The Monthly Recap - December & January

The Monthly Recap – December/January

As the year wound down and the market rolled into January, headline M&A stayed active, with more than $138b in deals announced last year. Tech and energy drove momentum, though Australia continued to trail the pace seen offshore. AI stayed front and centre, fuelling exits and investment, but also exposing governance cracks. Even with RBA's rate hike, dealmakers entered 2026 with a decidedly positive outlook as pipelines build and confidence improves. This report outlines selected M&A deals, general market activity and significant news among the investment bank & private equity firms, plus any significant news across debt markets

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M&A

• Singapore’s Sembcorp to acquire Alinta Energy in a $6.6b deal (AFR) (The Australian).

• Affinity’s Lumus beats Crescent to Western Radiology (AFR).

• UniSuper lifts stake in Qube to 9.95%, as Macquarie pursues $9.2b takeover (The Australian).

• CIMIC sells 50% pf UGL Transport to Japan’s Sojitz in a $1.2b deal (The Australian).

• Brookfield’s seven-year pursuit of National Storage REIT culminates in $4b bid (AFR).

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Other Activity

• Palisade Impact snaps up Arc Energy to bulk up Energy Locals platform (AFR).

• TPG targets $4b Greencross comeback with $700m float (AFR).

• New private wealth house Granite Bay set up by ex-Morgan Stanley team (AFR).

• Advent abandons auction, pursues merger with Radiology SA for $700m business (AFR).

• Ex-Pwc dealmaker Rob Silverwood launches new advisory platform with BGH Capital (AFR).

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Investment Banking News & Debt Markets

• Bendigo cuts staff, prepares for AML upgrade (AFR).

• CDC plans $4b+ debt raise to fund 1.6GW pipeline (AFR).

• Stronger deal activity lifts Australian banker bonuses 10-20% at Morgan Stanley (AFR), Citi (AFR) and JP Morgan (AFR).

• Canaccord tops 2025 ECM tables, beating Wall Street banks with mid-market volume; Macquarie claims M&A crown (AFR).

• CBA leads bond market for the first time since 2021; Westpac slips to second position (AFR).

• AirTrunk lines up $1.8b financing for its Johor Bahru 1 data centre in Malaysia (AFR).

• Strong deal pipeline and private equity dry powder set to drive Australian M&A rebound in 2026 (AFR).

Market Moves

• Former Bondi Partners CEO, Anthony Lazzoppina returns to PwC as M&A partner (AFR).

• Macquarie veteran Laura Golis jumps to Jefferies as co-head of investment banking  (AFR).

• Adamantem Capital dealmaker David Brennecke departs as firm prepares new fund raise (AFR).

• Shaw and Partners’ adviser Phil Zhou moves to Morgan Stanley Wealth Management (AFR).

• Australia Post CFO Michael Bradburn has joined AirTrunk (AFR).

• Cbus Chief Operating Officer Nancy Day to leave fund (AFR).

• CLSA Australia adds key hires including former head of Sales at Wilsons Advisory, Mark Innes (AFR).

• Westpac Treasurer Jo Dawson leaves after 23 years, joins Macquarie in an equivalent role (AFR).

• Regal Funds trading chief John Manchee set to return to JPMorgan (AFR).

• Goldman loses TMT equity research MD Kane Hannan (AFR).

• Angela Karl set to join BlackRock’s GIP after HMC exit (AFR).

• Jarden poaches Adam Reid and resources advisory team from Gresham Partners (AFR).

• Josh Hartz to head Partners Group’s new multibillion special situations fund. (AFR).

• Dorab Postmaster and Jack Daley among four to leave Shaw and Partners (AFR).

• Adam Quaife appointed head of UBS Asset Management Australia and New Zealand (The Australian).

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