PE-backed Blue Star entities pick up assets from Geon

Shortly after Blue Star New Zealand picked up the Kiwi Labels unit from Geon's receivers, its Australian counterpart agreed to acquire two facilities in New South Wales and one in Victoria. Receivers McGrathNicol said that, in both cases, the businesses should be able to transition out bankruptcy in orderly fashion.

The sales came after KKR and Allegro Funds have placed Geon into administration with a view to buying certain parts of the business out of receivership. The pair became creditors last year following the acquisition of a portfolio of distressed loans from BOS International.

Gresham Private Equity took a controlling interest in Geon in 2005, with a view to using it as a platform for consolidating the fragmented printing industry, and the BOS portfolio included an $80 million loan to the firm. Gresham has already exited its remaining equity interest to KKR and Allegro as part of a debt-for-equity swap.

Blue Star also fell on hard times after the global financial crisis, with CHAMP Private Equity exiting the asset last year after spending much of 2011 putting together a restructuring package for the company. It originally paid NZ$385 million ($308 million) for a majority interest in 2006

Mercury Capital supported the acquisition of Blue Star New Zealand by the business' former managing director, Tom Sturgess. Wolseley Private Equity did the same in Australia with Geoff Selig who served as CEO of Blue Star's local operations before CHAMP bought the company in 2006.

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• Topics
• Credit/Special Situations
• Restructuring
• Australasia
• Gresham Private Equity
• Wolseley Partners
• CHAMP Private Equity
• KKR
• Distress
• Australia