Adbri, Cibo among iconic SA brands to change hands ahead of merger law shake up

It’s been a busy year for mergers and acquisitions – and South Australian dealmakers are expecting another investment rush ahead of a shake-up of merger laws.

Tim Millar, Maggie Beer and Peter Panatso. Pictures: File

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Some of South Australia’s iconic brands in the food, finance and manufacturing industries have changed hands in a busy year of mergers and acquisitions, and local dealmakers are expecting another rush of transactions in the coming months as investors fast track deals ahead of looming changes to Australia’s merger laws.

The $2.1bn sale and delisting of building materials group Adbri to Irish giant CRH headlined the list of deals in the year to June, while the state’s biggest company, Santos, has given Abu Dhabi National Oil Company until the end of next week to firm up its consortium’s near $30bn takeover offer.

A list of deals compiled by EY-Parthenon reveals a string of notable mergers and acquisitions involving SA companies, in industries ranging from manufacturing to resources, retail, finance, aquaculture and technology.

Well known names involved in deals over the past 12 months include Cibo Espresso, which was sold to ASX-listed Retail Food Group for $2.7m, while stockbroking firm Baker Young announced a multimillion-dollar sale to ASX-listed investment advisory, research and media company Equity Story.

Adbri’s cement works at Birkenhead. The company was recently taken over by a group led by Irish building materials giant CRH. Picture: File

EY-Parthenon mergers and acquisitions partner Peter Panatsos said M&A activity remained “robust” with more than 40 closed transactions over the past 12 months.

“The diversity of these deals reflects growing investor confidence in the state’s business ecosystem and the breadth of sectors drawing capital,” he said.

EY mergers and acquisitions director Peter Panatsos who provides The Advertiser with a half-yearly mergers and acquisitions wrap. Picture Dean Martin

“Foreign interest in South Australian assets remained particularly strong, driven by global strategies to secure resilient supply chains, deploy capital into regulated markets, and acquire niche Australian capabilities at scale.

“EY-Parthenon analysis shows 42 per cent of disclosed South Australian transactions in FY25 involved a foreign buyer, reflecting the global appeal of SA’s governance framework, scalability, and sector alignment with international trends in advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, clean energy and digitisation.”

US investors were particularly active, with Nasdaq-listed Tetra Tech striking a $150m-plus deal to acquire home grown engineering success story SAGE Group, while Tennessee-based Greater Sum Ventures took a majority stake in payment start-up MyVenue.

SAGE Group founder Andrew Downs pictured in 2010. The company was recently sold to US-based Tetra Tech in a $150m-plus deal. Picture: File

Mr Panatsos said the state’s aquaculture industry was also going through a consolidation phase, with operators seeking “vertically integrated operations that span multiple species and stages of production”.

Abalone, mussel and oyster producer Yumbah Aquaculture, backed by billionaire Anthony Hall, recently secured shareholder approval from ASX-listed Clean Seas Seafood for its $29m takeover bid. That followed its acquisition of Sydney rock oyster producer East 33 last August.

Meanwhile, in one of the larger deals, shareholders of Adelaide-based Mayne Pharma Group recently approved its $672m sale to Cosette Pharmaceuticals, but a court showdown is looming with the US purchaser attempting to renege on the deal due to what it perceives as a “material adverse change” in Mayne Pharma’s financial performance since it made its offer in February.

Following a beefing up of foreign investment rules, and with the ACCC’s merger reforms coming into force from January 2026 – requiring counterparties that meet certain financial thresholds to notify the competition regulator of their merger plans and wait for approval before proceeding with a deal – Thomson Geer partner Annabel West said dealmakers were facing “some of the most significant regulatory changes for some time”.

Clean Seas Seafood's kingfish operations in South Australia. The company’s shareholders have approved a takeover offer from Yumbah Aquaculture. Picture: Supplied

“The ACCC is currently consulting on the proposed fees for the new regime, but at this stage the costs of obtaining merger clearance are set to significantly increase,” she said.

Annabel West. Picture: TGB website

“The new regime may also significantly stretch out the time required for competition approvals, particularly for transactions that are notifiable but do not involve any real competition concerns.

“Absent unforeseen global shocks, we expect to see a rush of transactions in the second half of 2025, as some buyers seek to fast-track their deals before the mandatory regime commences.”

Ms West said that while the potential sales of Santos and the Whyalla steelworks would be significant for the state, there was also strong activity in the mid-market, often involving family businesses and driven by succession planning.

“We are seeing local businesses involved in agriculture, aquaculture, health, aged care, technology and automation in very high demand.”

SA MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS 2024-25

Completed deals

* Adbri acquired by Irish building materials giant CRH in $2.1bn deal

* MACH Metals Australia, a subsidiary of Indonesian conglomerate Salim Group, completes $393m takeover of copper exploration and development company Rex Minerals

* Gold, lithium and nickel explorer Maximus Resources taken over by ASX-listed gold exploration and development play Astral Resources in $31m deal

* Mineral sands miner Murray Zircon acquired by Billions (Hong Kong) Corporation for $21.1m

Cibo has been sold to ASX-listed Retail Food Group. Picture: Supplied

* US-based National Flooring Equipment completes acquisition of tooling manufacturer Syntec Diamond Tools

* KASE Building Group, backed by StraightBat Private Equity, completes acquisition of repairs and construction firm Adelaide Insurance Builders

* ASX-listed software company Reckon acquires Adelaide-based accounting and payroll software firm Cashflow Manager for $8.8m

* Cibo Espresso sold to ASX-listed Retail Food Group for $2.7m

* Environmental and engineering consultancy Ricardo Australia acquires 85 per cent stake in Sydney-based E3 Advisory for $104m

Tim Millar from Cashflow Manager, which was sold to ASX-listed software group Reckon. Picture: Serena Findlay

* Abalone, mussel and oyster producer Yumbah Aquaculture acquires ASX-listed Sydney rock oyster producer East 33 in $17.1m deal

* Maggie Beer Holdings completes $500,000 sale of Adelaide Hills-based biodynamic dairy products business Paris Creek Farms

* US-based Greater Sum Ventures secures majority stake in Adelaide payments start-up MyVenue

Announced deals

Stockbrokers David Baker, left, and Alan Young from Baker Young, pictured during the company’s 21st anniversary in 2006. Baker Young has struck a deal to sell the business to ASX-listed Equity Story. Picture: File

* Mayne Pharma Group shareholders approve $672m sale to US-based Cosette Pharmaceuticals

* Nasdaq-listed Tetra Tech strikes deal to acquire Adelaide-based engineering firm SAGE Group in $150m-plus deal

* Yumbah Aquaculture secures shareholder approval from ASX-listed Clean Seas Seafood for $29m takeover

* Adbri agrees deal to acquire family-owned Premix Concrete SA

* Stockbroking firm Baker Young strikes multimillion-dollar sale deal to ASX-listed investment advisory, research and media company Equity Story

Originally published as Adbri, Cibo among iconic SA brands to change hands ahead of merger law shake up