Jul-26 M&A: Global Buyers Snapping Up Australian Specialists

2. Horizon Nexus Partners keeps growing

BGH Capital-backed accounting and advisory challenger Horizon Nexus Partners has continued its rapid build-out, growing to around 350 people with the addition of teams from Nexia in Perth and PKF in Brisbane and Townsville. Led by former PwC partners Rob Silverwood and Sanjiv Jeraj, the venture has been assembling a national mid-tier practice at pace since launching late last year, following earlier expansion into Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. The PKF Brisbane and Townsville addition follows reports the firm had been in talks to poach the practice, which nationally contributes a meaningful share of PKF’s overall Australian revenue. The moves put Horizon Nexus in direct competition with William Buck and other mid-tier players for talent and market share as the accounting consolidation wave continues.

3. Straight Bat slashes valuation of Kase stake

Mid-market private equity firm Straight Bat has sold the bulk of its stake in building and restoration business Kase Group back to founder Kurt Saunderson, writing down the holding’s value by 64 per cent. The firm’s $375 million perpetual legacy trust has revalued its Kase position from $47.5 million to $17.1 million, citing softer industry conditions and lower insurance claim volumes. Straight Bat sold 5.3 million preference shares in Kase on 11 June, receiving in return a restrictive preference share entitling it to a share of any future upside. Director Samantha Re has also stepped down from Kase’s board. Straight Bat says the write-down is not expected to have a material impact on the fund’s unit price, with updated valuations due to investors next month.

4. Fujitsu offloads Australian data centre business

Private equity firm Next Capital is set to acquire Fujitsu’s Australian data centre business, comprising five facilities across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Existing customer arrangements and staff will transfer at completion, with the transition jointly managed by both parties; the deal is expected to close later this year, with Fujitsu operating the facilities as usual until then and remaining a customer afterwards. Fujitsu says the sale lets it sharpen its focus on higher-growth technology services, including cyber resilience, sovereign AI and high-performance and quantum computing.

5. EQT acquires Melbourne smart parking company Orikan

Global investment firm EQT has agreed to acquire Orikan, a Melbourne-based provider of integrated parking, enforcement and compliance technology, from Five V Capital in a deal reported by the AFR at around $475 million. Orikan’s software, hardware, payments and data platform serves governments, transport authorities, universities, hospitals and airports across Australia, New Zealand and North America. The deal is being executed through EQT’s Asia-focused Mid-Market Growth fund, following recent regional investments including PropertyMe in Australia and Mamezo in Japan. EQT says it plans to back continued investment in product development, service delivery and data and AI capabilities, while supporting Orikan’s expansion into adjacent markets and further growth in North America. Five V, which backed Orikan since establishing the company under CEO Peter Neale in 2022, exits with a strong return on its original investment.

6. PinnacleQM and KiwiQA merge to scale testing and AI assurance

Perth-based digital assurance and testing firm PinnacleQM has agreed to acquire long-standing partner KiwiQA, a Sydney-headquartered software testing and quality assurance provider with delivery operations across Australia, India and the UK. The two businesses have worked together for years, with KiwiQA helping deploy PinnacleQM’s AI automation platforms and certifying thousands of testers as product specialists. Under the deal, KiwiQA will trade as “KiwiQA, a Pinnacle Company,” and its CEO Niranjan Limbachiya will join the PinnacleQM board to help lead the combined group’s international growth. PinnacleQM, already ranked among the top three assurance and testing providers in APAC, says the tie-up strengthens its global delivery capability and broadens its reach into KiwiQA’s mid-tier client base.

7. FINN Partners acquires Honner to enter APAC

Global marketing and communications firm FINN Partners has acquired Sydney-based financial services and corporate communications agency Honner, marking its first Australian presence and formal entry into the Asia Pacific region. Honner will be rebranded ‘Honner, A FINN Partners Company’, with all staff transitioning to FINN and founder Philippa Honner becoming Managing Partner and Financial Services Practice Lead for APAC. Financial terms were not disclosed. Founded in 1997, Honner’s clients collectively manage more than $10 trillion across public and private markets, spanning banking, asset management and digital assets. FINN’s APAC operations already generate around US$19 million in fees, close to 10 per cent of the firm’s global total, across a network of 1,300-plus staff in 37 offices worldwide.

8. RSK Group buys Perth ecological consultancy Biota

UK-headquartered environmental services group RSK has acquired Perth ecological consultancy Biota Environmental Sciences and its molecular-services arm Helix for an undisclosed sum, adding Biota’s 45-strong team of ecologists and scientists to its Australian operations. Founded in 2000, Biota’s client list spans infrastructure, resources and utilities, including work for Main Roads WA, BHP, Rio Tinto, Water Corporation and Horizon Power. The deal is the latest in RSK’s buy-and-build push locally since establishing its Australian division in 2021 — now 15 subsidiaries strong — and follows earlier acquisitions of Civil Geotechnical Consultants and Capire. Globally, RSK completed 11 acquisitions in FY25 and reported group revenue of £2.2 billion, up 21 per cent year-on-year.

9. Comms Group sells onPlatinum to efex for $30m

Comms Group has agreed to sell its IT managed services division, onPlatinum, to efex (Thinkex Holdings) for total consideration of $30 million — $28.5 million upfront plus $1.5 million held in escrow for 12 months. Comms Group acquired onPlatinum in 2022 for $12 million; the divestment reflects a renewed focus on its core cloud communications, unified communications and domestic telecoms businesses, and will strengthen the balance sheet to fund organic growth, debt reduction and shareholder returns, albeit at the cost of near-term revenue and earnings. The two companies will continue to provide services to one another under a transition arrangement. efex, which has also acquired Crowd IT and Compusult this year, said the deal fits its strategy of building national scale while keeping local customer relationships intact.

10. Future Group sells Green Squares Energy to

Future Group Investment Management has sold Green Squares Energy, a distributed energy platform with a 46MW operating rooftop solar portfolio across 240 sites, to Vertis Energy — a new Australian distributed energy platform established by Igneo Infrastructure Partners, the A$35 billion global infrastructure manager. The deal marks a transition of ownership from Future Super, which has backed Green Squares since its 2019 founding, to Igneo as it seeds Vertis’s entry into the local market. Green Squares’ portfolio spans behind-the-meter rooftop solar for commercial and industrial customers alongside smaller utility-scale solar-and-battery developments. Pottinger acted as sole financial advisor to Future Group and Green Squares, with completion subject to regulatory approval and expected in the third quarter. Vertis, led by newly appointed CEO Jason Willoughby, will also take on management oversight of Igneo’s existing Australian distributed energy interests.

11. Nova Group Pacific adds CDC Property Consultancy

US-headquartered environmental, engineering and sustainability advisory firm Nova Group, GBC has grown its Australian arm, Nova Group Pacific, with the acquisition of CDC Property Consultancy, a Melbourne-based technical due diligence and property consultancy business. The deal pairs CDC’s building and property advisory expertise with Nova Group Pacific’s geotechnical, environmental and sustainability capabilities, giving clients a single point of engagement spanning technical and environmental due diligence, energy assessments, hazardous materials management, and remediation across the asset lifecycle. CDC’s brand and operations will continue unchanged, with founder Bruce Corrin and the existing team remaining in place. The acquisition extends Nova’s international growth strategy, which has also seen continued expansion of its Ambiente business across Europe.

12. Equans takes majority stake in Queensland’s CV Services

French infrastructure and technical services group Equans has acquired a majority stake in CV Services, a Queensland-based multi-disciplinary provider spanning infrastructure, construction, asset maintenance, power and signage. Founded in 2004, CV Services has grown to more than 900 people operating across the east coast of Australia, generating annual FY26 revenue of around $260 million. CEO Andrew McMaster and his team will stay on following the deal, which Equans says is fully complementary to its existing Australian business. The transaction extends Equans’ bolt-on growth strategy in markets it sees as high-potential, adding further scale to its local infrastructure and technical services footprint.

13. Tracksuit acquires Hall to bring AI visibility into brand tracking

New Zealand-founded brand tracking platform Tracksuit has acquired Sydney startup Hall, a four-person outfit that measures how brands are represented across AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Financial terms were not disclosed. Hall’s technology will be folded into Tracksuit’s existing product, letting marketers see how their brand is described, recommended or omitted by AI systems, benchmark that visibility against competitors, and track it over time — alongside Tracksuit’s existing human consumer surveys for brands including Unilever and Pfizer. Hall founder Kai Forsyth has joined Tracksuit as principal product manager for AI visibility. The deal comes as Tracksuit rounds out its executive leadership team to support the next phase of global growth, including its expansion in the US.