Australia M&A Sparks to Life With $8 Billion Qube Deal
(Bloomberg) -- The A$11.7 billion ($8.3 billion) acquisition of Qube Holdings Ltd. by a Macquarie-led group has given dealmakers in Australia a much-needed lift after a tricky 2025 and at least one big missed opportunity early this year.
Macquarie Asset Management is heading a consortium paying A$5.20 per Qube share in what will be — pending approvals — the biggest M&A deal in Australia since Blackstone Inc. bought AirTrunk in a A$24 billion transaction in 2024. Macquarie Capital advised the buyers, while UBS Group AG advised Qube.
Monday’s announcement helps to tee up 2026 nicely for bankers scarred by the collapse of what would’ve been multibillion dollar deals involving Australian heavyweights including BHP Group Ltd. and Santos Ltd. Already this year, Rio Tinto Group Ltd. has walked away from talks to acquire Glencore Plc.
Dealmaking in Australia is generally weighted toward mining and resources, but infrastructure could become more significant, as shown by Qube, which has logistics operations in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. Pontegadea, the family office of the Zara fashion brand founder, is also in the consortium.
There are infrastructure-related deals to be made tied to the boom in artificial intelligence as well. In a recent example, Blackstone-led funds last week finalized a $10 billion loan to fund an expansion of data centers by Australian startup Firmus Technologies Pty.
“We’re poised to see more infrastructure-related transactions in Australia,” said Raghu Narain, head of investment banking for APAC at Natixis CIB. “It’s a defensive sector against volatility that also offers growth opportunities, particularly around digital infrastructure, energy transition and public assets.”
Australia offers chunky assets and a clear regulatory and legal framework — key factors for global companies and investment funds in getting deals done, according to Narain.
Even without the Qube transaction, Australian M&A volume is up 18% so far in 2026 from the same period last year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. As a mature market, Australia tends to host bigger deals when they do transpire.
“Australia is critical for investment banks given that large deals take place there and fees are quite good compared with other markets in the region,” Narain said.
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