MELBOURNE (Reuters) - French broker Natixis has taken a stake in a boutique Australian resources adviser, the company said on Friday as it broadens its footprint into global deal-making services for the sector.
The "strategic" investment by Natixis into Azure Capital will bring the broker's global network of M&A advisers to seven, and is expected to complete by the end of the quarter, the companies said in a joint statement.
The companies did not say how much the stake was for.
Perth-based Azure Capital focuses on energy and natural resources including mining, mining services and oil and gas.
Deal making has recently heated up in Australia with retail-to-chemical conglomerate Wesfarmers bidding for two high tech minerals firms in the past two months, and major miners such as Rio Tinto back on the hunt for growth options to replenish their pipelines of supply.
Natixis has partnered with other advisers, which include Natixis Partners, Natixis Partners España, PJ Solomon, Fenchurch Advisory Partners, Vermilion Partners and Clipperton, the French brokerage said.
Natural resources and infrastructure are two sectors that Natixis has aimed to grow under a 2018-2020 strategic plan.
(Reporting by Melanie Burton, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
