Despite a brief pause during the hung parliament, M&A is on an upward trajectory in Australia with cross border deals driving the market.

The most recent Thomson Reuters M&A tables for Australia and New Zealand, which cover the 2010 calendar year up till September, show that the number of deals announced in those nine months is more than double what had been completed in the corresponding period last year.

Blake Dawson topped both the completed and announced tables, with US$18,855m in completed deals during the period and US$72,325m worth of announced deals. Blake Dawson corporate practice leader Nick Terry said the M&A market in Australia started on a difficult note at the beginning of the year, but had since become more positive. “There has been a significant uptake in M&A work across the board with a lot in resources and mining,” he said.
 
M&A practice head at Blake Dawson Marie McDonald added that while the hung parliament created uncertainty, M&A work had resumed since the formation of the government. “Corporations like certainty when they are entering into M&A,” she said. “The activity in the M&A market is a reflection of our economy and its strength.”

Terry said the firm has continued to see a lot of investment coming out of China, Japan and Korea, and more potential M&A work flowing into the firm’s Indonesian office. While the past 12 months has been dominated by friendly takeovers, both Terry and McDonald said they were expecting to see more hostile takeovers in the market as acquirers became more confident.

Thomson Reuters Australia and New Zealand involvement announced M&A January –September 2010

Thomson Reuters Australia and New Zealand involvement completed M&A January –September 2010

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