Date: Jan 29, 2018 |
Australia’s mid-tier mining sector will potentially see an increase in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in 2018, according to Mergermarket Intelligence.
The consultancy believes that mining may see an uptick in inbound activity as cashed-up international majors enjoy a period of high commodity prices and a projected lower Australian dollar. “Overseas companies, particularly from countries such as China, are again expected to return to the mining sector after several years of stagnant activity,” Mergermarket reported. “Improvements in processes at Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), among other reasons, will allow for more strategic acquisitions.” Energy, mining and utilities (EMU) overtook transportation as the most targeted sector by value ($37.1 billion) in 2017 with 77 deals. This result was a 56.7 per cent increase in value compared with the previous year when $23.7 billion was recorded over 59 deals. |