Australia M&A sparks to life with A$11.7 billion Macquarie-Qube deal
Data shows that the country’s M&A volume is up 18% in the year to date from the same period in 2025
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[SYDNEY] The Macquarie-led group’s A$11.7 billion (S$10.5 billion) acquisition of logistics and infrastructure company Qube has given Australian dealmakers a much-needed lift. This follows a tricky 2025 and at least one big missed opportunity early this year.
Macquarie Asset Management is heading a consortium paying A$5.20 a Qube share in what will be – pending approvals – the biggest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal in Australia since 2024. That was when Blackstone bought AirTrunk in a A$24 billion transaction.
Monday’s (Feb 16) announcement helps to tee up 2026 nicely for the bankers scarred by the collapse of what would have been multibillion dollar deals involving Australian heavyweights such as BHP Group and Santos.
This year, Rio Tinto Group walked away from talks to acquire commodity trading and mining company Glencore.
Dealmaking in Australia is generally weighted towards mining and resources, but infrastructure could become more significant, as shown by Qube, which has logistics operations in Australia, New Zealand and South-east Asia.
Pontegadea, the family office of the Zara fashion brand founder, is also in the consortium. There are infrastructure-related deals to be made that are tied to the boom in artificial intelligence as well.
On Feb 9, Blackstone-led funds finalised a US$10 billion loan to fund an expansion of data centres by Australian startup Firmus Technologies.
Even without the Qube transaction, Australian M&A volume is up 18 per cent so far in 2026 from the same period last year, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
As a mature market, Australia tends to host bigger deals when they do transpire – and that means bigger fees for bankers too. BLOOMBERG
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