Ironbridge mulls IES SBO

According to The Australian Financial Review, the private equity firm is considering the deal, which could value the company at up to A$375 million ($405 million).

CHAMP put IES up for auction last July, and appointed J.P. Morgan to manage the process. Australian and Asian logistics firms expressed an interest in the sale, and initial bids were said to have been submitted last August.

IES claims to be the largest fuel transporter in Australia, with additional operations in Singapore and the US, and plans to expand to other Asian geographies. The company anticipates revenue of A$470 million in 2012.

With an exit of IES appearing imminent, CHAMP Private Equity has turned its attention to another Australian company in recent weeks. The investor won exclusivity in January on the sale process of VIP Petfoods, Australia's largest producer of fresh chilled pet food for dogs and cats. The deal under discussion could reach the high A$300 millions.

VIP Petfoods, which is based in Yatala, Queensland, operates one purpose-built factory and has three more specialist production bases around Australia, with 600 employees. It exports petfood to the US, Canada, South Korea and Japan. The family owners decided to sell after receiving approaches from private equity firms and trade buyers.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Exits
• Buyouts
• Industrials
• Ironbridge Capital
• Exit
• CHAMP Private Equity
• Secondaries
• buyout
• energy