Salter Brothers and IMAP: A New Era of Strategic Opportunity in Australian Mid-Market M&A
Australia’s mid-market is entering a new phase of transformation. After several years shaped by post-pandemic volatility, rising interest rates, valuation resets, and shifting investor priorities, M&A activity is increasingly being driven by strategic repositioning rather than purely financial expansion. This shift is reshaping not only how transactions are executed, but also what businesses expect from their advisors.
Salter Brothers Strengthens IMAP’s Mid-Market M&A Capabilities in Australia
Against this backdrop, IMAP has strengthened its presence in Australia through its partnership with Salter Brothers Capital, the advisory and capital markets division of global alternatives asset manager Salter Brothers. As Australian businesses become more internationally connected and sector disruption accelerates across AI, digital transformation, infrastructure, and decarbonization, demand is growing for advisors that combine strong local execution with genuine global reach.
Salter Brothers - IMAP Australia is well positioned to support clients at the center of this evolution, providing strategic advisory and capital markets services across sell-side and buy-side M&A, equity and debt capital markets, restructuring, and special situations. Its team combines transaction execution capability with broader institutional market insight, advising founder-led businesses, corporates, investors, and private capital clients across a range of strategic and financial situations.
As part of the broader Salter Brothers platform, the advisory business also benefits from deep relationships across institutional capital, private wealth, and alternative investment markets, alongside an international operating footprint spanning Australia, Singapore, Japan, Dubai, and the U.S. This combination of advisory expertise and capital markets connectivity positions Salter Brothers - IMAP Australia strongly within an increasingly international and strategically driven mid-market environment.
Why Australia is a Strategic Market for Mid-Market M&A
Australia continues to stand out among developed economies for its combination of macroeconomic stability, institutional strength, and long-term growth characteristics. One of only a small number of countries maintaining AAA/Aaa ratings across all three major ratings agencies, Australia benefits from a highly educated workforce, strong legal and regulatory systems, and significant domestic pools of investible capital.
Its managed retirement savings pool - now exceeding AUD 4.5 trillion - is among the largest globally relative to population size and continues to provide structural support for private capital, infrastructure, and alternative investment activity. At the same time, Australia occupies a unique strategic position between Asia-Pacific and major Western economies. Strong ties to the U.S. and UK coexist alongside deep regional relationships across Asia, creating a market that is both globally connected and regionally embedded.
“Australian businesses are increasingly thinking internationally much earlier in their growth journey. This is driving demand for advisors who can combine domestic market insight with genuine cross-border execution capability."
says Ryan Legudi, Managing Director and Head of Salter Brothers Capital.
Australian Mid-Market M&A Becomes More Selective and Strategic
These dynamics are particularly visible across the Australian mid-market, which comprises around 100,000 businesses generating annual revenues between AUD 5 million and AUD 250 million. While transaction volumes moderated after the exceptional conditions of 2021, average transaction values have continued to rise, with 2025 recording the highest average deal value of the period studied. This reflects a market that has become more selective, more strategic, and increasingly focused on long-term positioning.
“Buyers are increasingly prioritizing quality, defensibility, and strategic positioning over pure scale. We are seeing strong demand for businesses with differentiated capabilities, resilient earnings, and exposure to long-term thematic growth areas."
adds Legudi.
Cross-Border M&A in Australia: Technology, Infrastructure, and Thematic Growth
Technology and Digital Infrastructure sectors continue to attract significant attention, while Australia’s strengths in Agriculture, Resources, Infrastructure, and Renewable Energy support sustained inbound interest. Cross-border activity remains a defining feature, consistently representing approximately 30–40% of Australian mid-market deal activity over the past decade.
The U.S. remains the largest source of inbound acquisitions, followed by the UK and Canada, with Asian interest showing signs of recovery, particularly from Japan and China.
“M&A is no longer viewed solely as a liquidity event. For many founder-led and mid-market businesses, it has become a strategic tool for accessing technology, capability, international markets, and long-term growth capital.”, Australian businesses are increasingly thinking internationally much earlier in their growth journey. This is driving demand for advisors who can combine domestic market insight with genuine cross-border execution capability."
says Luke Gersbach, Managing Director at Salter Brothers Capital.
Succession Planning and Ownership Transitions in Australian Mid-Market M&A
Transaction structuring has become increasingly important, with greater use of earn-outs, deferred consideration, minority investments, partnerships, and equity rollover structures to bridge valuation gaps and align expectations. Succession is also emerging as one of the most significant long-term drivers, with more than 30,000 Australian mid-market businesses expected to undergo ownership or leadership transitions over the next decade.
Beyond succession, Salter Brothers also sees increasing activity driven by corporate divestitures, rising private wealth allocation into private markets, and investor focus on long-term thematic areas including digital infrastructure, energy transition, healthcare, and food and water systems. These themes are increasingly shaping both domestic consolidation and cross-border investment activity across the Australian mid-market.
Recent regulatory reforms across merger control, foreign investment, and IPO pathways - described by many as the most significant changes to Australia’s corporate finance framework in decades - are expected to improve transparency, efficiency, and confidence in the market.
Supporting Australian Businesses in an Increasingly International M&A Market
As Australia’s mid-market becomes increasingly international, thematic, and strategically driven, businesses require advisors capable of combining deep local understanding with international execution capability. Through its partnership with Salter Brothers Capital, IMAP has strengthened its ability to support clients across one of the world’s most globally connected and strategically important mid-market economies.
