AFR: Goldman Sachs, Macquarie top M&A and ECM rankings in first quarter
Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Capital are setting the pace in mergers and acquisitions and equity capital market deals so far this year, with bankers reporting that companies are still on the lookout for growth options despite the uncertainty brought on by war in the Middle East.
Rankings compiled by Dealogic for the first quarter of 2026 put Goldman Sachs on top in Australian mergers and acquisitions by deal value, while Macquarie has taken the lead in equity capital markets.
Conflict in the Middle East, concerns about oil prices and inflation, and ongoing uncertainty around interest rates all complicated deal-making over the period, according to bankers. Yet instead of stepping back, many corporates leaned in.
In mergers and acquisitions, Goldman Sachs’ Australia co-heads Nick Sims and Zac Fletcher led a stellar performance, with the US giant advising on $US15.2 billion ($22 billion) in transactions, taking out about 48 per cent of total market share in the first quarter.
That put Goldman comfortably ahead of Barclays/Barrenjoey and UBS in a quarter when total announced deals in the country reached $US31.4 billion.
“We’ve seen an increase in M&A volumes, both globally and in Australia, year to date, despite the current geopolitical backdrop,” Fletcher said.
Goldman’s recent mandates have included advising the Stokes family-owned SGH Limited on its joint $14.2 billion bid for BlueScope Steel alongside US group Steel Dynamics, and working on the roughly $5 billion demerger of Ramsay Sante from Ramsay Health Care.
Behind the scenes, bankers described a market that had become more sensitive to shocks. Periods of activity were interrupted by short pauses as boards reassessed conditions, particularly around valuations and the path of interest rates.
M&A took a larger share of activity as a result. In times of volatility, companies accelerated longer-term plans, using disruption as a catalyst to reshape their businesses. At the same time, higher borrowing costs made it harder for buyers and sellers to agree on valuations, tempering overall volumes.
“The backdrop, including the direction of rates, is something that we’re very conscious of as we think about future activity levels,” Fletcher said.
In equity capital markets, Macquarie Capital ranked first by bookrunner volume, underwriting $US586.8 million of equity issuance in a quarter where total activity reached $US3.9 billion.
Macquarie was followed in the rankings by Canaccord Genuity, Bell Potter, and Barrenjoey, with the latter scoring a significant win as sole underwriter for furniture retailer Koala’s initial public offering on March 31.
A strong start to the year in equity raisings had driven Macquarie’s performance, said its head of equity capital markets, Luke Salter.
Deals done in late January and early February, when market conditions were supportive, allowed issuers to raise capital before the outbreak of war in March made it a lot more costly.
Among Macquarie’s largest transactions were a $400 million raising for insurance broker and underwriter AUB Group, a $225 million raising for metals company Alpha HPA and a $200 million raising for Brickworks.
“Equity raising volumes and deals probably kicked off earlier in the year than historically has been the case as the market backdrop was favourable,” Salter said.
Issuance slowed markedly in March, with execution becoming more opportunistic as banks and companies looked to move quickly when markets stabilised.
“Being very nimble and agile around market windows has been critical to successful deals so far this year,” Salter said.
Macquarie noted that about 60 per cent of its issuance this year had come in the energy and mining sectors, partly reflecting surging demand for critical minerals such as lithium, compared to 20 per cent from industrials and financials.
Salter was optimistic that more favourable conditions would re-emerge as the year progressed.
“We’ve seen an easing in hostilities [in the Middle East] in recent days and some positivity coming back into markets,” he said.
UBS, which ranked third in M&A, said there was a strong underlying deal pipeline despite the recent slowdown. The bank has been involved in large transactions, including advising BlueScope Steel as it responded to the takeover interest from SGH and Steel Dynamics.
UBS’ head of M&A Nick Brown said clients were focused on the same set of risks, including energy prices, supply chains and the broader economic outlook.
“There’s been a bit of a pause as people are dealing with the uncertainty,” Brown said. “The key question is going to be the speed of that rebound.”
He noted a similar pause in activity around this time last year, when US President Donald Trump unveiled his liberation day tariffs, but that was followed by a sharp recovery in activity in the second half.
Whether that pattern is repeated will depend on how quickly geopolitical tensions ease and how interest rate expectations evolve.
Article – AFR
Investment banking reporter
Apr 2, 2026 – 4.47pm
