Credit: Rohan Solankurkar via Unsplash
Mergers and acquisitions surged in Australia in 2025, defying global trends.
Advisory group SI Global’s 2025 M&A Insights Report shows global deal volumes in marketing, tech and consultancy dropped 8%.
However, the Asia-Pacific region - led by Australia - posted a 3% increase.
Europe (-18%) and the US (-5%) both saw sharp declines as valuation gaps and macroeconomic uncertainty held back buyers.
The consultancy says Australia is emerging as a magnet for private equity and tech-enabled acquirers, driven by rapid AI adoption, growing data infrastructure and commercial creativity.
"Australia has moved beyond being just ‘interesting’ to investors and it's now a core market," said Julia Vargiu, director, Australia at SI Global.
"Buyers are targeting firms with tech-enabled models, AI capability and creative edge - and Australia is delivering on that brief."
The report also notes that one of the biggest challenges for buyers is finding companies with strong management teams and robust revenues, particularly in a tough economic environment.
"Australia is no longer on the fringe, it's in the frame," said Vargiu.
"With more buyers in market than ever before, founders who combine strong leadership with clear capability are in a powerful position to attract serious interest."
The sixth edition of the report is based on 1,485 deals from 130 of the most active global acquirers across marketing, tech and consultancy services.
It shows AI, analytics and cyber security are top of mind for buyers and outlines new criteria for founders planning to scale or exit.
Private equity is playing a major role in reshaping the global agency ecosystem.
While PE firms represent around 30% of the total buyer base, 80% of SI Global’s clients are choosing to sell to private equity or PE-backed groups.
Many get offers from both strategics and PE, but are opting for the alignment offered by private equity deal structures.
Australia is now firmly in their sights.
Merchantwise, a digital-first Australian agency group backed by private equity, is named in the report as a standout example of this activity.
"AI readiness is now the price of entry," said Michael Chin, director at SI Global.
"Half of the buyers we surveyed now include artificial intelligence and machine learning in their M&A strategy.
“They expect more than a buzzword - they want to see how it’s operationalised and future-proofed."
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