Capital Markets & Investor Relations Australia

Welcome to the latest edition of Global IR Insights, where FTI Consulting's Australian Strategic Communications team shares intel from our global network in capital markets communication and what it might mean for Australia.

M&A shakeup: upcoming Australian merger laws?

The Australian M&A landscape faces significant changes in 2026 with upcoming merger reforms. Announced in early April, the reforms will overhaul the existing Trade Practices Act, originally introduced in 1974. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has stated that the new reforms will make the merger process “faster, stronger, simpler, more targeted and more transparent”.?

The proposed reforms outline a maximum 230-day merger process, with a two-stage review. The ACCC aims to have a deal preliminarily reviewed within 30 days, however some lawyers are already concerned the added time may kill deals.?

M&A advisors should be thinking through how the proposed merger reforms will change deal making. More deals will need pre-vetting by regulators, meaning more time and more eyeballs on unannounced deals. This will likely mean more information leaks.

Preventing leaks, and managing stakeholder communication when they happen, can make or break deals, and is a critical part of M&A planning. Only time will tell if the modernised reforms will empower the market or be a hindrance to dealmakers and lawyers alike.

Top stocks take over markets

The Financial Times reports a historic rise in global stock market concentration, reaching unprecedented levels. The 10 largest stocks in the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) now make up one-fifth of the benchmark, surpassing the 2000s dot-com era. This concentration, heavily skewed towards US giants, raises a red flag for passive investors seeking diversification through global exposure.?

The grass isn’t much greener in Australia, with the top 10 largest ASX listed companies representing around 37% of market cap of all ASX listed companies. BHP alone accounts for roughly 8%.?

This trend highlights the importance of diversification and may prompt a reassessment of investment strategies to achieve a more balanced global exposure, mitigating risks associated with overexposure to specific markets and industries.?

The hitchhikers guide to short seller attacks

Short seller attacks are few and far between within the Australian landscape. However, it is vital companies remain aware of the impact they can have on corporate reputation. Here’s how it works: activist investors publish a report questioning a company’s practices, urging shareholders to sell down the stock, and profiting from the resulting price drop.

FTI Consulting’s Chicago-based Bryan Armstrong recently released a proactive guide to short seller attacks, with the bottom line being that while companies cannot control the market, they are afforded a limited time to control their response to a short seller attack.?

On our shores, while specific short selling attacks have not been overly common in recent times, short selling is a popular theme with a number of lithium and nickel miners ranked among the most shorted for months.

Newsletter collated by Samuel Moir and Annalise Batchelor. For further information on these stories or to be added to the Global IR Insights newsletter distribution list, please contact [email protected]