The companies on the block in Australia’s M&A boom

James Frost, Simon Evans, Max Mason, Angela Macdonald-Smith and Peter Ker

Oct 19, 2021 – 5.05pm

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With bankers describing the current surge in takeovers as the hottest M&A environment in decades, dozens of Australian companies are bracing for a knock on the door.

In banking, there is still plenty to play out despite the $1.3 billion sale of ME Bank to the Bank of Queensland and Citi’s credit card business to NAB for $1.2 billion in 2021, with ANZ reported to have lucked out in both deals.

James Frost writes about banking, funds management and superannuation. Based in Melbourne, James has been reporting on specialist business and finance topics for 15 years.

Simon Evans writes on business specialising in retail, manufacturing, beverages, mining and M&A. He is based in Adelaide.

Max Mason covers financial crime, courts and corporate wrongdoing. A Walkley Award winner, Max’s journalism has also received awards from the National Press Club of Australia, the Kennedy Awards and Citibank. Message Max on Signal https://tinyurl.com/MaxMason

Angela Macdonald-Smith writes on the resources industry with a focus on energy, including gas, oil, electricity and renewables.

Peter Ker covers resource companies for The Australian Financial Review, based in Melbourne.