The latest Thomson Reuters M&A league table shows a dramatic increase in the value of outbound deals by Australian corporates. Outbound deals jumped from roughly 10 percent of all M&A work in second quarter 2011 to more than 50 percent in third quarter, a result not seen since late 2007. 

“This shift towards outbound activity is attributed to the increase in Australian companies buying and selling offshore assets as the local market takes to the global stage due to the strong Australian dollar,” said Freehills partner Rebecca Maslen-Stannage.

However, this is not the view of Allens Arthur Robinson M&A partner Richard Kriedemann. While he admits the strong Australian dollar is one factor, Kriedemann says another reason for the buoyant outbound market is that Australian corporates are more positive about investing in jurisdictions where they can see growth opportunities, such as southern Africa. “I think there is still a relatively healthy appetite for risk,” he said.  “My sense is that there is a net higher level of optimism amongst Australian corporates than a lot of their overseas counterparts.”

Allens topped the announced deals league table for legal advisers for the first nine months of the year. Second and third place in the table were won by Freehills and Clayton Utz. Given the high volume of outbound M&A, a significant number of overseas firms also featured in the top 25. U.S. firm Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett ranked fourth in both completed and announced deals this year, up from equal 94th and 48th last year respectively.  However, in terms of completed deals, Clayton Utz took out the top spot, with 55 deals worth $55,561.7 million. Freehills and Blake Dawson came second and third.

Kriedemann said he expected the next quarter to be quieter than this last quarter as a number of political and regulatory issues in Australia come to the fore. ”That uncertainty is having a drag effect. Once you have an idea of what the lie of the land is you can make more definite positions,” he said. However, he is nevertheless “cautiously optimistic” about ongoing M&A work in the coming year. “There is still an encouraging level of global confidence in the Australian market. We have low interest rates, low unemployment, strong commodity prices, I would think those factors make us an attractive investment destination,” he added. 

Any Australian and New Zealand involvement announced January 1- September 30

* Tie

 Any Australian and New Zealand involvement completed January 1- September 30