausgrid’s Plus ES smart-metering business, as the A$3bn sale process enters its final stages.
- oOh!media’s takeover process remains live, with advisers reportedly asking remaining bidders to refresh their valuations after due diligence.
- Northern Star Resources has reportedly received unsolicited takeover approaches amid Elliott’s activist campaign, although the offers are not considered actionable in their current form.
- Coles is undertaking due diligence on a potential acquisition of TPG-backed Greencross Pet Wellness, owner of Petbarn.
- Private equity and strategic buyers are circling Agilex Biolabs, with UBS understood to have sent out information memoranda for the sale of Healius’ clinical trials business.
- OMERS is understood to be assessing a potential investment in Brookfield-owned La Trobe Financial after the group shelved IPO plans.
- Trevor St Baker-backed EV charging network Evie Networks has reportedly restarted a sale process.
- Bids have landed for two major Australian radiology assets, Infratil’s QScan and Allegro-backed Perth Radiological Clinic.
- Humm Group is reportedly considering a break-up after its proposed acquisition by Credit Corp collapsed.
- PMT Security Systems has reportedly hired Grant Samuel to seek investors for a minority stake in the business.
- Atlas Arteria is in talks to sell its German toll road, the Warnow Tunnel, to France’s Eiffage, while IFM continues to build its stake in the company.
Job moves
- Former Brighter Super chief investment officer joins Prime Super.
- Northern Star Resources appointed Suresh Vadnagra as its incoming managing director and chief executive officer.
- Peabody named Bryan Quinn as president of global operations, reporting directly to its chief executive.
- Gelion appointed Matthew Wood as chief executive officer.
- Atlas Arteria chair Debbie Goodin is stepping down as the toll-road operator continues to resist IFM Investors’ A$7.4bn hostile takeover bid.
- Westgold Resources said non-executive directors Gary Davison and Julius Matthys will retire from its board following the integration of Karora Resources.
- Shaw and Partners hired David Walsh, a former Goldman Sachs and Wilsons banker, as a director in its corporate finance business.
IPOs
- AirTrunk is reportedly preparing a confidential Singapore REIT IPO, with the Australia-headquartered data centre platform said to be targeting a US$1.5bn raise.
- Apollo Minerals completed its dual listing on Euronext Growth Paris.
- Wiluna Mining launched an A$200m IPO after a dispute involving billionaire investors.
Fundraising
- Robotics start-up Emesent raised A$25m, in the first investment backed by the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation.
- Vena Energy raised US$970m to support its Australian solar-plus-storage portfolio.
- Former Macquarie Group chief executive Nicholas Moore is among the investors in Southern Launch’s A$25m capital raising, which values the Australian space technology group at about A$100m.
- MAKO raised A$28m to scale its shark-skin-inspired aircraft drag-reduction technology.
- KGL Resources launched an A$300m capital raising to fund the Jervois Copper Project.
- Barings raised funds to support the completion of its A$1.5bn acquisition of Moorabbin Airport.
- Recce Pharmaceuticals secured firm commitments to raise A$4.0m through an institutional placement and launched an SPP to raise up to a further A$4.0m.
- Imagion Biosystems secured firm commitments for A$3.75m in new capital.
- Airwallex raised US$320m, lifting its valuation to US$11bn.
- ASX-listed Sunstone Metals launched an A$20m placement to fund its projects in Ecuador.
- Control Bionics launched an A$10m capital raising to strengthen its balance sheet.
- Zenobe raised A$400m in new debt to expand its fleet in Australia and New Zealand, with MUFG Bank, Crédit Agricole, Siemens Bank, SMBC and Société Générale joining the lender syndicate.
- Strategic Energy Resources raised funds through a placement and share purchase plan to support drilling at its Diamantina copper-gold project in Queensland.
