Sep-26 M&A Blog: Capability Beats Scale, with 2 SCD Deals in AI and Microsoft

2. SCD Advisory acts as exclusive financial advisor to Netwealth on its acquisition of Paradino

Netwealth (ASX:NWL), the ASX-listed wealth management platform serving Australian financial advisers and licensees, has agreed to acquire Paradino, an Australian AI advice automation platform that converts adviser meetings and client documents into file notes, paraplanning requests and advice documentation. Paradino supports more than 500 financial advisers, generates $1.6 million in annual recurring revenue and reports churn below 1 percent. Upfront consideration is $20 million, with up to a further $9 million in earn-out and retention payable over four years, and Netwealth will invest an additional $10 million into the business over two years. Completion is targeted for the end of October 2026. SCD advised on deal structure and supported Netwealth through negotiation and execution, with the work focused on identifying the synergies available from bringing Paradino onto the platform and reflecting them in the structure of the consideration. The acquisition adds clients, product functionality, development capability and team depth, and is a notable AI milestone in Australian wealth management.

On the role of SCD Advisory, Matt Heine (Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Netwealth) said: “SCD Advisory delivered strategic clarity and high-quality guidance throughout Netwealth’s assessment of this strategic acquisition. Netwealth drew heavily on SCD Advisory’s sector knowledge, particularly their insight into the tech and AI services landscape.”

3. IVE Group agrees to acquire Motio in a $20.7 million deal

IVE Group (ASX:IGL) will acquire digital place-based media operator Motio (ASX:MXO) at $0.06 cash per share, a fully diluted equity value of $20.7 million and enterprise value of $16.7 million. That is 6.7 times FY26 cash EBITDA of $2.5 million on revenue of $9.2 million, and a 15.4 percent premium to Motio’s 18 September close. Motio runs more than 1,300 screens across roughly 1,000 locations in medical centres, cafés, indoor sports and licensed venues. The deal takes IVE from executing marketing communications into owning media inventory, adding media planning, audience strategy and sales under its Now to 2030 strategy, and follows its purchase of creative agency Daily Press for up to $35 million. The Motio board recommends the scheme absent a superior proposal and subject to the independent expert, with shareholder votes in November and implementation expected in early December.

4. RSK Group acquires Cogency and BTW Company

Global environmental and engineering consultancy RSK Group completed two Australasian acquisitions in September. Cogency, founded in 2022 in Melbourne, has around 15 staff advising on renewable energy projects from site selection and approvals strategy through to environmental assessment and community engagement, with depth in wind, solar and battery storage. BTW Company, founded in 1973, adds around 100 professionals across five North Island offices delivering civil, structural and geotechnical engineering, surveying, environmental science and digital delivery services. Both retain their brands and leadership. RSK now has more than 1,300 people in Australia and New Zealand on revenues above $400 million, and is targeting $1.6 billion regionally by 2030 with M&A central to getting there. Since entering the market in 2021 it has acquired more than a dozen local businesses.

5. xAmplify acquires ServiceNow specialist Accelerate IT Solutions

Canberra-headquartered technology consultancy xAmplify has expanded into Western Australia with the purchase of Perth-based Accelerate IT Solutions, an elite ServiceNow partner founded in 2017 by John Boyland and Mayank Verma, serving government, education, mining and utilities, and consumer clients. The deal is xAmplify’s third in twelve months, alongside Canberra’s CTO Group and Queensland TechnologyOne specialist Green Cloud Consulting, all completed after the firm abandoned its MARQ1 merger with CSO Group and took a minority growth investment from Macquarie Capital Principal Finance. The group now operates on both coasts with more than 250 advisers and technicians, and deepens workflow automation capability first built through its 2023 merger with Sydney ServiceNow firm TCloud. Chief executive Wayne Gowland framed the strategy around clients wanting one accountable team across strategy, platforms, cyber, change management and operations rather than several partners. Perth has become a contested market for ambitious national consultancies, with V2 AI, Bailey Abbott, Alchemy Technology Consulting and Data#3 all establishing a local presence over the past eighteen months.

6. Trivandi merges with SoldOut Events

International sport and major events consultancy Trivandi has merged its Australian arm with SoldOut Events, a sports and entertainment agency of around 15 people with offices in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. SoldOut brings 33 years of local production experience across advisory, strategy, creative, management, operations, logistics and production, with credits including the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, World Pride and the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, where it was official event agency. The merger follows Trivandi’s establishment of its Asia Pacific hub in Brisbane in March 2025 and its acquisition of overlay specialist Cutler Synthesized Projects two months later. Regional director for Australia and APAC Rob Nelson pointed to the runway to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games, with the combined team now able to cover the full event lifecycle from feasibility and planning through to delivery and post-event impact.

7. Evergreen’s Pine Services Group acquires Evolution Business Systems

Pine Services Group, the ERP-focused holding company within Evergreen Services Group, has acquired Evolution Business Systems, a Microsoft business applications specialist based in Heidelberg, Victoria. Founded 25 years ago, EBS specialises in Business Central implementation, optimisation and ongoing managed services alongside a suite of complementary solutions. The business continues to trade under its existing name and operates independently under chief executive Jonathan Martin, with no day to day change for customers. The transaction deepens Pine’s Microsoft capability across its ERP and technology services portfolio and follows its Australian market entry in May with the purchase of ERP consultancy Stratus Consulting. Pine now spans the United States, Ireland, Scotland, England and Australia.

8. Integris completes its acquisition of First Focus

The acquisition of First Focus by US-based Integris, announced in April and cleared by the Foreign Investment Review Board in August, completed on 1 September 2026. First Focus supports more than 1,000 SMB customers across Australia and New Zealand with managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud, AI, software development and support services, and has been ranked Australia’s number one managed service provider for businesses with 20 to 200 staff by Cloudtango. Integris, backed by OMERS Private Equity, provides managed AI and IT services to small and mid-sized businesses in the United States, and the transaction marks its first international expansion, extending its footprint across Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. The businesses unify under the Integris brand, with Ross Sardi moving to ANZ managing director and chief innovation officer.

9. First Focus acquires Wellington MSP Resolve Technology

First Focus has acquired Wellington-based managed IT services provider Resolve Technology, its fourth New Zealand acquisition of 2026 after CNX in March, Optimus Systems in May and OneHQ in June. The deal came a week after First Focus itself changed hands and shows an acquired platform does not stop acquiring. Resolve began in cloud and data hosting and has grown into managed IT and cyber services, with particular strength in security, privacy and compliance for law firms, health providers, government agencies and NGOs. The deal adds around ten professionals to a New Zealand team of more than 100 spanning Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, and the Nelson and Marlborough regions, and has prompted a search for larger Wellington premises. Resolve transitions to the First Focus brand over the next twelve months and founder Simon Falconer stays on as virtual chief AI and innovation officer, which First Focus cited as central to the fit, given client demand for practical AI implementation through the group’s CORE offering. Wellington was the group’s thinnest market, and the deal fills it out the way First Focus has built the rest of its New Zealand footprint, by acquisition rather than greenfield.

10. Evergreen’s Lyra Technology Group acquires Concept Data and Voice Select

Lyra Technology Group, an Evergreen business, has acquired Adelaide-based technology consultancy and managed services provider Concept Data together with sister business Voice Select, a business communications provider. Concept Data’s capabilities span managed IT services, cyber security and compliance, and AI enablement and automation. Evergreen provides capital, talent and value creation support while leaving the existing operating model in place. The deal follows Evergreen commentary earlier in the month that it was pursuing three further ANZ additions against a stretch target of 25 MSPs by year end.

11. Adactin Group acquires Focus Dynamics Group

Sydney-based Adactin Group, which has around 400 employees, has completed the acquisition of Melbourne-headquartered Focus Dynamics Group, a Microsoft specialist providing advanced Dynamics 365 and Azure solutions with an established presence among manufacturing, distribution, and food and beverage clients. All 82 FDG employees and partners are retained across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia, along with offshore capability in the Philippines and India, taking the combined group beyond 450 people. FDG continues to operate as an independent subsidiary under its existing brand, with founder Michael Zarb moving from managing director to chief executive. Adactin gains Dynamics 365 depth and a stronger footprint in Victoria and South Australia, while FDG customers gain access to Adactin’s digital transformation and software testing capability.

12. Dubber agrees to acquire Daisee assets to expand AI contact centre capability

Conversation intelligence provider Dubber (ASX:DUB) has entered an asset sale agreement to acquire specified assets of Daisee Holdings for consideration of up to A$1.25 million, covering customer contracts, intellectual property, technology assets and selected supplier contracts, with certain personnel also expected to transfer. Sydney-headquartered Daisee, founded by former Google regional managing director Richard Kimber, provides AI services across voice recordings with a specialisation in insurance and financial services, and counts several large Australian corporates among its customers. Dubber reaches its market largely through telecommunications carriers that embed its recording and analytics services in their networks. The acquisition supports a roadmap that includes AI call recording summaries and further AI products due in October, with completion expected in October 2026.

13. History Will Be Kind acquires brand and design agency Doublestar Co

Independent communications agency History Will Be Kind has acquired Doublestar Co, the Sydney brand and design agency led by creative director Jye Smith. The deal brings brand building and reputation-shaping communications strategy under one team and strengthens HWBK’s position among the region’s leading independent agency groups. It follows a strong year for the buyer under managing director Edwina Brook, appointed in September 2025, with the agency recently named Agency of the Future at the APAC In2 SABRE Awards. Buying adjacent capability rather than scale remains one of the more reliable exit routes for sub-scale specialist studios and gives HWBK an integrated brand and reputation offer without the integration risk of a merger of equals.

14. Saevil Row acquires creative branding studio Smack Bang

Australian creative agency Saevil Row has acquired Smack Bang in a seven-figure deal, bringing together two established independent creative branding studios. Both continue to operate under their existing names with their own teams, services and offerings, sitting beneath a shared group structure. For Smack Bang founder Tess Robinson, the sale closes a fifteen-year chapter and delivers on a long-held ambition to build the business to a saleable point. For Saevil Row, it is the platform for the next phase of growth, and alongside the IVE and Motio transaction it points to consolidation running at both ends of the Media, Marketing and Communications market.