Lower global volumes. Continued ANZ consolidation. Strong cross-border interest.
Technology Services and Specialty Consulting M&A slowed globally in Q3 2026, with 480 transactions against a median of 671 per quarter, as AI disruption, higher borrowing costs and geopolitical uncertainty made buyers more selective. In Australia and New Zealand, cross-border interest remained strong, with international buyers acquiring Australian platforms across engineering, IT services and consulting.
Market Outlook
In the 12 months to 30 September 2026, the Nasdaq rose 18.0% and the S&P 500 14.0%, while the ASX was broadly flat and the NZX gained 2.8%. ANZ Technology Services stocks rose 4.2% over the same period, against declines of between 11.8% and 28.0% across global IT services, consulting and engineering services. Sector valuation multiples trended down through the year, largely reflecting moderating revenue growth; at quarter end ANZ Technology Services traded at 9.2x TEV/NTM EBITDA.
Engineering and environmental consultancies continued to consolidate in ANZ, with WSP acquiring e2m, RSK acquiring Biota Environmental Sciences and BTW, SLR acquiring Hydrobiology and Spectrum, and Stantec acquiring Niche. Microsoft consultancies were also a key area of activity: Alceon acquired Engage Squared, Adactin acquired Focus Dynamics and Evergreen Services Group acquired Evolution Business Systems.
What’s Inside the Report
- Global Technology Services and Specialty Consulting M&A volumes by quarter, split between strategic and financial buyers
- ASX, NZX, S&P 500 and Nasdaq performance over the 12 months to 30 September 2026
- Share price performance and TEV/NTM EBITDA multiples for ANZ Technology Services and five global peer groups
- Selected ANZ transactions from the last 12 months, with acquirer, cross-border status, headcount and industry
- Trading comparables for large- and mid-sized global IT services, ANZ technology services, global consulting, media and marketing, and engineering services
- Equiteq’s recent ANZ transactions, including the sale of Dentsu’s ANZ Salesforce business to Enduring Ventures and Assurity to Aspire Systems
Key Findings
Global deal volume fell to 480 transactions in Q3 2026, down from 680 in Q2 and below the median of 671 per quarter since Q4 2024. Strategic buyers accounted for 434 of the deals and financial buyers for 46. AI disruption, higher borrowing costs and geopolitical uncertainty made buyers more selective.
Equiteq advised on the carve-out and sale of Dentsu’s ANZ Salesforce consultancy to Enduring Ventures and the sale of Assurity, a software testing and quality assurance consultancy, to Aspire Systems in 2026, and on the sale of cybersecurity specialist Sekuro to Insight in October 2025. Each involved an international buyer acquiring an Australian business.
Yes. Cross-border interest in ANZ remained strong in Q3 2026, with international acquirers including WSP, RSK, SLR, Stantec and Chemonics buying Australian platforms. That interest has held up even as global deal volumes moderated.
Engineering and environmental consultancies continued to consolidate, with WSP acquiring e2m, RSK acquiring Biota Environmental Sciences, SLR acquiring Hydrobiology and Stantec acquiring Niche. Microsoft-focused IT consultancies were the other key area, with Alceon acquiring Engage Squared, Adactin acquiring Focus Dynamics and Evergreen Services Group acquiring Evolution Business Systems.
ANZ Technology Services stocks rose 4.2% in the 12 months to 30 September 2026, on an indexed, market-capitalisation-weighted basis. Over the same period global mid-sized IT services fell 11.8%, global consulting 16.4%, large-sized global IT services 17.0% and global engineering services 28.0%, reflecting revenue headwinds from AI disruption and softer capex.
At 30 September 2026, ANZ Technology Services traded at 9.2x TEV/NTM EBITDA. Among the global peer groups, engineering services traded at 10.0x, consulting at 9.4x, mid-sized IT services at 9.2x, large-sized IT services at 8.4x and media and marketing services at 5.1x. Multiples trended down over the year, largely reflecting moderating revenue growth.
US and ANZ equity markets continued to diverge. In the 12 months to 30 September 2026 the Nasdaq rose 18.0% and the S&P 500 14.0%, supported by AI investment and resilient earnings, while the ASX was broadly flat, down 0.6%, and the NZX gained 2.8% amid persistent inflation and tighter monetary policy.
Buyers are seeking innovative delivery and commercial models, with demonstrated AI use cases and differentiated delivery approaches. Equiteq’s sale of US agentic AI specialist Artium to AlixPartners in August 2026 is one example of the assets attracting interest.
Download the ANZ Technology Services and Specialty Consulting Quarterly Report – Q3 2026 for the full transaction list, sector valuation multiples and trading comparables across Australia, New Zealand and global peers.