During the first nine months of 2026 we saw 144 deals. Private Equity firms were the buyers in 28% of these transactions as demand from both strategic and financial buyers remained strong.

VC funding in the ANZ region peaked in 2021 and has been drying up ever since, a trend that continued in the first nine months of 2026. The median VC funding size was only $4M, significantly less than the median disclosed M&A transaction value, so sellers have been encouraged to instead pursue M&A strategies for growth and liquidity. 

The amount of disclosed deal values in the first nine months of 2026 reached $1.7B, with the financial terms of only 16% of transactions publicly reported as buyers continued to keep their M&A strategies private. 

Australia-based Advent Partners was the most active acquirer in the first nine months of 2026, completing 5 acquisitions. During this period, US-based Evergreen Services Group and Australia-based First Focus IT each completed 4 acquisitions. Followed by US-based Accel-KKR which completed 3 transactions, and Australia-based Canva and US-based Ripple Labs each completed 2 acquisitions through September 2026.