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ARTICLE · 08 JUNE 2016

Foreign investment in Australia – The more things change...

Corrs Chambers Westgarth
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Regulatory changes prompted some concerns but foreign bidders continue to outnumber domestic acquisitions in public M&A.

AustraliaGovernment, Public Sector
Lizzie Knight
Lizzie Knight
Andrew Lumsden
Andrew Lumsden
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Foreign bidders continue to outnumber domestic acquisitions in public M&A and the growing appetite for foreign scrip has extended beyond resources. While changes to Australia's foreign investment regulations prompted some concern over the potential effect on foreign investment, we do not expect that these changes will limit the attraction of investment in Australia to overseas bidders and investors.

Foreign bidders in public M&A

  • While 2014 saw a much higher proportion of foreign bidders than Australian bidders (62%), foreign bidders only comprised 52.5% of bidders in our 2015 deal sample. Foreign and Australian bidders also had an almost equal share in the "mega-deals" (over $1 billion), with 55% and 45% respectively.

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