Pitcher Partners is pleased to present Dealmakers: Mid-market M&A in Australia mid-year update, published in association with Mergermarket, an Acuris company.
Sentiment and investor confidence has certainly shifted in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, Australia remains a market of interest and there is still much optimism among dealmakers.
Ensuring we could capture and gauge the true impact of the pandemic on dealmakers, we canvassed 93% (56 out of 60) of the original participants from the November-December 2019 survey.
While dealmaking activity is expected to dampen and trend downwards, many see this as a short-term obstacle with the majority expecting to return to the market within the coming 12 months, depending on how the pandemic plays out.
Key highlights
Unsurprisingly, dealmaking sentiment is down in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, there are some positives:
- 42% of respondents indicated they would still complete deals in Australia, particularly in the middle market and 11% are unsure
- 70% say they will consider returning to the market within the next year and are optimistic Australia will fare better than the rest of the world in relation to a recession, so is expected to rebound quicker
- 95% say private equity will be a key driver with 60% expecting M&A levels for these transaction types to remain unchanged or increase
- 90% say dealmaking in the TMT space will increase in the year ahead
- 75% see ongoing sector opportunities in pharmaceutical
- 63% believe there may also be increases in mid-market M&A in the industrial and consumer sectors
We hope you find the report informative and useful and invite you to join in the conversation by reaching out to one of the network’s dealmaking specialists across Australia.
