Best M&A Advisers in Sydney (2026): 12 Firms Ranked on Dated Evidence

Best M&A Advisers in Sydney (2026): 12 Firms Ranked on Dated Evidence

TL;DR. Seven independents with Sydney offices are named as advisers in a 2025-26 counterparty filing on an Australian deal between A$10m and A$500m: Jarden, Gresham, Highbury Partnership, Flagstaff, Henslow, MA Moelis Australia and Luminis. Barrenjoey, Grant Samuel and Lazard Australia have filing credits at the top of that band or offshore and form tier two, and Macquarie, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Rothschild and Citigroup sit in a separate big-bank box. Australian announced M&A rose 43% year on year to US$58.4bn across 697 deals in H1 2026 (LSEG H1 2026 review). Since 1 January 2026, ACCC notification is mandatory once the thresholds are met, and an acquirer with A$500m or more of Australian revenue must notify even a target with A$10m of Australian revenue (Notification Determination, in force 1 Jan 2026). Kelsian's tourism sale, agreed at A$161m and completed at A$145.8m after SeaLink Rottnest was dropped, took about seven months, gated by ACCC and FIRB approvals (Kelsian ASX, 30 Sep 2026). Booklets print adviser pay: Highbury was entitled to about A$2.5m on BWP Trust's internalisation (BWP booklet, 27 Jun 2025), and Matrix's external costs came to about 3.1% of its roughly A$94m scheme value (Matrix booklet, 4 Jun 2026). Independent-expert fees ran from A$90,000 on Matrix to A$1.1m on South32 (South32 notice, 10 Sep 2026). A private foreign buyer from a non-FTA country needs FIRB approval to take 20% or more of an entity worth more than A$347m in 2026 (FIRB thresholds, 2 Jan 2026). We found no published Australian adviser-fee survey.

I'm Sean Yu, co-founder of Peony. Before Peony I worked in M&A at Nomura, in venture at Backed VC and in growth equity and secondaries at Target Global. Today I run Peony, a data room company with 8,000+ customers in 60+ countries and regions, so I see the document side of a sale every day. I did not advise any deal on this page. I read the filings.

Most Sydney adviser lists rank on reputation. Australia gives you something better, because advisers of record have to put their names on the documents. A scheme booklet carries a "Consents" clause in which each adviser agrees to be named, and a Corporate Directory with its licence number and street address; a deal announcement usually has an "Advisers" paragraph. I call this the Consents Test: if a firm cannot point to one of those documents for a 2025-26 deal, its track record is self-reported. Seven independents with Sydney offices pass it on an Australian deal inside this guide's band. Three more pass it only at the top of the band or on an offshore deal, two are ranked on their own tombstones with that gap printed beside them, and the names I left off each get a reason.

The short version for a seller: in the A$10m-A$50m band, talk to Henslow, MA Moelis, Greenstone or TMT Partners and test them on their last three closes; from A$50m to A$250m, Jarden, Gresham, Highbury and Henslow hold the dated in-band credits; above A$250m, add Flagstaff, Luminis, Barrenjoey and the big-bank box. A board facing an unsolicited approach needs a defence adviser and, from a different firm, an independent expert.

What does the 2026 Sydney deal market look like?

Australian deal value is recovering, foreign capital is arriving in size, and two regulators now set the calendar for a mid-market sale.

The national numbers. LSEG's Australian league tables count US$101.4bn of announced deals in FY2025 across 1,841 transactions, down 9% by value, then US$58.4bn across 697 deals in H1 2026, up 43% year on year (LSEG FY2025 review; H1 2026 review). Completed deal value fell 17% in H1 2026, to US$36.2bn across 604 deals, so announcements are running ahead of closings. In the ANZ mid-market table (deals up to US$500m, including undisclosed values), LSEG counts 1,972 deals in FY2025 and 773 in H1 2026, the latter up 17% by value (LSEG mid-market H1 2026). No primary source gives a Sydney-only count, so these are national figures.

The foreign money. FIRB approved 311 commercial proposals worth A$79.7bn in January to March 2026; Singapore (A$16.0bn), the United States (A$12.5bn) and the UAE (A$10.1bn) were the largest sources, and services was the largest target sector at A$42.5bn (FIRB quarterly report, Jan-Mar 2026).

The deal engines the 2025-26 filings actually show:

• Financial services, wealth and insurance: Perpetual's Wealth Management sale (A$500m upfront), Credit Corp's proposal for Humm, EQT's proposal for AUB, Magellan's merger with Barrenjoey (A$1,616m implied), nib's travel sales, and Generation Development Group's A$320m Evidentia acquisition.
• Infrastructure and transport: IFM's bid for Atlas Arteria, Kelsian's A$161m tourism sale and Ampol's EG Australia acquisition.
• Industrial services: Force Fire (A$36.3m upfront) and the Soul Patts and Brickworks merger.
• Technology at small-cap size: Xref (SEEK's A$41.85m proposal, which failed at the February 2025 vote), Alcidion's Kyra purchase and Electro Optic Systems' MARSS deal.
• Healthcare and care: thinner, and mostly on the advisers' own sites, covered in the healthcare section below.
• Education: we found no 2025-26 Sydney education deal with a named adviser, so I don't claim it as an evidenced engine.

Who are the best M&A advisers in Sydney in 2026?

Twelve ranked firms in three tiers, ordered on dated adviser-of-record credits, plus one reference row and a separate big-bank box. Every licence below is from ASIC's AFS licensee dataset dated 30 September 2026.

How did we rank the Sydney bench?

On three checks, in this order: an ASIC licence, a real Sydney office, and a dated 2025-26 credit in which the firm is named as adviser of record.

Licence. Every firm was looked up in ASIC's AFS licensee dataset on data.gov.au (file afs_lic_202610, updated 30 September 2026, CC BY 3.0 AU) and, where relevant, the authorised-representative dataset. The register gives the licence number, the entity, the start date, the principal place of business and the client scope. It does not prove a Sydney office, because it records only the principal place of business.

Office. A Sydney street address from a booklet's Corporate Directory first, or the firm's own contact page second. Flagstaff, Henslow and Lazard Australia are registered in Melbourne and have Sydney offices.

Evidence tiers, strongest first:

• E1: a counterparty or party filing on the ASX, NZX or AIM, including a scheme booklet, target's statement or bidder's statement.
• E2: a counterparty or party press release.
• E3: the firm's own dated tombstone or news item.
• E4: undated.

I label every role, because Australian documents separate them: financial adviser, corporate adviser, independent board adviser, RG 111 independent expert, and joint lead manager or broker on a capital raising. The window is 1 January 2025 to 7 October 2026. Within each tier the order is my judgement, weighing three things rather than applying them one after another: in-band filing credits (deals between A$10m and A$500m), the depth of supporting evidence (further filings and month-dated tombstones, with league-table presence as context only), and whether Sydney is the principal office. League tables are context, never ranking evidence; the section on them explains why.

Which M&A advisers actually run Sydney mid-market mandates in 2026?

Seven independents with filing-named credits, three tier-two firms whose credits sit at the edge of the band or offshore, two tier-three firms with only their own tombstones, and one reference row.

Tier one: independents with Sydney offices, named in a 2025-26 counterparty filing

1. Jarden

Jarden Australia is the Sydney arm of an independent investment and advisory group whose dated sell-side credits here are in insurance and financial services, and in 2026 it ran a two-buyer carve-out for nib: nib named Jarden its adviser on the A$67.5m sale of World Nomads on 13 February 2026, and again on 5 June 2026 on the sale of its Australian and New Zealand travel business for up to A$50m.

• Ownership: owned by its employees and former employees, founded in New Zealand in 1961 and in Australia since 2020, by its own account.
• Licence: Jarden Australia Pty Ltd, AFSL 485351, licensed since 1 July 2016 for retail and wholesale clients.
• Sydney office: Level 54, Governor Phillip Tower, 1 Farrer Place, per Jarden's contact page, which also lists Auckland, Melbourne and Wellington and says "Our owners are employees and former employees".
• Dated credits (E1): both nib releases read "nib is being advised by Jarden and Ashurst in relation to this transaction". The buyers were IMG, a SiriusPoint subsidiary, and Allianz Partners; the second deal paid about A$30m at completion plus A$20m conditional over 12 months. nib's 1 October 2026 release says the Allianz Partners sale completed on 17 September and the IMG sale on 30 September 2026, with A$97.6m of cash received on completion and up to A$10m of eligible deferred consideration in FY28.
• Large-cap work (E1): IFM's bidder's statement for Atlas Arteria (27 April 2026) lists "Jarden Australia Pty Ltd Financial Adviser and Broker", two roles on one deal.
• League tables (context): LSEG FY2025 Any Australia announced #15 (US$3.84bn, 6 deals); H1 2026 #11 (US$4.46bn, 3 deals).
• Verdict: The first call for a financial-services, insurance or trans-Tasman seller in the A$50m-A$250m band, and the cleanest public example of one adviser selling two pieces of a business to two different buyers in the same year.

2. Gresham

Gresham Advisory Partners is an independent Sydney advisory house in Aurora Place and the highest-ranked Australian independent by value in LSEG's FY2025 announced-deals table; Kelsian named it joint financial adviser with Macquarie Capital on the A$161m sale of its tourism portfolio to Journey Beyond on 24 February 2026.

• Licence: Gresham Advisory Partners Limited, AFSL 247113, licensed since 19 February 2004, wholesale clients. Gresham Partners Capital Ltd (AFSL 247110) is a separate licensee, the funds arm.
• Offices: Level 25, Aurora Place, 88 Phillip Street, per its contact page and the Corporate Directory of Magellan's EGM notice; also Melbourne (101 Collins Street) and Perth (Brookfield Place Tower 2).
• Dated credits (E1): "Kelsian is being advised by Macquarie Capital (Australia) Limited and Gresham Advisory Partners Limited as joint financial advisers in respect of the Transaction." Kelsian is based in Adelaide, so this is a Sydney adviser on an interstate seller; the sale completed on 30 September 2026. Magellan's 6 March 2026 notice of meeting names "Gresham Partners" as financial adviser on its merger with Barrenjoey, which Magellan valued at an implied A$1,616m for 100% of Barrenjoey.
• Own transactions page (E3, year only, values as listed): adviser to TPG on the acquisition of Lynch Group ($300m, 2025); to Infomedia on its takeover offer from TPG Capital ($650m, 2025); defence adviser to Insignia on its sale to CC Capital ($3.3bn, 2025); to DP World Australia on acquiring Silk Logistics (2025); to Stonepeak on acquiring Allgas from APA Group (2026); to KKR on acquiring Zenith Energy (2026); and to Bain Capital on selling Estia Health to Stonepeak (marked "Current"). It also lists advising Wesfarmers on the BWP internalisation, the other side of Highbury's deal. The refinancings on the same page are capital advisory, not M&A.
• League tables (context): FY2025 Any Australia announced #11 (US$6.07bn, 15 deals) and completed #10 (15 deals); ANZ mid-market FY2025 #13 (12 deals); H1 2026 announced #19 (US$862m, 5 deals).
• Verdict: The independent a board picks for a big-bank-grade team without a balance sheet, with more dated private-equity counterparties than any other firm here. On a sub-A$100m mandate, ask who staffs it.

3. Highbury Partnership

Highbury Partnership is an independent Sydney financial adviser in Chifley Tower whose tombstones mostly read "sole financial adviser"; BWP Trust named it financial adviser on the A$142.6m internalisation of its management from Wesfarmers on 27 June 2025, and the booklet prints its fee.

• Licence: Highbury Partnership Pty Ltd, AFSL 434566, licensed since 18 April 2013, wholesale clients. Highbury Partnership (Capital) Pty Ltd is its authorised representative (AR 001311117, current from 22 August 2024).
• Sydney office: Level 12, The Chifley Tower, 2 Chifley Square, per both its contact page and the BWP booklet's directory, which prints its ABN and AFSL.
• Dated credit (E1): "BWP has engaged Highbury Partnership as financial advisor and Corrs Chambers Westgarth as legal advisor." The meeting booklet says Highbury "is entitled to be paid approximately $2,500,000 (plus GST and disbursements)". That fee covered the whole proposed transaction, which also reset Bunnings leases and committed capital expenditure, so it is not a percentage of A$142.6m. The internalisation completed on 1 August 2025.
• Own month-dated tombstones (E3, values as the firm reports them): StoreLocal, c. $400m, sole adviser on its sale to entities managed by BlackRock (May 2025); Mad Paws, $62m, sole adviser on its scheme with Rover Group and the Pet Chemist divestment (July 2025); Credible, strategic adviser on a sale of founder equity to FOX Corporation (August 2025); Living Gems, sole adviser on a land lease community asset sale to Hometown Australia (November 2025); Firmus Technologies, $300m, sole adviser on its acquisition of Benmax (August 2026). Its GemLife, Koala and SkinKandy IPOs are capital markets, not M&A.
• League tables: absent from every LSEG top-25 Australia table I read. Absence is not inactivity; the tables credit only deals reported to LSEG.
• Verdict: The first call for an A$50m-A$500m listed or private sale where one senior team should run the whole process, and the only firm here whose fee on a recent deal is public.

4. Flagstaff Partners

Flagstaff Partners is a Melbourne-headquartered independent adviser with a Sydney office at 66 Hunter Street, and its 2025-26 filings are dominated by bid defence and independent board advice; Humm Group named Flagstaff its financial adviser on Credit Corp's A$0.77-a-share proposal on 17 December 2025.

• Licence: Flagstaff Partners Pty Ltd, AFSL 348370, licensed since 10 May 2010, principal place of business Melbourne, wholesale clients.
• Offices: Level 20, 101 Collins Street, Melbourne, and Level 4, 66 Hunter Street, Sydney, per its site footer. Which office staffed each deal is not stated.
• Dated credits (E1): Humm, based in The Rocks, said talks ran "through our respective financial advisers Flagstaff Partners and Macquarie Capital". Credit Corp proposed a scheme at A$0.77 or, failing that, a takeover at A$0.72, and Humm ended discussions on 22 June 2026 after an updated proposal came in "at a price materially lower than the proposal previously advanced". Atlas Arteria's 26 May 2026 target's statement names Flagstaff as financial adviser alongside UBS. South32's 1 July 2026 release reads "Flagstaff Partners is acting as independent adviser to the South32 Board", a different role from the financial advisers, BofA Securities and UBS.
• Own month-dated deals (E3): HammondCare's acquisition of Anglicare Sydney's community-based home care operations (July 2026); Opal's sale of its kraft paper bags and sacks converting operation (August 2026); PointsBet's acquisition by MIXI (September 2025, A$434m); Selfwealth's acquisition by Syfe (February 2025, A$65m); the sale of Iress's superannuation business (January 2025). Flagstaff values the Humm proposal at "~A$385m"; that figure is the firm's own.
• League tables: H1 2026 Any Australia announced #13 on one deal (US$4.37bn); not in the FY2025 top 25.
• Verdict: The first call for a Sydney board facing an unsolicited approach, or one that wants an adviser beside the bank advisers on a large deal.

5. Henslow (Oaklins Henslow)

Henslow is a Melbourne-headquartered corporate adviser with a Sydney office at 25 Bligh Street that trades as Oaklins Henslow inside the Oaklins network and works the lower mid-market; Advanced Innergy Holdings named Henslow its financial adviser on its roughly A$94m scheme to acquire Matrix Composites & Engineering on 20 April 2026.

• Licence: Henslow Pty Ltd, AFSL 483168, licensed since 23 February 2016, principal place of business Melbourne, wholesale clients. Henslow Canberra Pty Ltd is an authorised representative.
• Offices: Level 29, 25 Bligh Street, Sydney, plus Melbourne (333 Collins Street) and Brisbane (283 Elizabeth Street), per its contact page.
• Dated credits (E1): "AIH's financial adviser in connection with the Scheme is Henslow Pty Ltd." The Matrix scheme booklet puts the consideration at A$0.40 a share, "a fully diluted equity value of approximately $94 million"; the scheme was implemented on 23 July 2026. Alcidion's 18 May 2026 release says "Henslow Pty Ltd acted as corporate advisor" on its purchase of Kyra flow products from Telstra Health: A$3.0m upfront plus an earn-out of up to A$1.0m, an upfront multiple of 2.7x FY26 underlying EBITDA.
• Own news (E3): with Oaklins France, corporate adviser to Electro Optic Systems on the MARSS acquisition (14 January 2026; US$36m upfront, about A$54m, plus an earn-out that EOS raised to up to €140m before completion on 21 May 2026; EOS's own 12 January ASX release names "Oaklins" as its financial adviser); adviser to the shareholders of ActivateRail on its sale to Protech Group (28 September 2026); and adviser on the sale of Vysus Australia's grid and power systems consulting business to Rennie (1 September 2026).
• League tables: not in the LSEG top-25 Australia tables.
• Verdict: The cross-border call for an A$10m-A$150m industrial, defence or technology business, with a Sydney office but a Melbourne head office. The Matrix deal also belongs on our Perth guide, because Matrix's own adviser was Perth-based Azure Capital.

6. MA Moelis Australia

MA Moelis Australia is the corporate-advisory business of MA Financial Group and Moelis & Company's exclusive Australian partner, at Brookfield Place in Sydney; Southern Cross Electrical Engineering named it corporate adviser on its acquisition of Sydney-headquartered Force Fire on 31 March 2025, at A$36.3m upfront and up to A$53.5m.

• Licence: MA Moelis Australia Advisory Pty Ltd, AFSL 345499, licensed since 14 May 2010, wholesale clients; MA Moelis Australia Securities Pty Ltd holds AFSL 308241. Both are printed on MA Financial's corporate advice page, which calls the business the "exclusive Australian partner of NYSE-listed global investment bank Moelis & Company".
• Sydney office: Level 27, Brookfield Place, 10 Carrington Street, the MA Financial group address.
• Dated credit (E1): "MA Moelis Australia is acting as corporate adviser, EY is acting as financial, payroll and tax due diligence adviser, and K&L Gates is acting as legal adviser to SCEE on the acquisition." Force Fire was "Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Sydney", with budgeted FY25 revenue of A$106m and EBIT of A$8.3m. By our arithmetic that is about 4.4x EBIT upfront; SCEE's own release puts the deal at 4.8x FY25 EBIT including the FY25 deferred and contingent payments, and at 4.1x FY27 EBIT if the full A$53.5m is paid on A$13.0m of EBIT. Completion was announced on 2 April 2025. Greenstone advised the sellers, per Greenstone's own site, so both advisers on this Sydney private-company sale are on the record.
• Capital markets, not M&A: it was a joint lead manager on Generation Development Group's equity raising in February 2025.
• League tables (context): FY2025 Any Australia announced #19 (US$2.49bn, 20 deals); ANZ mid-market FY2025 #7 by deal count (18 deals); small-cap FY2025 #9= (10 deals).
• Verdict: Busy at mid-market size and connected to a global bank's buyer network. Its filing credit is a March 2025 buy-side, so ask for dated 2026 sell-sides.

7. Luminis Partners

Luminis Partners is an independent Sydney advisory firm at Aurora Place whose website lists a strategic alliance with Guggenheim Securities; Generation Development Group named Luminis its financial adviser on its A$320m acquisition of Evidentia on 10 February 2025, the oldest filing credit on this bench.

• Licence: Luminis Partners Pty Ltd, AFSL 471335, licensed since 17 February 2015, wholesale clients.
• Sydney office: Level 32, Aurora Place, 88 Phillip Street, per its contact page.
• Dated credit (E1): "Luminis Partners Pty Ltd is acting as financial adviser to GDG in relation to the Acquisition." The price was a "$320m up-front enterprise value (100% basis)" for Evidentia Group Holdings, and the deal completed on 18 February 2025. A buy-side role.
• Undated evidence (E4): its client page lists "Adviser to Apiam Animal Health Limited on its sale to Adamantem Capital ($228m)". Apiam is delisted and its booklet could not be retrieved, so that role has no date we can verify.
• League tables (context): H1 2026 Any Australia announced #24 (US$595m, 2 deals).
• Verdict: A credible independent with a February 2025 filing credit and 2026 league-table activity it does not itemise publicly. Ask for dated 2026 deals before you rank it higher.

Tier two: credits at the edge of the band, offshore, or with a two-hat caveat

8. Barrenjoey

Barrenjoey is a Sydney-headquartered advisory and markets firm at Quay Quarter Tower whose evidenced M&A sits at the top of the mid-market band; Perpetual named Barrenjoey its financial adviser on the sale of its Wealth Management business to Bain Capital Private Equity for A$500m upfront on 16 March 2026.

• Licence: Barrenjoey Advisory Pty Limited, AFSL 521801, licensed since 21 October 2020, wholesale clients; Barrenjoey Markets Pty Ltd holds AFSL 521800.
• Offices: Level 19, Quay Quarter Tower, 50 Bridge Street, plus Melbourne (101 Collins Street) and Perth (1 Spring Street), per its site.
• Dated credit (E1): "Barrenjoey is acting as financial adviser to Perpetual and King & Wood Mallesons is acting as legal adviser to Perpetual on the Transaction." The terms were A$500m upfront, a potential further upfront payment and an earn-out of up to A$50m. Perpetual is based at Angel Place, 123 Pitt Street.
• Brand change (E1): Magellan Financial Group completed its merger with Barrenjoey Capital Partners Group on 1 July 2026, after Magellan announced on 12 June 2026 that the ACCC had determined it could be put into effect. Magellan's board intends to ask its 22 October 2026 AGM to rename the company Barrenjoey Group Limited, with the ASX ticker changing from MFG to BJY if approved. A Barrenjoey mandate is now a mandate with a listed group.
• League tables: absent from every LSEG top-25 Australia table I read, FY2025 and H1 2026.
• Verdict: Tier two only because its evidenced deal sits at the ceiling of this guide's band. For an A$250m-plus sale it belongs on the shortlist.

9. Grant Samuel

Grant Samuel is a Sydney advisory firm in Governor Macquarie Tower that wears two hats, financial adviser and RG 111 independent expert, so every credit needs its role read; it was lead financial adviser to AIM-listed Asiamet Resources on the sale of the KSK project, for which Asiamet received US$104.9m on completion, announced on 9 September 2026.

• Licence: Grant Samuel & Associates Pty Limited, AFSL 240985, licensed since 26 November 2003, retail and wholesale clients, with two related Grant Samuel licensees (AFSL 241040 and 241010).
• Offices: Level 20, Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, plus Melbourne and Hong Kong, per its contact page.
• Adviser hat (E1): "Grant Samuel acted as lead financial adviser and A&O Shearman acted as legal adviser to Asiamet" on the sale of Indokal, owner of the KSK project, to Norin Mining. The asset is not Australian.
• Adviser hat (E3, own page): Adamantem Capital on acquiring Apiam Animal Health by scheme (A$228m, February 2026); Flight Centre on divesting its ~47% stake in Pedal Group (~A$131.3m enterprise value, May 2026); Interfi Systems on a majority sale to Perpetual (June 2026); Energy Locals on acquiring Arc Energy (December 2025).
• Expert hat (E1): South32's 10 September 2026 notice of meeting says "South32 has appointed Grant Samuel as the Independent Expert"; Grant Samuel valued the aluminium business at US$4.5bn to US$5.0bn, found the proposed disposal fair and reasonable, and "will receive a fixed fee of $1,100,000 plus reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses". Its own page also lists independent reports on Qube (A$11.7bn, May 2026) and on Domain Holdings' proposed acquisition by CoStar Group (A$3.0bn, June 2025).
• Verdict: A top-tier name with one filing-named adviser credit in the window, and that one offshore. On any Grant Samuel credit, check whether it was the adviser or the expert.

10. Lazard Australia

Lazard Australia is an independent firm allied to Lazard, with a Sydney office at Gateway, 1 Macquarie Place; the Manawa Energy scheme booklet attached to Contact Energy's 19 May 2025 ASX release lists "Financial Adviser to Manawa Lazard Australia".

• Licence: Lazard Australia Pty Ltd, AFSL 531701, licensed since 17 February 2022, principal place of business Melbourne, wholesale clients.
• Offices: Level 16, Gateway, 1 Macquarie Place, Sydney, and Level 53, 101 Collins Street, Melbourne, per its contact page.
• Dated credit (E1): Manawa is a New Zealand energy company; the same directory lists Grant Samuel & Associates Limited, a New Zealand company since renamed Clarien Partners and not the Sydney licensee ranked below, as "Independent Adviser", the New Zealand counterpart of the expert role. The scheme was implemented on 11 July 2025 (Contact ASX, 11 Jul 2025).
• Caveats: its transactions page notes "Advice provided by Lazard Australia team members when employed by Lazard Pty Ltd"; the list loaded empty for us, and we found no Australian 2025-26 credit. LSEG's FY2025 completed table has a "Lazard" row at #21, which may combine entities, so I don't attribute it.
• Verdict: Credible and large-cap-leaning, but its only verified 2025 proof is trans-Tasman energy. Ask for Australian completions. Our Australia and New Zealand energy guide covers the Manawa deal.

Tier three: credible, but only the firms' own tombstones

11. Greenstone Partners

Greenstone Partners is a principal-owned independent corporate adviser at 56 Pitt Street focused on mid-market mergers, acquisitions, divestments and capital structure; its own site says it advised the shareholders of Force Fire, including Anacacia Capital, on the sale to SCEE ("Completion – 2025").

• Licence: Greenstone Partners Pty Limited, AFSL 227843, licensed since 21 May 2003, wholesale clients. Its site says it is a member of Mergers Alliance.
• Sydney office: Level 21, 56 Pitt Street.
• Evidence (E3, year only): Force Fire (2025); Virtual Gaming Worlds' "$3.2 billion acquisition by Lance East Office" via a scheme (2025; VGW is an unlisted Perth company and the value is Greenstone's figure); Blackmores Group's sale of its Pure Animal Wellbeing business to RedDog Pet Nutri (2025); the Interspan group, including Slabtec, on its sale to DYWIDAG (2026); and Fortitude Investment Partners on acquiring FVS from Pamoja Capital (2026).
• Why tier three: SCEE's release names only SCEE's own advisers, so no filing names Greenstone on Force Fire, and the cards we cite give the year, not the month.
• League tables (context): FY2025 Any Australia announced #22 (US$1.76bn, 4 deals). My inference is that VGW drives the value rank; LSEG does not list deals.
• Verdict: A genuine owner-side mid-market adviser with the right deals and the wrong kind of proof for our bar. Ask for the month and a counterparty document.

12. TMT Partners

TMT Partners is a Sydney small-cap technology, media and telecoms specialist at Aurora Place; the Xref scheme booklet of 20 December 2024 names "TMT Partners Pty Ltd as financial adviser to Xref" on SEEK's proposal at A$0.218 a share, about A$41.85m of equity value, its last counterparty-filed credit. The scheme then failed at the 3 February 2025 vote: a majority of shareholders voted for it, but it fell short of 75% of votes cast.

• Licence: TMT Partners Pty Limited, AFSL 238428, licensed since 20 October 2003, wholesale clients; the licence number and address are on its site.
• Sydney office: Level 27, Aurora Place, 88 Phillip Street, on its site and in the Xref booklet's directory.
• Evidence (E3, year only): "Axe Group – 2025 Advised on the sale of Axe Group Pty Ltd to a private consortium". Its 2025 Xref placement and share purchase plan was capital markets work.
• Verdict: The natural call for a sub-A$50m technology sale, ranked last because its primary proof predates the window. Ask for 2025-26 deals with the counterparty named.

Reference row: Allier Capital

Allier Capital is a Sydney mid-market adviser at 2 Bligh Street, founded in 2009 with a strategic alliance with William Blair, that is busy by count and publicly silent by deal. It holds AFSL 336276 (Allier Capital Pty Ltd, Sydney, wholesale), and LSEG ranks it #10 in the ANZ mid-market table for FY2025 (15 deals), #14= in H1 2026 (5 deals) and #8 in the FY2025 small-cap table (13 deals). Its recent transactions are logo images marked 2026 with no deal names in the text, so we could not cite one. It sits below our bar, not off the page.

When should a Sydney seller hire a big bank instead of a boutique?

Hire a big bank when the likely buyers are global, the deal is large enough for a wide auction, or the board wants a balance-sheet bank on a contested process; below roughly A$250m, the independents above hold most of the dated in-band credits.

Macquarie is the exception that breaks the rule of thumb. It ranked second by ANZ mid-market deal count in LSEG's FY2025 table (35 deals, behind PwC's 45) and was joint adviser with Gresham on Kelsian's A$161m sale, so an A$100m seller can reasonably talk to it (LSEG mid-market FY2025). The other banks' dated 2025-26 Australian credits are large-cap.

The box is a reference, not a ranking. If one of these banks pitches a sub-A$100m mandate, ask which managing director staffs it and what that person's last three closes under A$150m were.

Which Sydney advisers fit my deal size: A$10m-A$50m, A$50m-A$250m or A$250m-plus?

Match the adviser to the band its dated deals sit in: MA Moelis, Greenstone and TMT Partners for A$10m-A$50m, with Henslow's deals either side of it; Jarden, Gresham, Highbury and Henslow for A$50m-A$250m; and Flagstaff, Luminis, Barrenjoey, Gresham and the big-bank box above A$250m.

A$10m to A$50m

• MA Moelis Australia: corporate adviser to the buyer on Force Fire, A$36.3m upfront and up to A$53.5m (ASX, March 2025).
• Greenstone Partners: the sellers' side of the same deal, on its own site.
• TMT Partners: Xref's adviser on SEEK's A$41.85m proposal (December 2024).
• Henslow: its dated deals bracket the band rather than sit in it: Alcidion's A$3.0m Kyra purchase below it (ASX, May 2026) and, on its own news, the MARSS acquisition at US$36m (about A$54m) upfront just above it.
• Jarden: nib's Australian and New Zealand travel sale, up to A$50m.

Is an A$20m company too small for these firms? Not on the evidence. The binding constraint is usually the minimum fee, so ask for it in dollars before you discuss the percentage. By deal count, LSEG's FY2025 ANZ small-cap table (deals up to US$50m) is led by PwC (38), Macquarie (24), a firm LSEG lists only as "CFI" (20), Grant Thornton (19), KPMG (16), EY (15), BDO (14) and Allier (13) (LSEG small-cap FY2025). I verified no dated 2025-26 sell-side credit for the Big Four firms, so they sit outside the ranking. Their volume is still a real reason to put one on a shortlist for a small sale.

A$50m to A$250m

• Jarden: World Nomads, A$67.5m (February 2026).
• Gresham, with Macquarie: Kelsian's tourism portfolio, A$161m (February 2026).
• Highbury: BWP's A$142.6m internalisation (June 2025), plus the $62m Mad Paws scheme on its own site (July 2025).
• Henslow: the roughly A$94m Matrix scheme (April 2026).
• Grant Samuel: Asiamet's KSK sale (US$104.9m received); on its own site, Flight Centre's Pedal Group stake (~A$131.3m enterprise value).
• Flagstaff: Selfwealth's A$65m sale to Syfe, on its own site (February 2025).

A$250m and above

• Barrenjoey: Perpetual's Wealth Management sale, A$500m upfront.
• Luminis: Evidentia, A$320m enterprise value.
• Gresham: Magellan's merger with Barrenjoey, A$1,616m implied.
• Flagstaff: Humm's defence (which Flagstaff values at about A$385m), Atlas Arteria, and on its own site PointsBet's A$434m sale to MIXI.
• Highbury, on its own site: StoreLocal (c. $400m) and Firmus Technologies' acquisition of Benmax ($300m).
• The big-bank box above.

Which Sydney advisers sell financial services, wealth and insurance businesses?

Jarden, Barrenjoey, Luminis and Flagstaff carry the dated financial-services credits: Jarden sold nib's two travel businesses in 2026, Barrenjoey advised Perpetual on selling its Wealth Management business for A$500m upfront (completion expected in the December quarter of 2026), Luminis advised Generation Development Group on its A$320m Evidentia acquisition, and Flagstaff advised Humm on Credit Corp's proposal.

Behind them sit Gresham, which advised Magellan on its merger with Barrenjoey (notice of meeting, March 2026) and lists defence advice to Insignia on its sale to CC Capital ($3.3bn, 2025, own site), and Macquarie Capital, which advised AUB on EQT's A$45-a-share proposal and Credit Corp on Humm. Flagstaff's own site adds Selfwealth's A$65m sale to Syfe (February 2025) and the sale of Iress's superannuation business (January 2025). Finance and insurance drew A$2.0bn of FIRB approvals in the January to March 2026 quarter.

For the US and UK view of the same lane, see our financial services M&A advisers, insurance M&A advisers and fintech and payments M&A advisers guides.

Which Sydney advisers handle healthcare and care deals?

The healthcare evidence is thinner than the financial-services evidence, and no firm here has a counterparty-filed 2025-26 healthcare sell-side.

What exists is on the firms' own sites:

• Gresham lists advising Bain Capital on the sale of Estia Health to Stonepeak.
• Flagstaff lists HammondCare's acquisition of Anglicare Sydney's community-based home care operations (July 2026), without saying which side it advised.
• Luminis lists Apiam Animal Health's $228m sale to Adamantem Capital on an undated client page.
• Grant Samuel lists advising Adamantem on the same deal (February 2026).

The one filing is a purchase: Henslow advised Alcidion on its A$3.0m acquisition of Kyra flow products from Telstra Health (ASX, May 2026). For a healthcare seller I would shortlist Gresham, Flagstaff and Henslow, then ask each for dated healthcare closes with the counterparty named. Our healthcare M&A advisers guide covers the US bench.

Which Sydney advisers sell consumer and pet businesses?

Greenstone and Highbury carry the dated consumer and pet sell-sides, both on their own sites: Greenstone advised Blackmores Group on selling its pet-products business (2025), and Highbury advised Mad Paws on its $62m scheme (July 2025).

• Highbury: sole financial adviser to Mad Paws on its $62m scheme with Rover Group and the Pet Chemist divestment (July 2025).
• Greenstone: adviser to Blackmores Group on the sale of its Pure Animal Wellbeing business to RedDog Pet Nutri (2025, a card tagged "Consumer"); its cards also list two 2024 deals: advising bassike's co-founder on her buy-out of the brand, and Airport Retail Enterprises on its sale to SSP Group.
• Luminis and Grant Samuel: Apiam's $228m sale to Adamantem Capital, on Luminis's undated client page and as Grant Samuel's buy-side credit (February 2026).

We found no 2025-26 counterparty filing that names a Sydney adviser on a consumer-brand sale, so ask for dated consumer closes. Our consumer products M&A advisers guide covers the US bench.

Who should I hire to sell a software or technology company in Sydney?

For a Sydney tech sale the dated evidence points to TMT Partners, Henslow, Highbury and Flagstaff, each at a different size.

• TMT Partners: Xref's adviser on SEEK's A$41.85m proposal (booklet, December 2024; the scheme failed at the February 2025 vote) and Axe Group's 2025 sale (own site).
• Henslow: Alcidion's Kyra purchase (ASX, May 2026) and, with Oaklins France, Electro Optic Systems' acquisition of the MARSS counter-drone business (own news, January 2026).
• Highbury, on its own site: advised Credible on a sale of founder equity to FOX Corporation (August 2025) and Firmus Technologies on its $300m acquisition of Benmax (August 2026).
• Flagstaff, on its own site: PointsBet's A$434m acquisition by MIXI (September 2025).
• Gresham, on its own site: Infomedia on TPG Capital's takeover offer ($650m, 2025).

Is an A$30m software company too small for them? TMT Partners' public deals sit below A$50m, and Henslow's 2026 deals start at A$3m. If the likely buyer is American or European, ask MA Moelis about the Moelis & Company network and Henslow about Oaklins. Our tech M&A advisers and software M&A advisers guides cover the US and European banks that buy into Australian software.

Who advises on infrastructure, transport and industrial deals in Sydney?

Gresham and Macquarie Capital (Kelsian's A$161m tourism sale), Flagstaff and UBS (Atlas Arteria's response to IFM), Jarden (IFM's adviser and broker on the same bid) and, on industrial services, MA Moelis and Greenstone on the two sides of Force Fire.

The firms' own sites add more, all year- or month-dated E3:

• Gresham: Stonepeak's acquisition of Allgas from APA Group (2026), DP World Australia's acquisition of Silk Logistics (2025) and KKR's acquisition of Zenith Energy (2026).
• Greenstone: the Interspan group's sale to DYWIDAG (2026).
• Henslow: the sale of Vysus Australia's grid and power systems consulting business to Rennie (September 2026) and ActivateRail's sale to Protech Group (September 2026).
• Highbury: StoreLocal's c. $400m sale to entities managed by BlackRock (May 2025).

On the bank side, UBS advised Ampol on EG Australia, completed 30 June 2026. The energy deals (Santos, Ampol and Manawa) sit on our Australia and New Zealand energy guide, and the US industrial bench on our industrial M&A advisers guide.

Who should a Sydney board hire after an unsolicited takeover approach?

Usually two firms: a financial adviser to run the response and, where the law requires one or the board wants one, an RG 111 independent expert from a different firm. The 2025-26 filings show Flagstaff (Humm, Atlas Arteria), Macquarie Capital (AUB), Jefferies (Mayne Pharma) and Goldman Sachs (Santos) in the first role.

The outcomes vary:

• Humm: ended talks with Credit Corp on 22 June 2026 after a lower proposal.
• AUB: ended discussions on 1 December 2025 after EQT and CVC said they did not intend to proceed with a binding proposal at A$45.00 a share (AUB ASX).
• Mayne Pharma: terminated Cosette's scheme implementation deed on 11 December 2025.
• Santos: the XRG consortium withdrew its proposal on 18 September 2025.
• Atlas Arteria: Kroll, as independent expert, concluded that IFM's offer was "neither fair nor reasonable" for a fixed fee of A$850,000, but the offer went unconditional at A$5.10 a security and closed on 7 July 2026 with IFM holding 67.43% of the voting power (Atlas Arteria ASX, 8 Jul 2026).

Gresham's own site lists defence advice to Insignia on its sale to CC Capital ($3.3bn, 2025). A third role exists: the independent board adviser, as Rothschild & Co was to Santos and Flagstaff to South32's board alongside the financial advisers. It is neither the lead financial adviser nor the RG 111 expert, so ask which of the three you are hiring.

Before an approach arrives, a board can prepare: a current valuation view, a defence data room with the core documents indexed, and a list of expert firms without conflicts. Our hostile takeover guide and strategic alternatives data room guide cover the preparation.

Should I sell to private equity or a strategic buyer, and which Sydney advisers know each side?

Gresham carries the most dated private-equity and infrastructure-fund counterparties, most of them from its own transactions page; Barrenjoey's filing credit is a sale to Bain Capital. Jarden, MA Moelis and Henslow have the clearest strategic-buyer deals.

Private-equity and infrastructure-fund counterparties in the 2025-26 record:

• Bain Capital: agreed to buy Perpetual's Wealth Management business, with completion expected in the December quarter of 2026 (Barrenjoey); Gresham's own site lists Bain's sale of Estia Health.
• TPG: Lynch Group and Infomedia (Gresham, own site).
• KKR: Zenith Energy (Gresham, own site).
• Stonepeak: Allgas (Gresham, own site).
• CC Capital: Insignia (Gresham, defence, own site).
• EQT, later with CVC: AUB proposal (Macquarie).
• Adamantem Capital: Apiam (Grant Samuel, own site).
• Fortitude Investment Partners: FVS (Greenstone, own site).
• Anacacia Capital: a seller of Force Fire (Greenstone, own site).
• IFM, an infrastructure investor: Atlas Arteria bid (Jarden).

Strategic buyers:

• Allianz Partners and IMG: nib's travel businesses (Jarden).
• SCEE: Force Fire (MA Moelis).
• Advanced Innergy Holdings: Matrix (Henslow).
• Alcoa: South32's aluminium business.
• On the firms' own sites: Rover Group (Mad Paws, Highbury), FOX Corporation (Credible, Highbury), MIXI (PointsBet, Flagstaff), Syfe (Selfwealth, Flagstaff), DYWIDAG (Interspan, Greenstone), Protech Group (ActivateRail, Henslow) and Rennie (Vysus, Henslow).

Ask a prospective adviser to name the last three buyers of each type it has sat across from, with dates. The deal terms differ too. Earn-outs appear on both sides in the record: Perpetual's sale to Bain Capital carries up to A$50m, and the strategic deals carry them too (see the timing section below).

Who helps a founder or family business sell for the first time in Sydney?

Greenstone, Highbury, Henslow and TMT Partners have the clearest founder- and shareholder-side evidence, all from their own sites:

• Greenstone: advised Force Fire's shareholders, including Anacacia Capital, on the sale to SCEE (2025).
• Highbury: advised Credible on a sale of founder equity to FOX Corporation (August 2025).
• Henslow: advised ActivateRail's shareholders on its sale to Protech Group (28 September 2026).
• TMT Partners: lists Axe Group's 2025 sale to a private consortium.

Greenstone describes itself as "an independent corporate advisory firm owned by its principals" with a partner involved in every aspect of each transaction, which is the model a first-time seller usually wants.

Below about A$20m, the market splits. Business brokers list businesses to buyer databases, while corporate advisers run a targeted process. Quinn M&A, a practice led by a chartered accountant who is also an admitted NSW solicitor, says it advises on "$1 million to $200 million in enterprise value" from Level 10, 20 Martin Place. It publishes no dated deals, so I can't rank it. It is a real practice, not a doorway.

Whoever you hire, prepare first. The steps are vendor due diligence, a quality of earnings review and an information memorandum (how to write one); our sell-side due diligence guide walks through them. The adviser vs broker vs investment bank guide explains the three models.

Which Sydney advisers handle a cross-border buyer, and when does FIRB apply?

The independents with formal international networks are MA Moelis (Moelis & Company's exclusive Australian partner), Henslow (Oaklins), Luminis (an alliance with Guggenheim Securities, per its site), Greenstone (Mergers Alliance) and Allier (William Blair). The dated cross-border credit is Henslow's MARSS deal, run with Oaklins France.

Jarden adds a New Zealand base, and Lazard Australia's verified proof is a New Zealand scheme. The foreign buyers in the 2025-26 record include IMG (a SiriusPoint subsidiary), Allianz Partners, Bain Capital, EQT, MIXI, Syfe, Norin Mining, DYWIDAG, Alcoa and the XRG consortium.

FIRB thresholds from 1 January 2026 for acquiring an interest in an Australian entity or business (monetary thresholds, last updated 2 January 2026):

• Private investors from countries without a relevant FTA: more than A$347m for a substantial interest (20% or more).
• Private investors from certain FTA partners (including the US, UK, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Korea, China, Chile, Peru and CPTPP members): more than A$1,498m for a substantial interest in a non-sensitive business, more than A$347m for a sensitive one.
• Foreign government investors: A$0 or more for a direct interest (generally 10% or more).
• National security businesses: A$0 or more for a direct interest, for all investors.
• Agribusiness, for private investors, whether or not from those FTA partners: more than A$75m, cumulative, for a direct interest.

The thresholds are indexed every 1 January. In January to March 2026, Treasury's median processing time for approved commercial proposals was 35 days, and 46% were decided in 30 days or less (FIRB quarterly report). Kelsian's sale to Journey Beyond needed both FIRB approval (17 September 2026) and ACCC approval (8 September 2026). For the investor side of Australia and New Zealand, see our Australian investors and New Zealand investors lists.

When does a Sydney deal need an independent expert, and can my adviser be one?

An independent expert's report tells shareholders whether an offer is "fair" and "reasonable" under ASIC's RG 111. Section 640 requires one where the bidder has 30% voting power in the target or the two share a director. On every 2025-26 deal we read, the expert was a different firm from the financial adviser.

RG 111.11 defines an offer as "'fair' if the value of the offer price or consideration is equal to or greater than the value of the securities the subject of the offer", assessed assuming 100% ownership of the target. RG 111.12 says an offer "is 'reasonable' if it is fair" and might still be reasonable if not fair. RG 112.11 says an expert report "usually constitutes financial product advice, triggering the need for an AFS licence".

I call this the Two-Hat Rule: the same Sydney firms appear as advisers on some deals and as independent experts on others, and Grant Samuel's tombstone page mixes both. An RG 111 report is advice to shareholders, paid as a fixed fee; it is not a sell-side mandate. "Duff & Phelps, A Kroll Business" ranks #7 in LSEG's H1 2026 Australian announced table on two deals, and the only 2026 Kroll roles we found were expert roles, so don't read that rank as sell-side work.

Scheme of arrangement or takeover bid: which suits a listed Sydney company?

A scheme is all-or-nothing and needs shareholder and court approval; a takeover bid lets the bidder buy shares directly and compulsorily acquire the rest once it reaches 90%.

The Matrix booklet sets out the scheme vote: unless the court decides otherwise, "a majority in number (i.e. more than 50%) of Matrix Shareholders present and voting ... and at least 75% of the total number of votes cast", then court approval at the second court hearing. ASIC's RG 60.101 notes ASIC may ask the court to disregard the majority-in-number test where share-splitting is suspected.

A takeover bid works under "the general 20% prohibition limit" in section 606, as IFM's bidder's statement for Atlas Arteria puts it. At 90% the bidder can proceed to compulsory acquisition under Chapter 6A.1 of the Corporations Act.

Credit Corp's proposal for Humm shows a bidder offering both routes: a scheme at A$0.77 a share or, "should the scheme of arrangement be unsuccessful", an off-market takeover at A$0.72 conditional on 50.1% acceptances. Disputes go to the Takeovers Panel, which received 689 applications between 11 March 2000 and 31 December 2024 (25 in 2024) and takes on average 17.7 days to decide one (Panel statistics, updated 7 March 2025). The Matrix scheme ran from signing to implementation in about three months.

Does the new ACCC merger regime apply to my 2026 sale?

Yes, if your deal meets the thresholds and is put into effect on or after 1 January 2026, when notification to the ACCC became mandatory. Notifications have been possible since 1 July 2025 (Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Act 2024).

The thresholds are in the Competition and Consumer (Notification of Acquisitions) Determination 2025, as in force from 1 January 2026:

• Main test (s2-1): combined acquirer and target Australian revenue of A$200m or more, plus either target Australian revenue of A$50m or more or a transaction value of A$250m or more.
• Very large acquirers (s2-2): acquirer group Australian revenue of A$500m or more and target Australian revenue of A$10m or more.
• Serial acquisitions (s2-3): earlier acquisitions are aggregated, excluding any that met the small acquisition test (target revenue under A$2m).
• Asset acquisitions that are not a whole business (s2-4): the combined test plus A$200m or more of value, or a very large group plus A$50m or more.

Timing: Phase 1 ends 30 business days after it starts and Phase 2 ends 90 business days after it starts (s51ABZI). Under s45AZA, an acquisition put into effect while stayed "is, and is taken always to have been, void".

I call the second test the Big-Buyer Trap: if your buyer's group has A$500m or more of Australian revenue, a business with A$10m of Australian revenue must be notified. Build Phase 1, and a possible Phase 2, into the timetable before you sign.

A live mid-market example. Kelsian agreed its A$161m tourism sale on 24 February 2026, "subject to ACCC and FIRB approvals". The ACCC assessed it as two applications. On 25 August 2026 the parties dropped SeaLink Rottnest (A$15.2m), after which Kelsian's CEO said it had "a compelling case for ACCC approval" of the remaining A$145.8m. The ACCC approved on 8 September, FIRB on 17 September, and the sale completed on 30 September 2026 with A$149.9m of gross proceeds, including A$4.3m of adjustments. A large example: Magellan announced on 12 June 2026 that the ACCC had determined its merger with Barrenjoey "may be put into effect", subject to a 14-day review period. The ACCC's website refused our automated reader, so I cite the legislation directly.

What NSW duty and tax questions should a Sydney seller settle early?

The buyer pays NSW transfer duty on a business purchase only when the sale includes land or an interest in land, such as a lease; certain goods, such as moveable plant and equipment, can then be dutiable too. Goodwill and intellectual property are not dutiable in NSW, and a share sale can trigger landholder duty instead.

Transfer duty. Revenue NSW's business purchases page (last updated 31 August 2026) says:

• duty applies "when the sale includes land or an interest in land, such as a lease", and may also be payable on certain goods, including moveable plant and equipment, in the same agreement;
• goodwill, intellectual property, statutory licences and debtor receivables are not dutiable;
• stock-in-trade is excluded;
• "The buyer is responsible for paying the duty, not the seller."

The 2026/27 general scale tops out at A$52,237 plus A$5.50 for every A$100 over A$1,290,000 (residential property above A$3,870,000 pays a higher premium rate), and the thresholds are indexed annually.

Landholder duty. Landholder duty applies when someone acquires a "significant interest" in a company or unit trust with NSW landholdings of A$2m or more, and it is charged at the same rate as transfer duty. A significant interest is:

• 50% or more for a private landholder;
• 90% or more for a public or listed one;
• 20% or more for private unit trusts (other than wholesale), for acquisitions from 1 February 2024.

Capital gains tax. Division 152 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 holds the small business CGT concessions, with basic conditions in section 152-10 and a maximum net asset value test in section 152-15. The ATO's pages refused our automated reader, so I don't print thresholds here. Check eligibility with your tax adviser before you choose between an asset sale and a share sale.

How long does a Sydney sale take, and how common are earn-outs?

Months, not weeks, and the regulators set the pace. The 2025-26 filings give four clocks:

• BWP's internalisation: about five weeks from announcement (27 June 2025) to completion (1 August 2025), with a unitholder vote and no ACCC review.
• Matrix's scheme: about three months from the implementation deed (20 April 2026) to implementation (23 July 2026).
• Kelsian's tourism sale: about seven months (24 February to 30 September 2026), gated by the ACCC and FIRB.
• nib's World Nomads sale: about seven and a half months (13 February to 30 September 2026).

Across 334 M&A transactions run on Peony, the average deal took about 8.6 months to close. Our due diligence timeline guide breaks down where the time goes.

Earn-outs are common in the record:

• Force Fire: A$36.3m upfront, rising to up to A$53.5m.
• Perpetual Wealth Management: up to A$50m.
• nib's Allianz Partners sale: A$20m conditional over 12 months at signing; nib's completion release puts the eligible deferred consideration at up to A$10m, in FY28.
• Electro Optic Systems' MARSS deal: up to €140m, raised from €100m in May 2026.
• Alcidion's Kyra purchase: up to A$1.0m.

Our earn-out structuring guide covers how to negotiate one.

What do M&A advisers charge in Sydney?

We found no published Australian adviser-fee survey, so the best public evidence is what scheme booklets disclose, read alongside Peony's US fee canon.

I call it the Booklet Fee Line: Australia publishes what US sellers have to guess. Before you negotiate, read the costs section of any recent booklet in your sector.

The BWP fee covered the whole proposed transaction, not just the A$142.6m price, so don't read it as a percentage. Matrix also agreed a "Break Fee of $930,000 (inclusive of GST)", about 1% of its equity value by our arithmetic.

The nearest dated survey is American. Our M&A adviser fees guide puts the success fee at roughly 2% to 10% of transaction value, falling as deals grow: about 4.8% at US$5m, 3.4% at US$20m and 2.0% at US$100m on the Firmex/Axial survey composite. It adds a monthly work fee of about US$5,000 to US$10,000 that is usually credited against the success fee, and a Double Lehman scale (10-8-6-4-2). Those are US figures in US dollars, not an Australian tariff.

Get four things in writing:

• the success-fee schedule and any minimum, in dollars;
• whether the retainer is credited at completion;
• the tail period;
• the definition of transaction value, because assumed debt and an earn-out at face value raise the bill.

The independent expert, legal counsel, tax structuring and W&I insurance are separate lines.

How do I verify an M&A adviser in Australia?

Check the licence, then the documents, then the role. It takes an afternoon.

First, the licence. Australian advice on a decision about shares is regulated. ASIC's RG 36.27 says a decision about a financial product includes "any decision to buy, sell or hold" it, and gives as an example the decision to "accept or reject a takeover offer". Advice on it is financial product advice under section 766B, which needs a licence under section 911A or authorised-representative status.

Search the legal entity, not the brand, in ASIC's AFS licensee and authorised-representative datasets on data.gov.au, or in ASIC's professional registers. Note whether the firm is:

• a licensee: every ranked firm here;
• an authorised representative of someone else's licence: Highbury Partnership (Capital) of Highbury Partnership, Bridge Street Capital Partners of BR Securities Australia, Kroll Australia of Millinium Capital Managers, and Cameron Partners of Rothschild & Co Australia;
• or neither.

I call this the Licence Line. Most boutique licences here cover wholesale clients only; Grant Samuel and Jarden hold retail and wholesale. I could not verify whether a sale of business assets with no shares involved needs a licence, so ask your lawyer.

Second, the Consents Test. Ask for the booklet, target's statement or ASX announcement that names the firm on a 2025-26 deal. A booklet's Corporate Directory prints the adviser's legal name, ABN, AFSL and street address; BWP's lists "Highbury Partnership Pty Limited ABN 14 162 169 502 AFSL 434 566 Level 12, The Chifley Tower 2 Chifley Square Sydney NSW 2000". If the firm only has its own tombstones, ask for the month and the counterparty and match them yourself.

Third, the role. Read the exact words: "financial adviser", "corporate adviser", "independent adviser to the Board", "Independent Expert" or "joint lead manager". Each is a different job.

Then check the brand is current. Fort Street Advisers is now E&P Capital, and Barrenjoey's parent is renaming itself. Finally, put the daily team's names in the engagement letter.

Who did we leave off, and why?

Each name below has a checkable reason; none is an accusation.

• Fort Street Advisers. A stale brand, now E&P Capital (E&P Capital Pty Limited, AFSL 338885, Sydney). No current licensee under the old name appears in ASIC's October 2026 file. E&P's transactions page loads by script and we verified no 2025-26 credit. An unrelated Fort Street Real Estate Capital authorised-representative record ceased in June 2026; don't confuse the two.
• Exit Advisory Group. It describes itself as an "M&A advisory and business brokerage" and is a member of the Australian Institute of Business Brokers, with undated testimonials and no dated adviser-of-record credits. Its site shows "Australian Financial Services Licence 700378"; ASIC lists that licence for KC1 Pty Limited, Barangaroo, issued on 23 June 2026, for general advice and dealing in securities for wholesale clients. The site does not name KC1. Those are the facts; I imply nothing beyond them.
• Xcllusive Business Sales. A business broker ("Business Broker Experts Australia") selling SME businesses to a registered buyer database.
• Vantage Performance. Turnaround, safe-harbour and board advisory, not M&A.
• Quinn M&A. A real CA- and solicitor-led practice at 20 Martin Place, covered in the founder section, with no public dated credits. I found no AFSL or authorised-representative record under The Quinn Group Australia Pty Ltd. Whether a licence is needed depends on whether the deal involves financial products such as shares, and I assert no breach.
• Pitt Capital Partners. A captive adviser, wholly owned by Soul Patts. Its LSEG rank (#18 by value in FY2025, on one deal) lines up with the only 2025 mandate we found for it, its parent's own merger with Brickworks; LSEG does not name the deal.
• Kidder Williams. Melbourne only (55 Collins Street), with no Sydney office.
• Insight Capital Advisors and The Oaktower Partnership. Both are registered in Melbourne, with one- or two-deal league-table ranks.
• Bridge Street Capital Partners. An authorised representative of BR Securities Australia (AFSL 456663), not a licensee, with no dated 2025-26 credit found.
• Pottinger. Licensed (AFSL 307650, Sydney) but strategy-led, with no public transaction list.
• Houlihan Lokey Australia and Greenhill (Mizuho) Australia. Both are licensed in Sydney (AFSL 474953 and 224482). We verified no dated Australian 2025-26 credit for either.
• Cameron Partners and Craigs. New Zealand firms, outside a Sydney bench.
• "CFI". It ranks #3 in LSEG's FY2025 ANZ mid-market table on 20 deals, but we could not match the name to an ASIC licensee.
• The Big Four and mid-tier accounting firms. PwC leads the ANZ mid-market count (45 deals in FY2025, 17 in H1 2026), but we verified no dated 2025-26 sell-side credit for PwC, EY, KPMG, Deloitte, Grant Thornton or BDO in Sydney; BDO's own deal page lists one in WA, advising Welltech's shareholders on its sale to Vysarn (A$50.0m upfront; completed September 2026), which our Perth guide covers. Their visible 2025-26 roles in our documents are expert, investigating-accountant or due diligence work.

We also left off any "M&A firm Sydney" landing page or directory that names no deal, licence or office, and we did not name pages we could not load.

What is the dated adviser-of-record ledger for Sydney in 2025-26?

Every row is named in a filing (E1) unless marked; dates are announcement dates, with completion after the arrow where a filing states it.

Six deals show both sides' advisers, which is as good as public evidence gets:

• Force Fire: MA Moelis for the buyer, Greenstone for the sellers.
• BWP: Highbury for BWP, Gresham for Wesfarmers.
• Humm: Flagstaff against Macquarie.
• Atlas Arteria: Jarden for IFM, UBS and Flagstaff for the target.
• Matrix: Henslow for AIH, Azure for Matrix.
• Soul Patts and Brickworks: Pitt Capital (captive) for Soul Patts, Citigroup for Brickworks.

Apart from the MARSS row and the two E3 roles marked in the BWP and Force Fire rows, the firm-dated deals (E3) in the firm entries above are left out of this table on purpose.

What do the league tables say, and why aren't they a ranking?

League tables measure what was reported to LSEG, valued in US dollars, so one large deal can make a rank and a busy boutique can be invisible. Use them as context, never as a ranking.

"Not ranked" means outside the ranks LSEG printed (top 25 by value; roughly the top 22 by count). Sources: FY2025 review, H1 2026 review, mid-market FY2025 and mid-market H1 2026. LSEG defines the mid-market as transactions up to US$500m including undisclosed values, and deals with undisclosed values are rank-eligible but carry no rank value.

I call the main distortion One-Deal Ranks:

• Pitt Capital is #18 on one deal, which lines up with its parent's merger.
• Flagstaff is #13 in H1 2026 on one deal, and Insight Capital Advisors #9 on one.
• The count tables, led by PwC (45) and Macquarie (35), measure volume, not fit.
• Highbury, Henslow and Barrenjoey appear in no top-25 Australian table at all, despite the filing credits above.

Which virtual data rooms do Australian investment banks, corporates and private equity use for M&A?

On three Sydney-adviser deals whose ASX documents name a platform, Ansarada hosted the room: the Soul Patts and Brickworks merger (Pitt Capital and Citigroup advising), the Matrix scheme (Henslow and Azure Capital) and the Xref scheme (TMT Partners). Sydney-based Ansarada, founded in 2005, has been owned by Datasite since a takeover implemented on 6 September 2024, and Datasite and Intralinks are the global incumbents on large bank-run processes. For a boutique-run A$20m-A$200m sale, a flat per-admin room such as Peony's covers the controls a mid-market process needs at a known cost.

No public survey ranks the platforms Australian banks use, and I won't invent one. What is on the record:

• Ansarada in the filings. The Soul Patts and Brickworks merger deed defines each side's due-diligence room as "the electronic data room hosted by Ansarada" (Soul Patts ASX, 2 Jun 2025); Matrix's room, "Project Morpheus", was "hosted by Ansarada" (Matrix ASX, 20 Apr 2026); and Xref's scheme room was "established by or on behalf of Xref by Ansarada" (Xref booklet, 20 Dec 2024).
• Ansarada's owner. The A$2.50-a-share takeover by DS Answer Pty Ltd, a Datasite entity "owned by funds managed by CapVest", was implemented on 6 September 2024 (Ansarada ASX, 6 Sep 2024). It is still sold under its own brand; see our Ansarada alternatives guide.
• Resources deals vary. The arrangement agreement for Alkane Resources' merger with TSX-listed Mandalay Resources defines Alkane's room as one "established by Alkane on SecureDocs" and Mandalay's as one "established by Mandalay on firmex.com" (ASX, 28 Apr 2025). The Regis and Vault gold merger deed (May 2026) and the Lynas and Meteoric deed (October 2026) name no platform. Our Perth guide and energy guide cover the resources advisers.
• Private-equity deals. No public source we found names the platform Australian sponsors use. On a large sponsor auction the bank usually names the room; on a mid-market sale to a sponsor, the seller chooses. Our private-equity due diligence guide covers what sponsors examine.
• Datasite and Intralinks are the global incumbents; see our Datasite pricing and Intralinks pricing teardowns.

The room is also legal evidence. The Soul Patts, Matrix, Xref and Alkane documents each define the disclosed material as the room's contents at a stated cut-off: for Matrix, 12 noon on 17 April 2026, "as evidenced conclusively by the USB" handed to the bidder at signing. The index and the export matter as much as the platform.

Whoever runs the room, a Sydney sale with competitor bidders needs:

• a data room with a separate room or folder set per bidder;
• staged disclosure: a teaser, then the information memorandum after an NDA, then customer contracts and employee data after a letter of intent;
• dynamic watermarks and NDA gates;
• page-level analytics showing which bidder read the customer-concentration schedule;
• a Q&A log.

The honest landscape:

We make Peony, so here is the full disclosure, plan by plan:

• Data Room, US$52 per admin per month billed annually (US$75 monthly): unlimited rooms and storage, dynamic watermarking, an Advanced NDA with a signed PDF for both parties and an audit trail, granular permissions, a custom domain, auto-indexing, AI room generation and AI document Q&A.
• Business, US$30 (US$44 monthly): up to three rooms per admin and 1,000 documents, email authentication, a simple acknowledge-only NDA, screenshot protection, download prevention and AI document Q&A.
• Deal Team, US$64 (US$89 monthly, four-admin minimum): advanced redaction, an advanced Q&A module, OAuth SSO and API access.
• Enterprise (custom): SAML SSO and bring-your-own-key encryption.

All prices are in US dollars per admin, and viewers are free. Peony is SOC 2 Type II-ready, with the audit in progress. I make no claim to Australian data hosting, so put any onshore-hosting requirement to every vendor in writing.

Peony holds a 4.8 on G2 and a 4.9 on Capterra, and 8,000+ customers run documents and rooms on it today. On an A$500m bank-run auction, expect the bank to name the platform. On an A$40m founder sale, the room is usually your choice and your cost, so compare on our best data rooms for M&A and data room cost guide, or start with how to build an M&A data room.

Related resources

• Best M&A Advisers hub: the master directory of city and sector guides
• Best M&A Advisers in Perth: the WA bench, mining and METS
• Best energy M&A advisers in Australia and New Zealand: upstream, gentailers, renewables and networks
• Best M&A Advisers in London: the same method on the UK's deepest market
• M&A adviser fees: the US survey curve and Lehman mechanics
• Adviser vs broker vs investment bank: which model fits your sale
• Active Australian investors and New Zealand investors: the venture side of the market
• Best financial services M&A advisers: the sector bench
• Sell-side due diligence: preparing before the teaser
• How to build an M&A data room: staged disclosure

Frequently asked questions

Who are the best M&A advisers in Sydney?

Ranked on dated adviser-of-record credits in counterparty filings, not on reputation. Tier one is seven independents that a 2025-26 ASX filing names: Jarden (nib's two travel-business sales, 2026), Gresham (Kelsian's A$161m tourism sale with Macquarie Capital, February 2026), Highbury Partnership (BWP Trust's A$142.6m internalisation, June 2025), Flagstaff (Humm's response to Credit Corp, December 2025), Henslow (the roughly A$94m Matrix scheme for AIH, April 2026), MA Moelis Australia (SCEE's Force Fire acquisition, March 2025) and Luminis (Generation Development Group's A$320m Evidentia deal, February 2025). Tier two is Barrenjoey, Grant Samuel and Lazard Australia, whose filing credits sit at the top of the A$10m-A$500m band or offshore; tier three is Greenstone and TMT Partners, with only their own tombstones in the window. Macquarie, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Rothschild and Citigroup sit in a separate big-bank box.

What are the best boutique investment banks in Sydney for selling an A$20m to A$200m business?

The dated evidence in that band: Jarden advised nib on selling World Nomads for A$67.5m and its Australian and New Zealand travel business for up to A$50m (ASX, February and June 2026). Gresham and Macquarie Capital advised Kelsian on its tourism portfolio sale, agreed at A$161m in February 2026 and completed at A$145.8m in September 2026. Highbury advised BWP on its A$142.6m internalisation (June 2025) and lists the $62m Mad Paws scheme on its own site (July 2025). Henslow advised AIH on the roughly A$94m Matrix scheme (April 2026). Greenstone says it advised Force Fire's shareholders on the sale to SCEE (A$36.3m upfront, up to A$53.5m), where MA Moelis advised the buyer. Ask any firm for its last three closes in your band, with the counterparty and the month.

I own an A$30m software company in Sydney. Which M&A advisers should I call?

Start with the firms whose dated technology work sits near your size. TMT Partners is the small-cap technology, media and telecoms specialist: the Xref scheme booklet of 20 December 2024 names it Xref's financial adviser on SEEK's A$41.85m proposal, and its own site lists Axe Group's sale in 2025. Henslow advised Alcidion on buying Kyra flow products from Telstra Health (ASX, May 2026) and, by its own news, Electro Optic Systems on the US$36m-upfront MARSS acquisition (January 2026). Highbury lists advising Credible on a sale of founder equity to FOX Corporation (August 2025). For an offshore buyer, ask MA Moelis about Moelis & Company or Henslow about the Oaklins network.

Should I hire Macquarie Capital or an independent boutique to sell my A$80m business?

For an A$80m sale the independents hold most of the in-band 2025-26 filing credits: Jarden on nib's A$67.5m World Nomads sale, Henslow on the roughly A$94m Matrix scheme and Highbury on BWP's A$142.6m internalisation. Macquarie Capital is the exception among the banks: it ranked second by ANZ mid-market deal count in LSEG's FY2025 table (35 deals) and was joint financial adviser with Gresham on Kelsian's A$161m sale in February 2026. Either can work. What matters is which senior people staff your deal, so put their names in the engagement letter and ask for their last three closes under A$150m.

We have offers from a private-equity firm and a trade buyer for our Sydney business. Which advisers know each side?

Ask who each firm has sat across from. On the private-equity side, Barrenjoey advised Perpetual on selling its Wealth Management business to Bain Capital Private Equity for A$500m upfront (ASX, March 2026), and Gresham's own transactions page lists TPG (Lynch Group, Infomedia), KKR (Zenith Energy), Stonepeak (Allgas) and Bain Capital (Estia Health). On the strategic side, Jarden sold nib's travel businesses to Allianz Partners and IMG (2026), MA Moelis advised SCEE on buying Force Fire (March 2025) and Henslow advised Advanced Innergy Holdings on the Matrix scheme (April 2026). Earn-outs appear with both buyer types, including up to A$50m on Perpetual's sale to Bain. Ask each adviser for its last three buyers of each type, with dates.

I'm selling my founder-owned or family business in Sydney for the first time. Which advisers work for the shareholders?

Greenstone, Highbury, Henslow and TMT Partners show the clearest founder- and shareholder-side work, all on their own sites: Greenstone advised Force Fire's shareholders, including Anacacia Capital, on the sale to SCEE (2025); Highbury advised Credible on a sale of founder equity to FOX Corporation (August 2025); Henslow advised ActivateRail's shareholders on its sale to Protech Group (September 2026); and TMT Partners lists Axe Group's 2025 sale to a private consortium. Greenstone describes itself as owned by its principals, with a partner involved in every aspect of each transaction. Below about A$20m, compare a business broker with a corporate adviser, and prepare vendor due diligence, a quality-of-earnings review and an information memorandum before launch.

Which Sydney advisers run sell-sides for healthcare businesses?

The public evidence is thin, and no firm here has a counterparty-filed 2025-26 healthcare sell-side. On the firms' own sites: Gresham lists advising Bain Capital on the sale of Estia Health to Stonepeak; Flagstaff lists HammondCare's acquisition of Anglicare Sydney's community-based home care operations (July 2026) without stating its side; Luminis lists Apiam Animal Health's $228m sale to Adamantem Capital on an undated client page, and Grant Samuel lists advising Adamantem on that deal (February 2026). The one filing is a purchase: Henslow advised Alcidion on its A$3.0m Kyra deal with Telstra Health (May 2026). Ask for dated healthcare closes before you sign.

Our ASX-listed company received an unsolicited takeover proposal. Which advisers should our board appoint?

Usually two: a financial adviser to run the response and, where the law requires one or the board wants one, an RG 111 independent expert from a different firm. In 2025-26 filings, Flagstaff advised Humm on Credit Corp's A$0.77-a-share proposal (December 2025) and, with UBS, Atlas Arteria on IFM's bid (May 2026); Macquarie Capital advised AUB on EQT's A$45-a-share proposal (October 2025); Jefferies advised Mayne Pharma on Cosette's scheme (February 2025). On Santos's XRG proposal, Goldman Sachs and JB North & Co were financial advisers and Rothschild & Co was independent board adviser. The four expert fees we read were fixed and not contingent on the outcome.

Does my M&A adviser need an AFSL, and how do I check it on ASIC?

If the adviser advises on a decision about shares, such as whether to accept or reject a takeover offer, it needs an Australian financial services licence or authorised-representative status: ASIC's RG 36 gives that decision as an example, and advice on it is financial product advice. Search the legal entity, not the brand, in ASIC's AFS licensee and authorised-representative datasets on data.gov.au. Every ranked firm on this page is a licensee, for example Highbury Partnership Pty Ltd (AFSL 434566) and Henslow Pty Ltd (AFSL 483168), and most boutique licences cover wholesale clients only. Whether a pure asset sale needs a licence is a question for your lawyer; I could not verify it.

What does an M&A adviser charge in Australia?

We found no published Australian adviser-fee survey, so the best public evidence is what scheme booklets disclose. Highbury was entitled to about A$2.5m for advising BWP on an internalisation priced at A$142.6m that also included a Bunnings lease reset; Matrix put its total external costs at about A$2.88m, roughly 3.1% of its A$94m scheme value; independent-expert fees ran from A$90,000 to A$1.1m. Peony's US fee guide puts success fees at about 4.8% at US$5m, 3.4% at US$20m and 2.0% at US$100m. Negotiate the minimum fee, any retainer credit and the definition of transaction value.

Does the new ACCC merger notification regime apply to my sale in 2026?

It does if your deal meets the thresholds and is put into effect on or after 1 January 2026, when notification became mandatory. The main test is combined Australian revenue of A$200m or more plus either target Australian revenue of A$50m or more or a transaction value of A$250m or more. The trap: if the acquirer group has A$500m or more of Australian revenue, a target with only A$10m of Australian revenue must be notified. Phase 1 runs 30 business days and Phase 2 runs 90, and an acquisition put into effect while stayed is void. Kelsian's tourism sale, agreed at A$161m and completed at A$145.8m, took about seven months, gated by ACCC and FIRB approvals.

Will a foreign buyer need FIRB approval to buy my Australian company in 2026?

Often, depending on who the buyer is and what it buys. Under the 2026 monetary thresholds, a private investor from a country without a relevant free trade agreement needs approval to acquire a substantial interest (20% or more) above A$347m; private investors from certain FTA partners, including the US, UK, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore, have A$1,498m for non-sensitive businesses but A$347m for sensitive ones. Foreign government investors and national security businesses start at A$0, and agribusiness at A$75m cumulative for private investors, whether or not they are from those FTA partners. Treasury's median processing time for approved commercial proposals was 35 days in January to March 2026.

What is an independent expert's report, and can my financial adviser also be the independent expert?

An independent expert's report tells shareholders whether an offer is 'fair' and 'reasonable' under ASIC RG 111, valuing the target as if 100% owned; section 640 requires one where the bidder has 30% voting power in the target or the two share a director. On every 2025-26 deal we read, the expert was a different firm from the financial adviser and its fee was fixed and not contingent: BDO A$90,000 on Matrix, Deloitte A$250,000 on BWP, Kroll A$850,000 on Atlas Arteria and Grant Samuel A$1.1m on South32. Grant Samuel also acts as a financial adviser on other deals, so read the role in the document, not the logo.

Should I use a business broker or an M&A adviser to sell an A$5m to A$20m business in Sydney?

It depends on the buyer you need. Brokers such as Xcllusive Business Sales market businesses to what Xcllusive says are 47,000+ registered buyers; Exit Advisory Group calls itself an M&A advisory and business brokerage and displays AFSL 700378, which ASIC's dataset lists for KC1 Pty Limited, issued on 23 June 2026. Corporate advisers run targeted processes for strategic and private-equity buyers, but few ranked firms show dated sales under A$20m. Quinn M&A, led by a chartered accountant who is also a solicitor, says it advises on '$1 million to $200 million in enterprise value' but publishes no dated deals. Ask every candidate for three dated closes at your size.

How long does it take to sell a mid-market business in Australia?

Months, not weeks, and the regulators set the pace. In 2025-26 filings, BWP's internalisation took about five weeks from announcement to completion, with a unitholder vote and no ACCC review; Matrix's scheme took about three months from the implementation deed to implementation; Kelsian's private tourism sale, agreed at A$161m and completed at A$145.8m, took about seven months, gated by ACCC and FIRB approvals; and nib's World Nomads sale took about seven and a half months. Across 334 M&A transactions run on Peony, the average deal took about 8.6 months to close. Add your preparation time before launch.

Which virtual data rooms do Australian investment banks use for M&A, and which should I use for an A$20m to A$200m Sydney sale?

On three Sydney-adviser deals whose ASX documents name a platform (the Soul Patts and Brickworks merger, the Matrix scheme and the Xref scheme), Ansarada hosted the room. Sydney-based Ansarada, founded in 2005, has been owned by Datasite since a takeover implemented in September 2024, and Datasite and Intralinks are the global incumbents on large bank-run processes. For a boutique-run A$20m-A$200m sale, I built Peony for this job: the Data Room plan at US$52 per admin per month billed annually (US$75 monthly) gives unlimited rooms and storage, dynamic watermarking, signed NDAs with an audit trail, granular permissions, page-by-page analytics and AI room generation, and Business at US$30 covers up to three rooms per admin. Prices are in US dollars, and I make no Australian data-residency claim. 8,000+ customers use Peony today.

Sources and disclaimer

This article reflects my views as of 7 October 2026 and is informational, not legal, tax or investment advice. Licences are from ASIC's AFS licensee and authorised-representative datasets on data.gov.au (October 2026 files); deal credits are from the ASX and AIM documents linked in the ledger; league-table ranks are from LSEG Deals Intelligence's free FY2025 and H1 2026 reviews. Firm names, ownership and licence status change; verify them on ASIC before you sign. I am the co-founder of Peony, a data room company, and I have flagged that interest where Peony is mentioned.