Sydney, Feb 16, 2026, 17:44 AEDT — After-hours.
- Macquarie Group ended up 0.4% after a deal-driven session on the ASX
- Its asset-management arm is leading an A$11.7 billion bid for logistics firm Qube
- Traders now watch approvals on the Qube deal and Macquarie’s May 8 full-year result date
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG.AX) shares closed up 0.4% at A$217.01 on Monday after trading between A$216.43 and A$218.89. About 524,000 shares changed hands, below the stock’s three-month average. (Investing)
The move was small, but the focus wasn’t. Investors are back on Macquarie’s deal pipeline, especially the kind that sits inside its funds business and can turn into longer-dated fee income.
It matters now because Australia’s retirement funds increasingly decide whether big take-privates get done, and Macquarie is often on the other side of that table. Superannuation assets total about A$4.5 trillion versus roughly A$3.3 trillion in listed market value on the Australian exchange, Reuters Breakingviews wrote, giving a few institutions the heft to force higher prices or stop deals cold. (Reuters)
Macquarie itself made no market announcement on Monday, according to the ASX’s daily bulletin for the company. (Australian Securities Exchange)
Instead, attention stuck to its asset-management unit, which agreed to buy logistics group Qube Holdings in an A$11.7 billion deal at A$5.20 a share, Reuters reported. Macquarie Asset Management’s Ani Satchcroft called Qube “a really great reflection of the Australian economy,” while UniSuper’s John Pearce said, “There will be more public-to-private transactions.” (Reuters)
Public-to-private, in plain terms, means taking a listed company off the stock market. For Macquarie shareholders, these deals are a tell on appetite — how hard the firm is willing to lean into private infrastructure at a time when listed markets can be jumpy.
But there is slippage risk. Regulatory approvals, financing terms and any late push from shareholders can stretch timelines, and a delayed close can turn a neat fee story into dead money and headlines that fade.
Ahead of the next session, traders will watch for follow-through around the consortium and any fresh signs that more listed assets are being lined up. The broader question is whether Macquarie’s funds arm can keep converting interest into signed deals, not just headlines.
Macquarie has flagged Friday, May 8, 2026 for its full-year result announcement, and expects shares to trade ex-dividend on Monday, May 18, according to its investor calendar. That’s the next hard date MQG investors circle after this round of deal talk. (Macquarie)
