DealTrends

Welcome to KWM’s DealTrends in FY24 and FY25, our annual market report on Australian Private M&A deals between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2025.

The 14th edition of the DealTrends report highlights trends from more than 100 private M&A control transactions that KWM advised on with an Australian nexus. 

Recent years have seen a gradual return to pre-COVID-19 deal values. Private capital activity has increased, reflecting an expanding pool of sponsors, superannuation funds and diversified investment strategies. 

Other noteworthy trends include: 

• Deal values: While FY25 featured a handful of multibillion dollar transactions, mid-market and smaller size deals continue to dominate the Australian private M&A landscape. 

• Regulatory approvals: With the broad scope of FIRB’s review and ACCC’s new merger control regime commencing in 2026, we naturally expect a higher proportion of deals to be subject to mandatory regulatory approvals.  

• Deal structuring: The report highlights trends around the use of deferred consideration, escrow, earn-outs, locked box and MAC conditions as parties work to bridge valuation gaps and manage risk.

• Cross border deals: The US, UK, Europe and Singapore remain the most active foreign jurisdictions for Australian deals, underscoring ongoing international interest in Australian assets.

• Anti-bribery, cybersecurity and privacy protections: With FIRB’s focus on data security, cybersecurity and privacy concerns remain top of mind for buyers.

• W&I: The use of W&I insurance has continued in recent years, reflecting broad market acceptance of the product across different deal sizes.