Australia's mergers and acquisitions market will remain strong in 2020 as companies seek to bolster their profits through acquisitions, according to a report by the law firm MinterEllison.

The report, 'Directions in Public Mergers & Acquisitions FY19/20′, states that regardless of economic and geopolitical conditions, companies will continue to pursue M&A activity in the coming year.

"With organic growth remaining challenging across many mature industries, any meaningful growth will need to be achieved by acquisition," the firm said.

Strategic acquirers will look beyond any short-term geopolitical headwinds such as Brexit and trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

"Bidders will continue to move quickly to take advantage of quality targets whose share prices are depressed or languishing due to broader adverse industry sentiment rather than any fundamental problems with the underlying business," the report states.

MinterEllison also expects Australian superannuation funds to become key players in M&A, either as co-investors with private equity or industry participants or as conduits to delivering a pre-bid stake. "The sheer weight of Australian superannuation funds means they will no longer be passive in M&A deals, but will instead drive and shape M&A activity," the firm said.

In 2019, some 45 deals, each with a value of A$50 million (US$34 million) or more, were announced, including nine deals with a value of A$1 billion (US$690 million) or more. Metals and mining led the way, accounting for eight of the 45 deals.

Foreign bidders continued to dominate, with about three-fifths of deals involving a foreign acquirer, in particular, from the U.S., Canada and Japan.

MinterEllison expects continued strong foreign investment due to Australia's stable government and strategic location relative to Asia.

Health and aged care, mining and minerals, infrastructure, and consumer staples will be "hot" sectors the firm said.