SA’s M&A lawyers are bullish about the year ahead
M&A activity in South Australia’s health, resources and agribusiness sectors will provide ongoing advisory opportunities for Adelaide’s commercial lawyers, according to HWL Ebsworth partner Jamie Restas.
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Mergers and acquisitions in South Australia’s health, resources and agribusiness sectors will provide ongoing advisory opportunities for Adelaide’s commercial lawyers, according to HWL Ebsworth partner Jamie Restas.
Mr Restas says renewed confidence in those sectors and the broader economy is likely to deliver a healthy pipeline of M&A activity in the year ahead.
“Santos is on the up - they just did the Quadrant acquisition and some of the larger organisations are looking at doing some acquisitions - Beach Energy has been active, OZ Minerals is active - so there is some buoyancy,” he said.
“I think resources, health is another one - a big example where there’s been a lot of movement.
“We acted for the State Government in relation to the sale of domiciliary care to RDNS, which completed in the middle of the year, we just completed the sale of Assist Therapy to Minda, we are doing another transaction with government in that space and obviously the private sector is out there looking to grow.
“I think with the NDIS coming there’s been a lot of movement in that space and obviously having an ageing population - it’s going to be a big industry.”
Mr Restas says a buoyant agriculture sector will support further M&A activity in the coming years, including further consolidation within the state’s resurgent wine industry.
“I think it’s quite a fragmented market still so I suspect there’ll be some movement in that area,” he said.
“You’ve got some of your larger players like Accolade, which was sold earlier this year, Australian Vintage is still there - they more than likely will want to do something so there’ll always be opportunities.”
DMAW principal Leo Walsh says improved sentiment within the state’s SME sector has also sparked investment activity across a number of industries.
“There is activity out there, people are buying and selling assets and looking at businesses - as for opportunities for our business it’s very much tied to economic activity in the state,” he said.
“I think there’s been a lack of investment for a long time and I think a change of government at the state level has also improved the outlook for small and medium-sized businesses.”
Despite the heightened level of M&A activity in South Australia, Mr Restas says interstate firms continue to be sought to advise on major deals undertaken by Adelaide’s larger listed companies.
“You don’t find many SA-based directors on the boards of the larger listed corporates and often the CEOs have come in from interstate,” he said.
“A lot of it is driven by relationship.
“If a chairman based in Sydney says, ‘we’re doing a multi-billion dollar takeover, I know someone at another firm down the road, we’re going to use them’, that’s going to be the challenge.”