An Allen & Overy report has found that the volume of deals undertaken in Australia so far this year is almost a quarter higher compared to the same time last year.

The Allen & Overy Quarterly M&A Index shows that in the first nine months of the year the overall number of deals was 22 percent higher than in 2010. The trend in Australia is far more positive compared to global deal volumes, which are up by only three percent for the same period.

The report reiterated the perception that although there are deals taking place, lenders and buyers were remaining cautious. "Acquirers have been generally more cautious in the sale processes and while potential buyers have engaged them in a number of public processes they have not been completed," said the report.

Even the normally outstanding Australian energy and resources sector has been a lot quieter in the past three months than it was during last year. According to the report the sector has been impacted by the impending introduction of a carbon price and the ongoing talk of a mineral resources rent tax. Since the start of the year the number of overall deals within the energy and resources sector represented only eight percent by value and 5.5 percent by volume. That is in contrast with infrastructure-related deals, which represented just over a quarter of all deals by value and 6.7 percent by number in the first nine months of the year.

The recent SABMiller takeover of Foster's Group for A$11.2 billion is evidence that sizeable transactions are possible despite an uncertain climate according to the report. "While ultimately morphing into a recommended scheme, SABMiller's bid was initially one of the largest hostile transactions the Australian market has seen for many years and may be a sign of the future where bidders and targets have fundamentally different views about value," the report said.