09
Oct
Cross-border M&A: All eyes on Australia
Australia continues to garner international interest. In addition to its stability and predictable regulatory landscape, its distance from a range of issues effecting the rest of the world, along with capital flows previously earmarked for China, make it a good place to do business. Likewise, Australian companies have been more active to seek offshore opportunities, making several large overseas acquisitions, especially in the US in the tech space. However, the unknows around tariffs, regulatory timelines and valuations are all weighing on dealmakers’ minds when sizing up opportunities. Join leading dealmakers as they discuss key trends shaping inbound and outbound transactions, including the role of the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), the macro geopolitical story, sector-specific developments and strategies for managing cross-cultural negotiations and integration.
- What countries/regions are most active in terms of inbound and outbound M&A?
- Which sectors are seeing the most activity from foreign investors?
- How will FIRB and ACCC regulations affect dealmaking in the region?
- How are the known unknows around geopolitics and tariffs affecting cross-border valuations and deals?
- What makes Australia attractive to foreign investors and how does it stack up against other regions?
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SpeakersJustin Niessner Associate Editor, AVCJ Mergermarket
Alex Cartel Head of Global Advisory, Australia Rothschild & Co
Richard Hersey Managing Director & Head of M&A Morgan Stanley
Justin Negrin Head of M&A Origin Energy
Sam Prentice Managing Director, Corporate Finance Jarden
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Alex has over 30 years' experience in mergers and acquisitions and strategic / capital markets advice.
Alex has advised a long list of major Australian and international corporations including BHP Limited, Santos Limited, Ausnet Limited, Unibail Rodamco Westfield SE and Viva Energy Limited. He is currently advising Santos Limited in connection with the $36bn acquisition proposal received from a consortium led by XRG.
He joined Rothschild & Co in 2025, previously he was Managing Director, Head of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory, Citigroup Australia, Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking Coverage, Deutsche Bank AG Australia and a Solicitor at Allens Arthur Robinson in its M&A Group.
Alex is currently President of the Takeovers Panel of Australia, and has been a member of the Panel since 2016.
He is also member of the Board of the State Library of Victoria and Chair’s the Library’s Foundation Council.
Alex holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Melbourne where he was awarded the Supreme Court Prize in Law.
Richard is a Managing Director and Head of M&A for Morgan Stanley in Australia. Since joining the firm in 2010, Richard has advised clients on numerous high profile and complex M&A transactions. Recent landmark transactions include advising Square on its $39bn acquisition of Afterpay, Blackstone on its $9bn bid for Crown, MIRA and Aware on their completed $4.6bn acquisition of Vocus Group and Virgin Australia on its $3.5bn sale to Bain Capital.
Justin Negrin is Head of M&A at Origin Energy. Mr Negrin has over 20 years of mergers & acquisitions experience. Prior to joining Origin in 2020, he was Managing Director and Head of M&A at Deutsche Bank Australia & NZ, where he worked in M&A for approximately 13 years. Earlier in his career he worked as a valuation specialist at PwC and in the Corporate Strategy / M&A team at Mattel, Inc. Mr Negrin holds a Bachelor of Business and a Bachelor of Laws from UTS, Sydney, an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
Sam Prentice is a senior Managing Director in our Corporate Finance team, based in Melbourne. With over 30 years in investment banking, he is one of Australia's leading advisors, having advised on several landmark transactions through his commitment to long-term trusted advisor client relationships.
Sam joined Jarden after a career at Rothschild & Co, where he was instrumental in building their Australian franchise and led coverage across Industrials & Business Services, Consumer, Retail & Healthcare sectors. Prior to this, he worked in investment banking at ABN AMRO and Macquarie.
Sam holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Melbourne and is a Member of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand and a Senior Associate of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia.