Perspectives
This article is part of a series on how Macquarie is working with governments, clients and other partners to strengthen sovereign resilience and support nations around the world in building strategic autonomy.
Article highlights:
13 January 2026
In November 2025, governments, policymakers, commercial partners and industry leaders from across Europe came together in Berlin, Germany, for Europe’s first summit on ‘strengthening digital sovereignty’.1 The objective was to ‘identify concrete steps’ to reduce the continent’s dependency on technologies designed and produced elsewhere, increase its technological resilience and protect its strategic digital assets.
The move is an example of how nations are responding to geopolitical, economic and technological changes, and a reflection of a strategic shift underway towards re-industrialisation, according to Geoff Segal, government affairs lead for Macquarie Capital’s Infrastructure and Energy Capital team.
“For many countries, the story of the past few decades has been one of deindustrialisation. After experiencing a series of shocks in recent years, however, they’re re-examining that in the context of a desire for greater control over supply chains and manufacturing capability that’s closer to home,” says Segal.
“Investing in the concept of ‘national security’ goes beyond spending on defence infrastructure and covers a range of areas necessary for modern life. It encompasses everything from building supply chain resilience and technology development capabilities to securing access to critical minerals and dependable energy sources, expanding manufacturing capacity and bolstering cybersecurity,” he adds.
As governments look to expand domestic capabilities at pace, faced with pressure on public finances, it's opening up an expanded role for commercial partners.2 With innovative financial structures and access to diverse capital, the private sector is well suited to support governments in accessing investment funds while providing investors with a potential new source of returns.
As a global investor in energy, technology and infrastructure, Macquarie Capital sees four key areas of sovereign resilience that could benefit from private sector partnership.
E.g. energy, utilities, telecoms, aerospace, supply chains
E.g. critical minerals, semiconductors, energy, medicines
E.g. installations, manufacturing, technology
E.g. software, payments systems, cybersecurity
Source: Macquarie
In both an advisory and investment capacity, Macquarie Capital is leveraging expertise and relationships across the US, Australia, EMEA and Asia to support nations in growing their capabilities in each of these four areas – doing so in a way that supports both defence and civilian applications.
Investing in dual-use assets is a key opportunity for institutional capital and commercial partners. These range from runways to bridges, ports, logistics and energy infrastructure, as well as digital capabilities – including ground, subsea and space-based communications networks – and manufacturing facilities.
The extensible utility of these assets over a larger user base makes them both more investable and affordable.
“There is a growing appreciation that defence and civilian purposes are increasingly intertwined, and that national security is the strength of a nation’s infrastructure, manufacturing capacity and technological capabilities,” says Segal. “So, projects developed to meet both commercial and defence or resiliency needs can maximise public benefit while enhancing national security capability.”
“Once considered off limits by some investors, their perception of national security assets is evolving as their understanding of the space grows,” he adds.
From ports used by navies, communications networks used by national security agencies, and power and utility systems supplying defence locations, teams across Macquarie are developing and managing infrastructure assets that support a variety of dual-use activities.
Opportunities are also emerging in the financing, development and long-term management of dedicated defence structures, albeit in a more limited way, says John Pickhaver, Head of Infrastructure and Energy Capital for Macquarie Capital in the Americas.
Needed to accommodate the growth in maritime, airborne and terrestrial assets, these include aircraft hangars, wharf and ship maintenance facilities, storage and logistics facilities and military accommodation and training facilities.
“Governments increasingly recognise that they don’t need to take everything onto their balance sheets. The sophistication of private finance mechanisms has reached a point where there are plenty of opportunities for defence agencies to work with the private sector to fund our collective security needs,” says Pickhaver.
He points to the UK, Australia and the Netherlands as examples of where public-private partnerships (PPP/P3) have allowed governments to upgrade and refurbish existing facilities. Or, where private sector financing of the construction of new assets, or sale and leaseback agreements on existing facilities, have freed up public capital for allocation elsewhere.
While public-private partnerships have not been widely adopted in defence to date, there’s renewed interest, especially when it comes to supporting infrastructure. “The infrastructure-as-a-service model also offers real potential by enabling governments to move away from the need to outlay considerable capital expenses upfront,” adds Pickhaver.
The expansion of private finance in US defence has traditionally been hindered by a lack of familiarity, together with rigid procurement and budgetary rules in the public sector; however, processes are being actively reformed, and governments are incentivising investment. For example, the Army Transformation Initiative – launched in 2025 – aims to speed up the modernisation of the US military’s largest constituent, including through integrating emerging technologies, accelerating innovation cycles and alternative procurement and structures.
Expanding the use of transformative technologies that have broad applicability in the defence and civilian government sectors can help deliver modernisation in an accelerated way and one that shares development and commercialisation risk with the private sector.
“Leveraging civilian technology and research innovation for national security and resiliency purposes can accelerate the time needed to transition good ideas into technology and then usable products and services. Commercial sector involvement in the early risk phases of technology development, with an eye toward productisation and scaled delivery can drive the types of efficiencies needed to create sustainable advantage,” says John Spirtos, Senior Managing Director within Macquarie Capital’s Growth & Technology investing team.
For over a decade, Macquarie Capital has used its balance sheet to invest in technology companies providing solutions that deliver critical services to support national security efforts. These include Earth Resources Technology (ERT), which provides scientific, engineering, environmental and technology services to US federal government agencies; Procentrix, whose low-code/no-code IT platforms are rapidly being adopted across government agencies to accelerate their digital modernisation; and Turning Point Global Solutions, whose software facilitates digital transformation for civilian and government customers.
“We make a small number of targeted investments and work with those companies to grow their capabilities and service their customers to the best of their abilities, which includes identifying ways in which the technology can be beneficial in a defence sector setting,” says Spirtos.
Access to new technologies is especially relevant as the pace of defence modernisation accelerates, with the use of private sector solutions providing a quicker and more cost-efficient option than developing them from scratch.
“Governments understandably take time to adopt new technologies because there is no margin for error in a kinetic environment – technology, when deployed to protect human lives, needs to work, every time. Working with a trusted private sector partner, with relevant experience, credibility and a proven track record is critical,” adds Spirtos.
National security requirements are evolving faster than they have in decades, meaning governments and commercial contractors need experienced partners they can trust and that understand their unique strategic needs.
Over the past decade, Macquarie has built a respected leadership position and advised on some of the most significant and complex private sector defence transactions in both the US and Australia, as well as on cross-border transactions across the UK, US and Australia.
Highlighting his team’s role in the sale of government contractor CSRA to global aerospace and defence company General Dynamics – its biggest-ever acquisition which created the second-largest provider of technology services to the US federal government – Jeremy Parker, Head of Aerospace, Defense and Government Services for Macquarie Capital, says it’s critical to be a trusted partner that understands the sector.
Advised CSRA on its sale to General Dynamics
Advised Alion Science and Technology on its sale to Huntington Ingalls Industries
Acted as exclusive financial advisor to Azure Summit Technology on its sale to CACI International
“Leveraging our deep understanding of the sector and industry expertise, we think creatively about opportunities for clients outside of their current sphere of operations,” says Parker. “As governments around the world look to increase investment in technologies, modern manufacturing and other systems critical to national security, it’s opening up new opportunities for investors.”
The Australian Government has outlined a vision of Australia becoming a world leader in cybersecurity by 2030, and is establishing sovereign capabilities in areas like robotics, AI and quantum technologies, in preparation for the second pillar of AUKUS. Such ambition will likely need to draw significantly on the private sector’s capabilities in those areas.
Opportunities could also extend to space technology, suggests Michael Milne, Macquarie Capital’s Head of Technology, Media, Entertainment and Telecommunications (TMET), Asia-Pacific and Head of Government Advisory, Australia and New Zealand. While still nascent, investment opportunities in Australian space are increasing, he says, alongside related technologies such as quantum computing and cryptography as militaries upscale their cyber and technological resilience and capabilities. In 2025, Australia signed its biggest-ever defence deal with Canada in 2025 to export locally developed radar.3
As well as citing his team’s work in supporting the Australian Government with strategic acquisitions of technology and telecommunications systems designed to strengthen national security, Milne points to its role in supporting strategic cross-border transactions. Macquarie Capital acted as exclusive financial adviser to Australia-based Penten on its landmark merger with UK-based Amiosec, which created one of the largest and most advanced global providers of digital information security technologies.4
“Cross-border collaboration in a defence context is going to be critical. Nations can’t develop everything themselves, so working with strategic allies will become increasingly important,” says Milne.
Acted as exclusive financial adviser to Penten on its merger with Amiosec to form a leading global provider of information security technologies
Leveraged its flexible balance sheet capital to invest in Procentrix, a leader in low-code IT solutions for US federal agencies
Advised US-based Leidos on its acquisition of Cobham Aviation Services Australia’s Special Mission business
By bringing together teams from across Macquarie Group, Macquarie Capital can provide both differentiated insights and creative solutions that support clients in unlocking opportunities.
“Not only does Macquarie have a global presence, but we have a deep-rooted understanding of, and relationships within, individual markets,” says Spirtos. “Plus, we’re very flexible – we have deep expertise in developing projects that meet the specific needs of defence clients and, just as importantly, putting together structures to finance their completion.”
Our services to the defence sector are subject to our standard risk management approach and are underpinned by compliance with laws, including respecting international weapons-related conventions signed or ratified by Australia.
DISCLAIMER: This article represents the views of Macquarie Capital’s advisory and principal investing teams and is not a product of Macquarie Research.
