Dealmaking Insights 2025

SMEs spearhead resilient Australian M&A activity amid cautious markets.

Our 2025 Dealmaking Insights Report highlights mergers and acquisitions (M&A), Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), Private Equity (PE), and Venture Capital (VC) activity in Australia throughout 2024. By analysing trends from the past year and decade, we explore the effects of challenges such as high interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty and competition from alternative funding options that affect dealmaking activity.

This year we found that:

• The Australian M&A landscape shows resilience, particularly in the SME sector, with 73% of transactions valued under $50 million as businesses favour strategic, manageable investments.
• Private Equity investments are increasingly targeting the Industrials and TMT sectors, focusing on infrastructure and scalable technologies.
• The current deal-making environment is marked by caution and longer closing times due to increased due diligence, while the IPO market has slowed as firms delay public offerings amidst market volatility.